Ambassador Ronanblatt .-December 20, 1978 Page 30 CS You know of the program of medical examination and treatment for the People of Rongelap and Utirik, carried on under the auspices of Doctor Robert A. Conard of Brookhaven National Laboratory. There are also two . programs of;compensation, one which was completed in ~- 1965¢and* another which'is ‘currently under way. 7 Doctor. _Conard's: work"and:these other programs have made a xeignificant: contribution: to the well being of the “People of Rongelap and the People of Utirik, but as in “°E: -the: case of Enewetak, full satisfaction of all indi- _gyidual. claimsiand. firm. commitments to meet the long . mE“term*needs of*'the:‘People have yet to be made. : «I do ‘notiby.‘any means intend to minimize what has “beendone’ in:the*past, but my principle purpose here is to highlight the legal responsibility of the United States to fully satisfy the claims, both individual and collective,..of,all,of these people and to make fixm and binding. commitments for the vital radiological programs which only the-United States has the wherewithal to provide... - In our view, these are very special kinds of responsibilities which are not properly comprehended within whatever financial obligation is undertaken by the United States for the general support of the future government of the Marshall Islands. Enewetak, The People of the People of Rongelap, the People of Utirik, ought not to have to compete with other legitimate needs of the Marshall Islands for whatever total finan- clal support is negotiated between you and the Marshall Island Political Status Commission. Likewise, we do not think the Marshall Island Political Status Commission. should be-required to, in effect, finance radio- ‘logical health and environmental programs for the people of these three atolls out of whatever limited funds are ultimately agreed upon between you and them. We think the responsibility runs directly from the United States to each of these clients and they alone have the legal capacity to settle these claims and to agree to a definition, once and for all, of the future’ responsibility of the United States with regard to radiation related personal injuries, losses of property and environmental hazards. I realize that the exact means for meeting the needs of our clients, which I have outlined here only in the most general terms, can vary considerably de- is 90098856 7 0 ow © a 7)