A/HRC/16/12 assistance, to better safeguard local communities. As part of its own efforts, the Marshall Islands had committed to reducing its emissions – which were already on a small scale – by 40 per cent over the next decade, with international support. 21. The Marshall Islands sought to move towards urgent and immediate action. The Government actively sought to ensure that financing matched needs. Action taken over the next few years would largely determine the ability of the Marshall Islands to ensure its national survival and the enjoyment of fundamental freedoms. Without concerted action and the support of the international community, the Marshall Islands might prove to be among the first nations to experience wholesale threats to its very statehood. 22. Climate change was a real concern for the Marshallese people, insofar as it placed lives and livelihoods at risk and could lead to poverty, loss of land, loss of customs and culture, and loss of identity. Vulnerable groups, including, in particular, women, children, the elderly and persons with disabilities, were most exposed to such risks. The Marshall Islands would continue its dialogue with the international community in that regard, as it continued to be a strong supporter of the fast-start climate financing concept under the Copenhagen Accord. In that regard, the Marshall Islands called upon the international community to assist it in addressing the issue of climate change, and to focus not only on building capacity and partnerships, but also on providing assistance with specific, “shovelready” projects that would produce visible, concrete and measurable results in safeguarding communities and resources. 23. The other challenge related to the lingering effects of the Nuclear Testing Programme. Two United Nations Trusteeship resolutions, adopted in 1954 and 1956, had responded to Marshallese petitions to halt testing, with a variety of specific assurances. People continued to develop radiogenic cancers, and a 2004 report by the Nuclear Cancer Institute had indicated that hundreds of additional cancer cases were anticipated. The Marshall Islands faced severe challenges in providing health care to these people in addition to providing primary and secondary health care. Moreover, most of the people of the Bikini, Enewetak, Rongelap and Utrik atolls continued to be displaced from their islands, and some would never see their islands, as they had been vaporized during the nuclear testing. Although the Marshall Islands was appreciative of the United States’ efforts to address these issues, more needed to be done. The Marshall Islands thus called upon the United States, as well as the international community and specialized agencies, to help overcome the challenges related to the legacy of the Nuclear Testing Programme. The Marshall Islands would continue to work with the United States Congress, which was currently reviewing a bill that would address some of these concerns, and further pursue its dialogue with the international community and specialized agencies. A United Nations resolution on the effects of atomic radiation, which was pending in the General Assembly, called on the Secretary-General to report on these effects in the Marshall Islands. 24. The Marshall Islands noted that there were constraints hindering it in fulfilling its human rights obligations, particularly with respect to those under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. In addition to the above-mentioned challenges, limited financial and technical resources, remoteness and the unique geography of its islands were some of the obstacles preventing better traction in advancing the human rights situation on the ground. In the light of that situation, the Marshall Islands had requested the international community to provide technical and financial assistance to: (a) support capacity-building of public servants and elected officials with respect to the implementation of human rights in the Marshall Islands; (b) improve public-awareness programmes of both the Government and non-governmental organizations with respect to human rights; and (c) address climate change, educational and health issues. 6