Human Rights in Vanuatu

In 1980, Vanuatu became a member of the United Nations ^[2] , this happened immediately after independence. Vanuatu has ratified five of the nine core human rights treaties, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women , the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities , the Convention on the Rights of the Child , the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention against Torture . Vanuatu has ratified a number of conventions of the International Labor Organization , which are aimed at protecting and respecting the rights of workers ^[3] . Vanuatu has also ratified some additional protocols (including on the rights of the child)

There are a number of issues related to women's rights. Domestic violence is known, despite the lack of current statistical information. According to statistics, the attack - the main form of physical violence in the period from 1988 to 2002. According to prosecutors, in 2002, men were responsible for 62% of unlawful attacks on women ^[4] . The Vanuatu Women's Center, since its establishment in 1992 in Port Vila, has encountered 2,954 cases of domestic violence ^[4] . Information about violence does not always reach the police, especially in rural areas. This is due to cultural norms, stereotypes, prejudices and lack of access to urban centers and medical institutions ^[4] .

By law, women have equal rights with men, but the traditional culture of Vanuatu sometimes contradicts this. The bride is often redeemed , during which the groom or his family give money to the bride's family in exchange for her hand in marriage. Despite the abolition of the minimum price of 800,000 Vatu, the practice is still widespread and in fact sets prices for women, thus justifying violence against them ^[5] .

Women are also discriminated against land ownership. Although land ownership is not prohibited by law, tradition forbids women from owning land ^[6] . In 2009, it was reported that women signed 28% of the total number of lease agreements in Vanuatu ^[7] .

In 2009, recommendations were formulated in Vanuatu as part of the review of the Human Rights Council. The recommendations were for Vanuatu to continue to strive to implement the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women , as well as other human rights conventions. The leadership of Vanuatu needs to take further action to combat discrimination and to ensure gender equality ^[8] .

Domestic Violence

Vanuatu has advanced in protecting the rights of women through the adoption of the Law on the Protection of the Family in 2008. The purpose of the law is to “ensure the punishment of the abuser and protect the family” ^[9] . According to the law, violators face five years in prison and / or a fine of up to 100,000 Vatu . ^[6] . The government has created a family protection unit, whose purpose is to solve family problems ^[6] . The police have very extensive opportunities to open a case of violence ^[6] .

There were issues related to the maintenance of prisoners in Port Vila and Luganville ^[6] . The number of prisons increased, as a result of overcrowding and a low level of security, this led to a number of shoots ^[6] . In 2006, the government released 52 prisoners, and only because prison conditions did not meet the required conditions ^[6] .

In December 2008, a detailed report on human rights violations by correctional and police officers was published ^[10] . The report covers a wide range of issues such as “unlawful arrest and illegal detention, the right to life, personal integrity, freedom, poor living conditions, poor sanitation, denial of medical care, unlawful use of punishments, refusal to provide an opportunity to visit relatives” ^[10] . After the report of the Ministry of Justice and Social Security, she appointed a commission to investigate the allegations contained in the report ^[10] .

In 2009, these recommendations were adopted in Vanuatu. The leadership of the country decided to take measures and continue work to improve conditions in prisons and detention centers. Also agreed with the recommendation to support further training of police officers in the field of human rights. Regular and independent monitoring of places of detention is encouraged. The country's leadership needs to make sure that prisoners can complain about rights violations ^[11] . Adopted recommendations related to the investigation of complaints of human rights violations ^[12] .

There are problems with corruption. The ombudsman’s offices and the general auditor are key government agencies responsible for fighting government corruption. The main causes of corruption in Vanuatu are two types of causes. The first type is for economic reasons; an official can use state assets allocated to him for personal gain ^[13] . The second type is political reasons, the minister can use his power to appoint people from his party to a specific post ^[13] .

The Vanuatu government has introduced mechanisms to tackle corruption issues. The 1998 code ^[14] prohibits the use of public funds for personal purposes and the bribing of officials ^[13] . According to the code, persons are also prohibited from occupying any public office if this prevents them from fulfilling their duties ^[13] . The Code also defines the role of the Ombudsman. His goal - the prosecution of leaders who have been convicted of violating the code ^[13] .

Since the inception of the post, the ombudsman has prepared a series of reports that criticized government agencies and officials. There are concerns about the fact that according to the results of some reports no criminal cases were initiated ^[13] . This is mainly due to the law and the rules of conduct relating to evidence. A case is not initiated if the evidence of the Ombudsman was not sufficiently convincing ^[13] . This reduced the power of ombudsmen. There are very few cases when a prosecutor accuses an official after the ombudsman’s report and proves guilt ^[13] . There is no law about what kind of information the court provides to the press, so often news media are unhappy with the responses from the government ^[13] .

In 2009, the recommendations made by the authors of the review were adopted in Vanuatu. It was recommended to continue strengthening the role of the ombudsman, including giving him the opportunity to monitor the results of the investigation and allocate more funds to ensure more active prosecution of people who allegedly participated in acts of corruption ^[15] .

There are several significant problems in the field of education. Although the government emphasizes the importance of the rights and well-being of children and in 2010 pursued a policy of free and universal education, attendance at school is not compulsory ^[16] . Primary school attendance is the same for boys and girls, but in high school there are more boys than girls. A rather large part of the population is illiterate ^[17] .

There are also concerns about people with disabilities. They find it hard to get an education ^[18] .

In 2009, following a review, the delegation recommended that Vanuatu promote awareness of the importance of parenting. Vanuatu agreed with this recommendation. However, the state does not agree that parents who could not send their children to school should be punished ^[19] .