access to the island by sea is extremely hazardous and high surf conditions restrict fishing efforts. has stagnated the local economy. Kili'’s isolation The people are not self- sufficient, but are dependent on imported food. Moreover, housing conditions on Kili remain temporary and the island lacks suitable medical facilities or personnel. Yet the majority of the Bikinians continue to reside there because they have nowhere else to go. Hopefully, a planned 3,000-foot coral airstrip on Kili will make the island more accessible and alleviate at least some of the adverse conditions that exist today. The lawsuit the Bikinians have filed is born both of frustation and sadness. The Bikinians are frustrated because they cannot return to their homeland and are compelled to live in conditions they find unacceptable, even hostile. The people are saddened because they are forced to sue a country with which they have a special relationship. came under U.S. They care in 1946 when they were forced to leave their homeland and their relationship with the United States is thus long-standing. Yet they feel that this nation has not met the obligations it assumed in the 1940's that are memorialized in the Trusteeship Agreement. The question before this Council is what action it and the United Nations should take regarding the claims made