In its Guidelines “Shaping Feminist Foreign Policy” launched in March 2023, the German Federal Foreign Office committed to support efforts recognising and compensating victims of nuclear testing. With these guidelines, Germany joined an ever-growing circle of governments who are committed to centre feminist perspective within foreign and security policy. As described within the guidelines, the concept of Feminist Foreign Policy strives for (nuclear) disarmament, and by shifting the focus from state security to the security of the most marginalised communities and individuals, calls for the focus on the humanitarian and ecological consequences of nuclear weapons. There are, however, no internationally codified victim assistance and environmental remediation guidelines for survivors of nuclear testing yet.
Addressing this legal gap through an approach grounded in human rights and informed by nuclear testing survivors in line with humanitarian and feminist principles, our project supports victims of nuclear testing to be recognised and compensated, while at the same time strengthening the concept of Feminist Foreign Policy and international arms control.
CFFP, financially supported by the German Federal Foreign Office, and in close cooperation with second- and third-generation survivors of nuclear testing, is working towards developing policy recommendations, including practical guidelines, for states not party to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). Thereby, we are building on the successes of developing guidelines for survivors of cluster munitions and landmines in line with the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) – all of which Germany is a State Party to.
By drawing attention to the humanitarian and ecological consequences of nuclear testing, our project aims to amplify the rights of victims and survivors of nuclear testing to recognition and compensation, and strengthen critical feminist and human-rights-based approaches in the peace and security field.