By Elena Kerr and Charlie Franklin-White
This event was hosted by ICAN France and included the facilitator Lena Mentzinger, and the speakers Guy Benarroche (French senator), Dr Marcos A. Orellana (UN Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights), and Jean-Marie Collin (ICAN France director). This event discussed the 17 French nuclear explosions that happened between 1960 to 1996, and how after Algerian independence in 1962, there was still 11 more tests by France on their lands. The archives are not yet accessible and there is secrecy surrounding what France has done. They discussed how victims of French nuclear tests are treated differently between Polynesia and Algeria as Polynesia is still a French colony and therefore represented at the French senate. Not only has the French government made the shocking decision not to inform the Algerian people where the radioactive waste is buried, the exposure to these toxins is restricting human rights. Orellana noted that you have a right to a clean, healthy, and a sustainable environment and that you must have access to the information necessary to make an informed decision. Without the location of the radioactive waste, the Algerian community cannot make that decision. Jean-Marie discussed how an apology could start the process of and go a long way towards healing.
The gendered impacts with reproductive health were also mentioned and how the nuclear explosions do not align with the right to live in a non-toxic environment. The compensation funds are complex, and the process of being recognised as a victim is a difficult process as one must prove a presence at the relevant area between 1960 and 1998, which does not consider intergenerational damage. Additionally, the recognised diseases are a list of 22 diseased from the French government which does not include malformations and therefore these people are not recognised as victims. These strict criteria, along with the challenging practicalities of filing for compensation: the requirement for forms to be filled out in French (rather than the native Arabic), and the internet needed for submission, make recognition almost impossible. The French and Algerian governments also do not seem keen to disseminate the information on compensation meaning large proportions of the population are uninformed. All of these factors mean that only a disgraceful 2 out of the 1026 victims recognised by France are Algerian. The disparity between the affected communities in Polynesia and Algeria does not stop there. The Polynesian archives which have been revealed included 35 000 documents in boxes, there is a lack of accessibility of the archives. The Algerian archives are yet to be revealed, which also is dependent on the way in which they are made accessible for the public and the affected communities. There was also a discussion on how children must be aware of and learn about what has happened on their land with the power of education and youth.
To sum up how I felt during this event, I would say shocked. I was shocked by the callousness of the French government, the active and continuous secrecy related to nuclear waste – which to this day will almost certainly be having health impacts. I was shocked by the impractical and almost malicious way the Polynesian testing records were released. I was shocked that France and Algeria are not working constructively with the UN and have not responded to the allegation letters from the Special Rapporteur. But most, I was shocked by how little positive progress has been made for the Algerian survivors, and how much we owe them to this day.
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