W omen and the Law in the Pacific Sum , Fiji Report of a Regional Seminar International Commission of Jurists (icneva, Switzerland Suva, Fiji Report of a Regional Seminar Organized by the International Commudion of JurUU in Collaboration with the Fiji Womens Rights Movement ( Suva) 25 -29April 1994 Suva, Fiji International Commission of Jurists Geneva, Switzerland International Commission of Jurists (ICJ); Cataloguing in Publication Data Title: Wbmen and the Law in the Pacific Corporate Author: International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) Place of Publication:. Geneva - Publisher: International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) Address: P.O. Box 160, 26 ch. de Joinville, 1216 Cointrin, Geneva, Switzerland Telecommunications: Tel: (41 22) 788 47 47; fax: (41 22) 788 48 80; em l:-^" [email protected]; tlx: 418 531 IC J CH Date of Publication: 19951000 Pages: 239p.:ill. ISBN: 92 9037 092.0 Language: ENG Index: Women / Law / Legal protection / Human rights / Violence against women / Development / Economic Conditions / Economic deprivation / Economic, social and cultural rights / Education, Equal opportunities; Family / Gender discrimination / Labour / Land tenure / Marriage; Social welfare. Geographical Terms: OCEANIA Geographical Codes: 9000 Free Text: A report published by the ICJ. It describes the living conditions of women in the States and territories of the Pacific and makes proposals for the legal promotion and protection of their rights and the advancement of their status. © Copyright, International Commission of Jurists, 1995 ISBN 92 9037 092.0 Table of Content** Preface ........................................................................................................................ 7 The Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development.................. 9 Proposal for a Continuing Education Certificate on W om en and the L aw an d R ights E ducation ........................................... 21 United Nations Mechanisms on Women’s Rights ...................................... 27 U nited N ations C entre for H um an R ights .................................................... 47 The IL O and W om en W o rk ers’ R ights .......................................................... 59 Linking W om en’s R ights to U N E S C O ’s W o rk ........................................... 67 Country Reports C ook Islands ............................................................................................................. 81 Fiji ................................................................................................................................ 93 K iribati ........................................................................................................................ I l l M arshall Islands ...................................................................................................... 123 The F ederated States of M icronesia ................................................................ 129 N au ru .......................................................................................................................... 137 N ew C aledonia ......................................................................................................... 145 N iue ............................................................................................................................. 155 P ap u a N ew G uinea ................................................................................................ 161 Solom on Islands ...................................................................................................... 175 T ahiti ........................................................................................................................... 181 Tonga .......................................................................................................................... 191 Tuvalu ......................................................................................................................... 199 V anuatu ...................................................................................................................... 209 W estern Sam oa ....................................................................................................... 219 Conclusions and Recommendations of the Regional Seminar on W om en and th e L aw in the Pacific ............................................................. 227 List of P articipants ................................................................................................. 231 Preface The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement (FWRM) jointly organized a seminar on «Women and the Law in the Pacific® between 25-29 April 1994 in Fiji. The objective of the seminar was to examine a plethora of relevant laws and issues affecting Women in the Pacific Island States. The efforts undertaken in different countries of the vast Pacific region in providing legal literacy and developing legal aid and paralegal training programmes were discussed at length. Lively debates also focused on United Nations Conventions and fora in the domain of womens rights, as well as the work of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Another topic was the coordination of activities among womens organizations at the national, regional, and international levels. This publication contains the papers presented by both participants and the resource persons, including lawyers or representatives of women’s NGOs, on the situation of women’s rights in their respective countries. It also contains the Conclusions and Recommendations which are to serve as the basis for future action. At the national level, it was agreed to: identify and establish «national focal points» on which to report on a regular basis; coordinate with all relevant national human rights networks to bolster exchange of information; develop strategies to eliminate violence against women; enhance education and training concerning women’s rights and coordinate legal literacy activities; organize systematic and consistent paralegal training programmes; train law enforcement officers on women’s rights issues; hold legal service programmes; and undertake research on Women’s issues. It was also deemed necessary to lobby all regional governments to ratify the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Women and the Law in the Pacific 7 At regional/international levels, the participantsinter alia emphasized that information and documentation constitute the backbone of NGO action. They said that these «powerful tools» were necessary to «efficiently carry out their work.» Efficient and more rapid access to information from regional and international organizations was considered vital. Some 40 participants representing 15 States and territories participated in the discussions: Cook Islands, Federated States of( Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Western Samoa. The IC J wishes to express its gratitude to the European Union whose financial contributions enabled us to undertake the seminar and publish this report. Adama Dieng Secretary-General of the IC J 8 International Commission of Jurists TheAdia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development M<t. Salbiah Ahmad, Programme Adttociate, Adia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (A PW LD ) Women and the Development Decade The APWLD was a seed that grew out of grievances of the development decade of the 1960s and its impact on women in the Third World. Development brought with it a deterioration in the situation of women. Research shows that women’s access to economic resources, income and employment has worsened, their burden of work has increased and their relative and even absolute health, nutritional and educational status has declined. Where they are principal producers and workers, their services are undervalued and wages low. In the agricultural and industrial sectors, they are not decision-makers; they have no control over working conditions. Besides this «integration in development* work, women are traditionally home managers (collecting fuel and water, meeting the basic needs of food and looking after the health of the family) and carers (welfare of parents and children). Women have not been beneficiaries in the development process. They are marginalized due to unequal access to employment, credit technology, education and training. Working with Law Our dialogue with women in the region on law and legal strategies showed that: Women and the Law in the Pacific 9 • the language of the law tends to be discriminatory, limiting the rights of women; • the application of the laws tends to be prejudicial to women; • women are unaware of their own rights or the meaning of the law in practice; • women have no access to the process of law for economic reasons; • women lack the confidence to take action; • women do not trust the law, its institutions and lawyers; • there are insufficient lawyers, or insufficient lawyers who w ork on a legal aid basis; and • there is frustration and disillusionment with working with the law. Yet women continue to use law, continue to be involved in legal processes and strategies of some kind in the hope that it will bring change. W hy L aw ? Has more law and more reform in the law brought the desired change? Does equality before the law mean that women can