Morocco Leads Call to Recognise Climate Justice as a Human Right

Nine-year-old Tony de Brum was fishing with his grandfather when the US “Bravo” nuclear test exploded 200 miles away.

“It was as if a bowl had been turned over and blood spilled across the sky – that was how red it turned,” Tony would later recount to his daughter, Doreen de Brum, now the Marshall Islands’ representative attending the recent United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) retreat in Rabat, Morocco.

The “Bravo”, detonated in 1954, was the largest of 67 nuclear tests carried out by the United States while the Marshall Islands was under UN trusteeship. The fallout devastated the islands, rendering vast areas uninhabitable. Radiation exposure has left a painful legacy of health issues, with high rates of cancer and other diseases still plaguing the population. This crisis is compounded by rising sea levels, which are submerging coastlines, contaminating freshwater sources, and threatening to release radioactive waste stored in deteriorating containment domes.

Seventy years on, the Bravo test remains a haunting reminder of the intersection between environmental degradation and human rights abuses. At the Rabat retreat, Morocco emphasized the urgency of addressing these intertwined issues, bringing together voices from vulnerable nations to advocate for climate justice as a human right.

Bridge Between Nations

Morocco’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Omar Zniber, articulated the retreat’s central message on climate rights. “Climate change has a severe human dimension,” he said in an interview. “It is destroying food security, worsening health outcomes, and forcing displacement. These are human rights issues as much as environmental ones.” 

Zniber’s comments reflect Morocco’s self-assigned role as a mediator, connecting nations most affected by climate change with the global powers that shape international policy. By hosting the UNHRC, bringing together 47 nations, Morocco positioned itself as a convener of solutions, leveraging its diplomatic clout to amplify the concerns of smaller nations. 

The Marshall Islands exemplify compounded environmental and human rights crises. Its population has declined from over 52,000 in 2010 to fewer than 37,000 today, according to UN estimates, as residents flee worsening conditions in search of better opportunities abroad.

“We are not just facing a climate crisis,” de Brum told me at the retreat. “We are fighting for survival. In the past decade, I’ve lost my father, my mother, and my daughter to cancer, as well as a close family member earlier this year. A very dear family member also passed at the age of four. We don't know quite what it was, because we didn't have diagnostics. The pain is still raw.” 

Tides flooding arable land has forced the Marshallese to rely on imported processed foods, contributing to a surge in diabetes and other noncommunicable diseases. This reliance on imports deepens economic insecurity, as families struggle to afford basic necessities. 

“Most of our cancer patients lose their lives because we don’t have diagnostic or treatment facilities at home,” said de Brum. “By the time they’re diagnosed in the U.S., it’s already stage 3 or 4.”

Parallels with Algeria

The Marshall Islands’ cause has some parallels with the Maghreb region, where leaders have long grappled with the unresolved consequences of nuclear testing in Algeria’s Sahara Desert. During the French colonial era, the region became a testing ground for nuclear weapons, leaving behind a toxic legacy of radiation-contaminated landscapes, polluted water sources, and an alarming rise in cancer cases and birth defects among local communities. Calls for accountability over the environmental and human costs have been persistent, but progress remains elusive.

France has largely refrained from offering reparations or committing to substantial cleanup operations, framing the issue as a closed chapter in history rather than an ongoing human rights concern. Former President Nicolas Sarkozy said France had moved beyond its colonial past, sidestepping direct responsibility for the enduring harm caused by nuclear testing. 

The individual horror stories of the Marshall Islands and Algeria reflect growing worldwide concern. Vulnerable nations—such as Mozambique, which suffers increasingly severe cyclones, and Bangladesh, where flooding displaces millions annually—face intersecting crises that demand international action.

Among the Marshall Islands’ urgent “needs and requests”: a comprehensive clean-up effort to remove radioactive waste from islands and lagoons; a cancer diagnostic and treatment centre to prevent late-stage diagnoses and unnecessary loss of lives; testing for radioactive contamination in fish, water and soil to protect livelihoods and food security; and improved transportation links to Micronesia, Fiji, and other Pacific islands to enable regional trade in fresh produce to reduce reliance on longer distance processed imports. 

Climate Diplomacy 

Morocco’s leadership in climate diplomacy is not new. As the host of the COP22 climate summit in Marrakech in 2016, Morocco played a pivotal role in advancing the Paris Agreement’s implementation. In parallel, the country has made significant strides in renewable energy, positioning itself as a model for sustainable development in Africa. 

The Noor Ouarzazate Solar Complex, one of the largest in the world, underscores Morocco’s commitment to reducing its carbon footprint. This aligns with the country’s economic interests, as it remains heavily reliant on imported fossil fuels. By investing in solar and wind energy, Morocco is not only addressing its own energy needs but also has ambitious plans to contribute to global decarbonisation efforts. An example of this is the Xlinks project, a pioneering initiative to export renewable energy via undersea cables from Morocco to the UK.

Beyond its focus on energy, climate, and human rights, Morocco is leveraging its growing soft power through sports, culture and diplomacy. The country is increasingly in the global spotlight, hosting high-profile events like the African Cup of Nations in 2025 and co-hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2030. This enhanced international profile bolsters Morocco’s commercial interests, driving growth in sectors like tourism and trade, and utilising its strategic location at the crossroads of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Morocco enjoys unparalleled access to global markets through Free Trade Agreements with over 50 countries, including the only FTA with the US in all of Africa, enabling companies to tap into a market of over 1.3 billion people.

Dialogue Into Action

Zniber highlighted Morocco’s pragmatism in achieving tangible results from forums like the UNHRC retreat. “Our leadership is not about hosting events for the sake of appearances,” he said. “It’s about ensuring that these discussions lead to real outcomes.”

This commitment was reflected in an agenda focused on turning dialogue into tangible action. Tabled discussions wrestled with ways to address the specific challenges facing vulnerable nations by enhancing the UNHRC’s efficiency and strengthening its relationship with the broader UN system and international agencies. “The UNHRC is committed to ensuring these voices are heard,” said Zniber. “Through resolutions and closer collaboration with technical agencies like the World Health Organization and International Atomic Energy Agency, we aim to turn these urgent demands into concrete outcomes.”

Zniber outlined several priorities for pragmatic international collaboration. Cyclone-proof infrastructure and flood management systems are urgently needed in Mozambique and Bangladesh. Investing in sustainable agriculture is critical to improve food security across vulnerable regions. 

“This is not just about passing resolutions,” Zniber said. “It’s about delivering real solutions that make a difference in people’s lives.” 

Recognising climate justice as a human right has far-reaching implications. Such a framework would obligate nations to consider the human impact of environmental policies, ensuring that vulnerable populations are not left behind. For nations like the Marshall Islands, Mozambique and Bangladesh, this recognition could unlock new funding mechanisms for adaptation and resilience measures. It could also strengthen calls for reparations, a contentious issue in climate negotiations that holds wealthier nations accountable for historical emissions.

Zniber acknowledged that achieving consensus on these issues will be challenging but argued that the stakes are too high to ignore. “This is about more than politics,” he said. “It’s about justice, dignity, and survival.” 

Amplifying Voices 

Reflecting on the significance of the Rabat retreat, de Brum praised Morocco’s leadership in amplifying the voices of vulnerable nations. “The retreat gave us a platform to share our stories and advocate for the support we desperately need,” she said. “We need the world to listen. This isn’t just about us. It’s about all small nations on the frontline of climate collapse. Together, we can demand justice.”

Phil Lynch, Executive Director of the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), echoed this sentiment. “Morocco’s role demonstrates how nations can use diplomacy to drive tangible action on climate justice,” he said. “This retreat was a critical step towards ensuring that climate change is recognized as a human rights issue.”

Lynch sees the Marshall Islands’ campaign as particularly “transformative.”

“Bringing the issue to the Human Rights Council helps reframe nuclear weapons testing as not just an issue of international peace and security, but also a fundamental human rights concern,” he says. “This initiative is also significant because it implicates the responsibilities of the United States, a member of the G5. Historically, the Human Rights Council has not been proactive in addressing human rights violations associated with powerful nations, but this is beginning to change.”

While the U.S. has acknowledged its nuclear testing legacy in the past and provided limited compensation, a comprehensive response to the ongoing health and environmental crises remains absent. The U.S. State Department pointed to ongoing dialogue with the Marshallese government to address the nuclear legacy, referencing past compensation through the Nuclear Claims Tribunal and the Compact of Free Association. It also highlighted U.S. support for technical cooperation and bilateral engagement. The department didn’t provide further immediate comment. 

With its conclusions feeding into upcoming UN forums, Zniber insisted the Rabat retreat should be viewed as an important step forward rather than an endpoint. “The tools exist to address these challenges; what’s needed is the collective will to use them,” he said. “This is not just about Morocco, it’s about the future of humanity. We must act now, together, before it’s too late.”

*Gavin Serkin is the author of Frontier: Exploring the Top Ten Emerging Markets of Tomorrow, and a Journalist and Consultant on emerging & frontier markets, with particular focus on Africa and the Middle East