Palau has become the first Pacific island country to ratify a landmark international treaty banning nuclear weapons.
Palau's president delivers his inauguration message at the Capitol Building in Melekeok State on Thursday 19 January 2017 Photo: Office of the President of Palau - Facebook
The United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was adopted at the UN last July when almost two thirds of states, including several Pacific countries, voted in favour of it.
Fifty-eight countries have now formally signed the treaty and, with the addition of Palau on 3 May, eight of them have taken the final step of ratification.
The treaty outlaws nuclear weapons, establishes a pathway to their elimination and comes into force once 50 nations have ratified it.
Samoa, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Fiji and Kiribati are signatories but have yet to ratify the treaty.
The Marshall Islands, Tonga, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea voted in favour of the treaty at the UN but are yet to sign.
The Federated States of Micronesia was the only Pacific island state to vote against the 2016 UN General Assembly resolution to establish the negotiations for the treaty.
It cited its military relationship with the United States.