Countries / Kiribati / Dossier
Kiribati
A combined view of Kiribati's UN General Assembly speeches, treaty commitments, and voting record.
The narrative paragraphs below are AI-generated syntheses of the data shown — the tables and figures themselves come directly from the underlying records, not from the AI.
Compare with another country →Speech history
Kiribati's General Assembly rhetoric over 15 years reflects a nation persistently focused on climate change as an existential threat, combining urgent moral appeals with concrete national adaptation initiatives. Early speeches (2008–2015) prioritized emotional intensity and vivid, specific examples—particularly around PIPA and island conservation—while maintaining strong multilateral framing and calls for binding global commitments. From 2017 onward, the rhetoric evolved toward a more reflective, spiritually informed tone, with increasing emphasis on cultural grounding and broader justice concerns (notably nuclear justice from 2022 onward), though emotional intensity and concreteness both declined while multilateral commitment remained steady. By 2024–2025, Kiribati's rhetoric had settled into a cooperative, dignity-focused multilateralism centered on Pacific climate and ocean concerns, marking a shift from the passionate urgency of the early period to sustained, measured advocacy within international frameworks.
| Session | Multilateralism | Emotional intensity | Concreteness | Self-accountability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | High | High | High | High |
| 2009 | Very High | High | High | High |
| 2010 | High | Very High | High | Medium |
| 2011 | High | High | Medium | Low |
| 2013 | High | Very High | High | High |
| 2014 | High | Very High | High | High |
| 2015 | Very High | High | High | High |
| 2017 | High | High | High | High |
| 2018 | High | Medium | High | High |
| 2020 | Very High | Medium | Medium | High |
| 2021 | High | Low | Medium | Medium |
| 2022 | High | High | Medium | High |
| 2023 | High | Medium | Medium | Medium |
| 2024 | Very High | Medium | Medium | Medium |
| 2025 | Very High | Medium | High | Medium |
Treaty status
Full treaty record →Kiribati demonstrates exceptionally strong commitment to environmental and human rights frameworks, having ratified 21 of 24 treaties tracked, including all core environmental accords (Paris Agreement, Kyoto Protocol, Montreal Protocol, and Conventions on Biological Diversity and Desertification) and all major human rights instruments except the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The state has also ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and the Rome Statute, reflecting its engagement with international justice despite its geographic isolation and small population. The single signed-but-unratified treaty (Arms Trade Treaty) and two inert treaties (Rotterdam Convention and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) represent only marginal gaps in otherwise near-universal treaty participation, signaling a state deeply aligned with multilateral legal architecture.
Arms control & security
- Arms Trade TreatySigned, not ratified
- Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban TreatyRatified
- Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their DestructionRatified
- Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear WeaponsRatified
Environment & climate
- Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their DisposalRatified
- Convention on Biological DiversityRatified
- Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone LayerRatified
- Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate ChangeRatified
- Minamata Convention on MercuryRatified
- Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone LayerRatified
- Paris AgreementRatified
- Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International TradeNo action
- Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic PollutantsRatified
- United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in AfricaRatified
- United Nations Framework Convention on Climate ChangeRatified
Human rights
- Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or PunishmentRatified
- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against WomenRatified
- Convention on the Rights of Persons with DisabilitiesRatified
- Convention on the Rights of the ChildRatified
- International Covenant on Civil and Political RightsNo action
International justice
- Rome Statute of the International Criminal CourtRatified
Trade & governance
- United Nations Convention against CorruptionRatified
- United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized CrimeRatified
- United Nations Convention on the Law of the SeaRatified
Voting record
Full voting record →Kiribati participates selectively in General Assembly votes, with a notably high abstention and non-voting rate (1375 of 2300 votes); among 817 affirmative votes cast, the state shows strong consensus alignment typical of small island nations. However, Kiribati registers consistent and principled dissents on Palestine-related resolutions (voting no on five prominent votes between 2013 and 2019 when 93–97% of members voted yes), likely reflecting deference to partner states or strategic diplomatic positions, rather than alignment with the global majority on these contentious Middle East questions.
Notable dissents from consensus
Combating glorification of Nazism and other practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
2013-12-18 · voted N · 97% voted yes
Operations of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
2019-12-13 · voted N · 97% voted yes
Permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
2018-12-20 · voted N · 96% voted yes
Peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
2018-11-30 · voted N · 95% voted yes
Jerusalem : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
2018-11-30 · voted N · 93% voted yes
Human development
Full HDI record →Human Development Index: 0.644 (Medium), ranked #140 globally in 2023.
Combines life expectancy, education, and income into one comparable score, 0 to 1. Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025 — deterministic figures, not AI-generated.
2005–2023