Freedom in the World 2001 - Vanuatu

2001 Scores

Status: Free
Freedom Rating: 2.0
Civil Liberties: 3
Political Rights: 1

Overview

Vanuatu celebrated 20 years of independence in June 2000. Public sector reforms and economic and governance reforms, which started in mid-1990s are continuing, but citizen groups complained that the gap between rich and poor is worsening. Ethnic violence in the Solomon Islands prompted the government of Prime Minister Barak Tame Sope to stress priority in addressing gaps in distributing government services.

Located in the southwestern Pacific, this predominantly Melanesian archipelago, formerly the New Hebrides, was an Anglo-French condominium until it became independent in 1980. The condominium agreement divided the islands into English- and French-speaking communities, creating rifts that continue today. In 1999, Prime Minister Donald Kalpokas called on all government ministries to use both English and French, the country's two official languages, in their work.

Politics in the islands is also divided between the English- and French-speaking communities, and factional rivalries contributed to frequent changes of government. The first postindependence government, led by Prime Minister Father Walter Lini's anglophone Vanua'aku Pati (VP) party, largely excluded francophones from key posts. In 1991, a divided VP ousted Lini, who left to form the National United Party (NUP). This split the anglophone vote and allowed the francophone Union of Moderate Parties (UMP) to win a plurality in the December 1991 elections and form a government under Maxime Carlot. Several coalition governments, which lasted from several months to two years, followed. In the past five years, the country has had eight changes of government. In November 1999, Barak Tame Sope of the Melanesian Progressive Party was chosen prime minister after winning 28 votes in the 52-seat parliament. The new government promised to reduce the power of department heads, to review the recruitment of foreign advisers, and to reconsider the value-added tax.

The government introduced the Comprehensive Reform Program after the exposure of alleged corruption and abuses by senior government officials, including reports that several high-ranking politicians were involved in selling passports to foreign nationals. A report by ombudsman Patterson in January 1998 found that the Vanuatu National Provident Fund, a national retirement scheme for workers, had improperly given loans to leading politicians. The disclosure sparked immediate public protests in the capital and attempts by investors to withdraw their savings escalated into widespread rioting and looting. A four-week nationwide state of emergency was declared, during which time the police questioned and arrested more than 500 people.

The Comprehensive Reform Program includes an overhaul of state administration and increased private sector development. The government would also reduce the country's public service sector by about ten percent and enact a strict leadership code of conduct. To rebuild public confidence, the government established a special unit to recover and manage more than $25 million in debt for the Vanuatu National Provident Fund, as well as the Development Bank of Vanuatu, and the National Bank of Vanuatu, which were all plagued by bad loans and political interference.

To reduce reliance on overseas aid, the country has been working to develop alternative income sources. The sale of fishing licenses to foreign fishing companies is now an important source of income for the government. In June 2000, the 300-member National Fishermen Cooperative criticized a fishing agreement with a Taiwan-owned fishing company. The union faulted the Taiwanese company for dangerous work conditions (29 Vanuatu fishermen have died) and a poor record in paying salaries. Vanuatu was also accused of involvement in moneylaundering activities in its bid to set up an offshore banking industry. It joined seven other Pacific Islands to sign the "Pacific Islands Prudential Regulation and Supervision Initiative" to end illicit financial operations in the region.

Observers said that the government continued to try to expand its power. Ombudsman Harrington Alatoa expressed concern in February over the government's attempt to gag the Trading Post from carrying further news on the sinking of the MV Latua in August 1999, which lost 27 lives, as well as the government's delay in releasing the official Commission of Enquiry reports on this incident. Also, a bill was introduced in April to allow the prime minister and his cabinet to hire and fire civil servants. Opposition leader Edward Natapei said the bill is unconstitutional. He charged that, under the constitution, civil servants are independent of the government because they are hired by the Public Service Commission.

Political Rights and Civil Liberties

Citizens of Vanuatu can change their government democratically. The constitution vests executive power in a prime minister. The unicameral, 52-member parliament is directly elected for a four-year term. A largely ceremonial president is elected for a five-year term by an electoral college consisting of the 49 members of parliament and the 6 provincial council presidents. Although the 1998 national elections were regarded as generally free and fair, there were allegations of voting irregularities.

In this multiparty state, there is considerable freedom for the media. There are independent newspapers as well as political party newsletters. In November 1998, state-owned Television Blong Vanuatu announced that it would screen more locally produced program materials. In April 1999, the Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation decided to allow pay television to commence service. In June 2000, enactment of the Freedom Telecommunications Law ended the two-decade long monopoly of Telecommunications Vanuatu Limited and a new bilingual paper, the Port Vila Press, was launched in November. Nonetheless, the government owns most of the country's media, including a television station serving the capital, two radio stations, and the Vanuatu Weekly newspaper, so that its voice is the most prominent.

Religious freedom is respected in this predominantly Christian country. Freedom of assembly and association is upheld. There are five active, independent trade unions operating under the umbrella of the Vanuatu Council of Trade Unions although more than 80 percent of the population relies on subsistence agriculture and fishing. Unions can exercise their right to organize and bargain collectively.

Although the judicial system is generally independent, the government has, at times, attempted to pressure the largely expatriate judiciary in politically sensitive cases. After the arrest of some 500 suspected rioters in January 1998, there were credible reports that police assaulted or otherwise poorly treated prisoners. Subsequently, 18 police and military officers were charged with intentional assault. In 1999, the Ombudsman's Office reported that the country's jails fail to meet the minimum international standards and the constitutional rights of inmates are often violated.

The country's small ethnic-minority communities are discriminated against in land ownership. Women have limited opportunities in education and politics, and recent high-profile court cases involving violence against women strengthened the call for more public education on the issue and for an increase in the number of women in the judicial system. In February 2000, Marie Noelle Patterson, chairperson of the National Council of Women chairperson and a former ombudsman, called for more education on violence against women and increase in the number of women in the judiciary system. This followed a supreme court decision to suspend a jail sentence for a man who had murdered his wife and a 10-week jail term for a man charged with molesting his two stepdaughters. Women's groups also demanded stricter sentences for sex offenders.