28 Apr 2014

Marshall Islands commended for challenging nuclear powers

4:30 am on 28 April 2014

A group for nuclear disarmament is commending the Marshall Islands for standing up to the world's nuclear powers.

The Marshall Islands government has filed a law suit against the United States and the eight other nuclear-armed countries for failing their obligations under the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The President of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, David Krieger, says those countries haven't held up their end of the treaty to dismantle their nuclear arsenal.

"They are modernising and they are spending outrageous sums of money on it. The Marshall Islands, I think, is taking a really courageous stand, to stand up to the nuclear weapons states and say 'enough is enough' "

David Krieger says the US doesn't accept the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice but the Marshall Islands has also filed a federal suit against the US in San Francisco.