[HWPL]

[HWPL] HWPL's International Webinar on Marshall Islands’ Nuclear Legacy and Climate Crisis

Chairman ManHee Lee is the head representative of the global peace organization HWPL (Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light), which is striving for the enactment and implementation of the international peace law 'Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW)'. The  DPCW is a legal instrument comprised of 10 articles and 38 clauses that can end wars and hostilities throughout the world. HWPL is also spreading a culture of peace and implementing peace education.

Chairman ManHee Lee experienced the cruelty and tragedy of war as a veteran of the Korean War. This is one of the reasons why he founded a global peace campaign as the head of HWPL. He has traveled the globe more than 35 times to meet and persuade politicians, legal experts, journalists, professors, peace activists, civil organization leaders, heads of tribes and others to unite them for the work of peace. The significant fruits borne out of his hard work are the World Alliance of Religions' Peace (WARP) Summit and HWPL Peace Committee. The DPCW was drafted and finalised by the HWPL Peace Committee.

How, you may wonder, do I know this? About 10 years ago, when I had just been discharged from military service, I came to know HWPL and Chairman ManHee Lee while researching the topic of civil conflicts to satisfy my curiosity in ongoing global issues. At that time, the island of Mindanao in the Philippines was suffering from a major civil conflict that lasted more than 40 years, and Chairman ManHee Lee and HWPL resolved this conflict through non-violent means.

Chairman Lee brought an end to the conflict in Mindanao by holding a peace talk between the warring Catholic and Islamic groups. Before the talk, HWPL and Chairman ManHee Lee held a Peace Walk to spread the culture of peace in Mindanao with the many locals who had gathered out of a desire for peace.

Chairman ManHee Lee's pressing appeal today is that humanity unites for sustainable peace in order to pass on the legacy of peace to future generations worldwide. He doesn't just talk peace, but has worked tirelessly for it through practical peace campaigns for over a decade.

I decided to become a supporter of HWPL and Chairman ManHee Lee's peace initiatives because I also desire a world of peace for all posterity.

Today I'd like to introduce an article regarding HWPL's International Webinar on Marshall Islands’ Nuclear Legacy and Climate Crisis :)

HWPL Hosts International Webinar on the Marshall Islands’ Nuclear Legacy and Climate Crisis to Discusses the Need for International Cooperation

Ahead of Nuclear Victims and Survivors Remembrance Day, observed annually on March 1, HWPL held an international webinar on February 28 on the theme of the Marshall Islands’ nuclear legacy and climate crisis.

Experts in the fields of law, environment, and diplomacy, as well as representatives from civil society, from six continents took part in the webinar. The participants reaffirmed that the issue of nuclear contamination in the Marshall Islands is not merely a legacy of the past, but is emerging, in combination with the climate crisis, as a “global security concern” that threatens all of humanity. The webinar was particularly meaningful as a forum to urgently raise public awareness of this issue and explore ways to strengthen international cooperation.

“The destructive force of 7,200 Hiroshima atomic bombs”… The devastating reality revealed through testimony

In his keynote address, Benetick Kabua Maddison, Executive Director of MEI, testified through specific figures to the scale of suffering endured by the Marshall Islands. “The 67 nuclear tests conducted in the Marshall Islands over 12 years beginning in 1946 had a destructive force equivalent to 7,200 Hiroshima atomic bombs. This not only completely transformed our land and traditions, but also left devastating health consequences such as cancer and congenital deformities,” he said, emphasizing the seriousness of the environmental and health impacts.

He particularly warned that the Runit Dome, where radioactive waste on a scale sufficient to fill 35 Olympic-size swimming pools has been buried, is at risk of cracking due to rising sea levels. He also stressed that environmental education, along with financial and technical support, must be provided so that young people can shape their own future, and that they must become key actors in the policymaking process.

“Justice delayed is justice denied”… Legal responsibility and practical solutions

In his legal presentation, Honourable Justice Thushara Rajasinghe of the High Court of Fiji raised the need to define the extensive destruction caused by nuclear testing to ecosystems and human health as “climate harm.” He stated, “Past rulings of the International Court of Justice encountered procedural barriers, which limited their ability to deliver substantive justice,” and emphasized the importance of international legal responsibility and institutional responses to ecocide, the crime of severe environmental destruction. He also called on civil society to stand in solidarity to build systems for substantive compensation and preventive protection.

“A history that is not recorded disappears”… Restoring identity and mental health

Andy Vermaut, EU Climate Pact Ambassador, emphasized the need to preserve mental health and cultural identity while explained the importance of a community-based approach. “The loss of land must not mean the loss of their identity as well. Practical support is urgently needed to record and preserve their stories in order to overcome the intergenerational ‘nuclear trauma,’” he said.

The participating experts shared the view that international cooperation and response are essential to address the combined challenge of nuclear legacy and climate crisis. In his congratulatory remarks, Hon. Hiroshi Vitus Yamamura, Member of Parliament, emphasized the urgency of international technical cooperation and legal coordination to mitigate the long-term impacts of the nuclear legacy. Lalit Bhusal, EU Climate Pact Ambassador, stressed that solidarity among civil society plays a critically important role in bringing this crisis into the global climate justice agenda.

The webinar concluded with discussions on technical, legal, and financial response measures to ensure the safety of contaminated areas. In particular, the importance of conflict prevention and the spread of a culture of peace was highlighted. Additionally it was noted that this also aligns with the need to promote a culture of peace as set forth in Article 10 of the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW). The participants acknowledged that responding to the environmental crisis and building peace are closely interconnected tasks sharing a common understanding of the need for international cooperation and sustained action for environmental protection and the institutionalization of peace.

HWPL Official Homepage

https://www.hwpl.kr/language/en/home-hwpl-_en/