Russia has rejected a World Health Organization (WHO) initiative to update its assessment of the health effects of nuclear weapons use, breaking ranks with nations still grappling with the devastating legacy of Cold War-era nuclear tests. This opposition comes as Russia has threatened to resume nuclear testing amid its ongoing war in Ukraine.
In regions known as “sacrifice zones”, where thousands of nuclear tests have poisoned the soil and ravaged communities, residents continue to suffer elevated cancer rates and birth defects decades after the last Soviet-era detonations.
“The Russian delegation is not in favour of discussing this topic,” Russia’s representative told the WHO Executive Board on Saturday, arguing that “the negative impact of nuclear explosions on humans and the environment is already well-documented.”
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The proposed WHO initiative, which must be approved by the Executive Board before being presented to the World Health Assembly in May, aims to update WHO’s guidance on the “Health Effects of Nuclear Weapons and Nuclear War on Health and Health Services,” last revised in 1993.
The proposal is co-sponsored by the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and three other Pacific island states, as well as Iraq and Kazakhstan—regions where the fallout from past nuclear testing continues to have severe health consequences, whether from Soviet or U.S. detonations.
“Nuclear weapons do not discriminate and have catastrophic consequences on health and the environment,” said Samoa’s delegate. “In the interest of health and humanity, we must ensure that the dangers of nuclear weapons and nuclear war are fully understood.”
