Countries / Marshall Islands / Dossier
Marshall Islands
A combined view of Marshall Islands'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
The Marshall Islands has consistently delivered emotionally resonant, historically grounded speeches centered on its nuclear and climate vulnerabilities, with sustained appeals to multilateral institutions and international partners. Over the 20-year span, the country has balanced passionate personal testimony about its nuclear legacy and climate survival with varying degrees of concrete policy commitments and self-accountability; emotional intensity has remained consistently high (74–88), while self-directed commitments have fluctuated more markedly (38–71). The speeches show a notable tension between strong calls for multilateral action and more modest self-binding pledges, though recent years (2018, 2024–2025) have seen increased concreteness in treaty and policy references alongside sustained multilateral framing.
| Session | Multilateralism | Emotional intensity | Concreteness | Self-accountability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | High | Medium | High | Low |
| 2007 | High | High | High | Medium |
| 2008 | High | High | Medium | Low |
| 2009 | Very High | Very High | High | Medium |
| 2011 | High | High | High | High |
| 2012 | High | High | High | High |
| 2014 | High | Very High | High | Medium |
| 2016 | High | High | High | High |
| 2017 | Very High | Very High | High | Medium |
| 2018 | High | High | High | High |
| 2019 | High | Very High | Medium | Medium |
| 2022 | High | High | High | Medium |
| 2023 | High | High | High | Medium |
| 2024 | High | High | High | Medium |
| 2025 | High | High | High | Medium |
Treaty status
Full treaty record →The Marshall Islands demonstrates exceptionally strong commitment to environmental and human rights frameworks, having ratified 22 of 24 tracked treaties. Its ratifications span the full environmental suite—from the Paris Agreement and Kyoto Protocol to mercury and persistent organic pollutant conventions—and comprehensive human rights instruments including the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Rome Statute. The country has notably declined to ratify the Arms Trade Treaty and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, a choice that appears strategic given its geopolitical dependencies and historical exposure to nuclear weapons testing rather than pacifist opposition.
Arms control & security
- Arms Trade TreatyNo action
- 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 WeaponsNo action
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 TradeRatified
- 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 RightsRatified
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 →The Marshall Islands votes affirmatively on the majority of General Assembly resolutions (48% yes, 23% no, 17% abstain), broadly tracking consensus positions on most issues. However, the country has registered rare but significant dissents on child rights and development resolutions between 2001 and 2005—voting no on matters including children's rights (2002, 2004), health rights (2003), development rights (2005), and Palestinian refugee assistance (2001)—each at odds with overwhelming global support (99% yes), suggesting selective opposition grounded in specific diplomatic or principled reservations rather than systemic opposition.
Notable dissents from consensus
Rights of the child : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
2002-12-18 · voted N · 99% voted yes
The right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
2003-12-22 · voted N · 99% voted yes
The right to development : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
2005-12-16 · voted N · 99% voted yes
Rights of the child : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
2004-12-23 · voted N · 99% voted yes
Assistance to Palestine refugees : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
2001-12-10 · voted N · 99% voted yes
Human development
Full HDI record →Human Development Index: 0.733 (High), ranked #108 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.
2011–2023