Palau
A combined view of Palau'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
Palau's UN General Assembly rhetoric has consistently centered on climate change, ocean governance, and multilateral cooperation—themes that have intensified over the 15-year span. While concreteness and emotional intensity have remained elevated and relatively stable (with spikes toward 2022–2025), there has been a notable recent shift: self-accountability scores declined sharply after 2019, dropping from a high of 81 to just 38 by 2023 and 2025, suggesting a rhetorical pivot from detailing Palau's own commitments to emphasizing the obligations and failures of larger powers and international bodies. Multilateralism has remained a constant hallmark (ranging 74–88), and the most recent speeches have paired vivid, urgent language—particularly on climate justice and ocean equity—with pointed calls for action from others, rather than comprehensive domestic action plans.
| Session | Multilateralism | Emotional intensity | Concreteness | Self-accountability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | High | Medium | High | High |
| 2007 | High | Medium | High | High |
| 2008 | High | High | High | Medium |
| 2010 | High | High | High | Medium |
| 2011 | Very High | High | High | High |
| 2013 | High | High | Very High | High |
| 2017 | Very High | Medium | High | High |
| 2018 | High | High | High | High |
| 2019 | High | Medium | Very High | Very High |
| 2020 | Very High | High | High | High |
| 2021 | High | High | High | Medium |
| 2022 | High | Very High | High | High |
| 2023 | High | Very High | High | Low |
| 2024 | High | Medium | High | High |
| 2025 | Very High | Very High | High | Low |
Treaty status
Full treaty record →Palau has demonstrated exceptionally strong commitment to environmental and arms-control treaties, ratifying 19 of 24 tracked instruments with particular emphasis on climate (Paris Agreement, Kyoto Protocol, UNFCCC), ozone protection (Montreal Protocol, Kigali Amendment), hazardous materials management (Basel, Stockholm, Minamata conventions), and nuclear disarmament (CTBT, Nuclear Weapons Ban). By contrast, human rights treaty engagement is mixed: while it has ratified the Rights of the Child and Persons with Disabilities conventions, it has signed but not ratified the three core civil-rights instruments (CEDAW, CAT, ICCPR), and it has taken no action on the Rome Statute for international criminal justice. This pattern reflects a prioritization of environmental and security issues over transnational accountability mechanisms.
Arms control & security
- Arms Trade TreatyRatified
- 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 PunishmentSigned, not ratified
- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against WomenSigned, not ratified
- Convention on the Rights of Persons with DisabilitiesRatified
- Convention on the Rights of the ChildRatified
- International Covenant on Civil and Political RightsSigned, not ratified
International justice
- Rome Statute of the International Criminal CourtNo action
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 →Palau has voted affirmatively on the majority of General Assembly resolutions (900 yes votes out of 2635 recorded), but notably dissented from strong consensus on a cluster of 2004 resolutions concerning disarmament, nuclear testing, and environmental norms in arms control—voting no when 99% of other states voted yes. These outlier votes on arms-control and development matters stand in contrast to Palau's own ratification record on nuclear-related treaties, suggesting either a specific diplomatic or procedural concern with those particular 2004 resolutions rather than opposition to disarmament principles broadly. The high abstention and non-voting rates (309 and 867 respectively) indicate selective or cautious engagement on contentious matters.
Notable dissents from consensus
Relationship between disarmament and development : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
2004-12-03 · voted N · 99% voted yes
The Conference on Disarmament decision (CD/1547) of 11 August 1998 to establish, under item 1 of its agenda entitled "Cessation of the nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament", an ad hoc committee to negotiate, on the basis of the report of the Special Coordinator (CD/1299) and the mandate contained therein, a non-discriminatory, multilateral and internationally and effectively verifiable treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
2004-12-03 · voted N · 99% voted yes
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
2004-12-03 · voted N · 99% voted yes
Observance of environmental norms in the drafting and implementation of agreements on disarmament and arms control : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
2004-12-03 · voted N · 99% voted yes
International trade and development : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
2004-12-22 · voted N · 99% voted yes
Human development
Full HDI record →Human Development Index: 0.786 (High), ranked #84 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.
2000–2023