Activity Island Marshall

The Republic of the Marshall Islands is a sovereign nation in "free association" with the United States. After more than a decade of negotiation, the Marshall Islands and the United States signed the Compact of Free Association on June 25, 1983. The people of the Marshall Islands approved the compact in a UN-observed plebiscite on September 7, 1983. The U.S. Congress subsequently approved the compact, adding several amendments which were accepted by the Government of the Marshall Islands and the compact entered into force on October 21, 1986. In 1999-2003, the two nations negotiated an amended Compact that entered into force on May 1, 2004. Under the amended Compact, the U.S. will provide the RMI $57 million over the next ten years and $62 million over the following 10 years, and will give Marshallese access to U.S. programs and services throughout. A Joint Economic Management and Financial Accountability Committee (JEMFAC) comprised of representatives of both governments will ensure t ... [Read More]

Report Evaluating the Request of the Government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands Presented to the Congress of the United States of America

Exposure: The facts regarding radioactive fallout do not support a request under the "changed circumstances" provision of the section 177 settlement agreement. In its request, the RMI asserts that a far wider area of the Marshall Islands than the northerly atolls and islands that are the focus of the section 177 settlement agreement was exposed to dangerous levels of radioactivity. The weight of expert scientific evidence indicates that the present impact of radioactive fallout on the Marshall Islands is limited to the more northerly atolls and islands. Although some islands may never be suitable for communities or food gathering and should remain off limits, most historically inhabited islands in the northern atolls could be resettled under specific conditions. The section 177 settlement agreement recognized that, within the northern atolls, some islands would be more habitable than others. In the section 177 settlement agreement, the Government of the Marshall Islan ... [Read More]

Background Notes Archive - East Asia and the Pacific

U.S. Department of StateBackground Notes: Marshall Islands, May 1996Bureau of East Asian and Pacific AffairsPrepared and released by the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Office of Pacific Island AffairsMay 1996Official Name: Republic of the Marshall IslandsPROFILEGeographyArea: 181 sq. km. (approximately 70 sq. mi.) of islands scattered over 500,000 sq. mi. of the Western Pacific; slightly larger than Washington, DC.Cities: Capital--Majuro (pop. 225000). Other cities--Ebeye, Jaluit.Terrain: 29 low-lying coral atolls and islands.Climate: Tropical with a wet season from May to November.PeopleNationality: Noun and adjective--Marshallese.Population (1996 est.): 56,000.Annual growth rate: 4%.Ethnic groups: 90% Marshallese, 10% U.S., Filipino, Chinese, New Zealander, and Korean.Religions: Christian, mostly Protestant.Languages: English; two major Marshallese dialects from Malayo-Polynesian family; Japanese.Education: Literacy (1995)--60%.Health: Infant mortality rate-- ... [Read More]

US Department Of State Post Report

The total population of the Marshall Islands as of the 1999 census was 50,840 people.  That was an increase of 7,460 people since the 1988 census. Majuro and Ebeye are the two urban population centers. Over 50% of Marshallese live on Majuro Atoll. Out of the total population, 19% live in the island of Ebeye in Kwajalein Atoll and 3% on the outer islands of Kwajalein Atoll. With just 0.14 square miles, Ebeye Island is the most densely populated area in the Marshall Islands, with an equivalent population density of 66,750 persons per square mile. The city of Majuro and Ebeye offer amenities, such as electricity, modern Western lifestyles, and employment opportunities (albeit limited) that continually draw younger Marshallese from the outer islands. On the outer atolls the lifestyle is mostly unchanged and untouched by modern development. ... [Read More]

Department of State Washington File: Text: GAO Calls for Accountability over Funds to Island Nations

I am pleased to be here today to provide information you requested regarding economic assistance provided by the United States from 1987 through 1998, under the Compact of Free Association, to the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. In 1986, the U.S. government entered into an international agreement, the Compact of Free Association, with each nation. This Compact represents a continuation of U.S. financial support that had been supplied to these areas for almost 40 years after World War II under the United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Specifically, my testimony will address (1) the use of Compact funding by the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands, (2) the progress made by both nations in advancing economic self-sufficiency, (3) the role of Compact funds in supporting economic progress, and (4) the amount of accountability over Compact expenditures. My statement will be accompanied by photog ... [Read More]

Department of State Washington File: Text: State's Daley Stresses Mutual Interests of U.S., Pacific Island Nations

The Pacific island nations include the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Fiji Islands, the Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Nauru, the Republic of Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Independent State of Samoa, the Solomon Islands, the Kingdom of Tonga, Tuvalu, and the Republic of Vanuatu. ...

I am pleased and honored to be here tonight to deliver the Peter Tali Coleman Lecture. Beyond being a four-time governor of his native American Samoa, Peter Coleman also served as administrator of the Marshall and Mariana Islands, and Deputy High Commissioner of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. His decades of service to both the United States and the peoples of the Pacific islands should be a model for us all. ... [Read More]

US Department Of State Post Report

The outside world had little contact with the islands until the mid-19th century, when American whalers and missionaries entered the region. Spain claimed the Caroline and Mariana Islands in 1885 and retained them until 1899, when Germany purchased most of the island chains in the aftermath of the Spanish-American War. Germany, in turn, lost its possession to Japan in 1914 at the beginning of World War I. The League of Nations formally extended a mandate to Japan in 1920, thus confirming the Japanese era of colonization. Intensive crop production began, and the islands became exporters of many agricultural products. In 1945, after World War II, control passed to the U.S. Navy and then to the Department of Interior under a Trusteeship under U.N. auspices which began in 1947. The FSM, together with the Marshall Islands, Palau, and Northern Mariana Islands, made up the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. The FSM came into existence in 1979, and on November 3, 1986, the FSM and the Uni ... [Read More]

Background Notes Archive - East Asia and the Pacific

U.S. Department of StateBackground Notes: Micronesia, June 1996Bureau of East Asian and Pacific AffairsPrepared and released by the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Office of Pacific Island AffairsJune 1996Official Name: Federated States of Micronesia (FSM)PROFILEPeopleNationality: Noun and adjective: Micronesian(s).Population: 105,900 (1994 est.).Annual growth rate: 3.35% (1995 est.).Ethnic groups: Nine ethnic Micronesian and Polynesian groups.Religions: Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 47%.Languages: English (official and common language), Chuukese, Pohnpeian, Yapese, Kosraean.Education: Literacy--89% (1980 est.).Health: Infant mortality rate--37 deaths/1000 live births (1995 est.). Life expectancy--men 66 yrs., women 70 yrs. (1995 est.).GeographyArea: 702 sq. km. (approximately 270 sq. mi.) in four major island groups totaling 607 islands.Cities: FSM Capital--Palikir (Pohnpei).Other cities: Moen (Chuuk), Colonia (Yap), Lelu (Kosrae).Terrain: Island ... [Read More]

Department of State Washington File: Text: U.S. Committed to Helping Developing Pacific Island Nations

The United States is also working closely with Pacific Island Nations, as we are with many other developing nations, on the climate change issue. For example, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) assists the overall Global Climate Observation System (GCOS) effort in the Pacific Islands with training and infrastructure support, capacity-building among meteorologists in the region to improve predictions and related climate change risk management and adaptation strategic planning. In addition, the U.S. will be collaborating under the Climate Action Partnership, a new arrangement with Australia, to cooperate with developing countries in the Pacific Island region to build their capacity to address climate change. Initial projects under this activity will establish and maintain robust climate monitoring and data management systems in the Pacific, and will assist Pacific Island countries in accessing and applying climate and oceanographic information more effectively ... [Read More]