Human rights in the Cook Islands
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The
Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...
are 15 small islands scattered over 2 million km squared of the South Pacific.European Commission: Development and Cooperation- Europe Aid Cook Island

/ref> According to the latest census, the nation has a total population of approximately 18,000 people.Cook Islands Government Online
Spread in population between the mainland capital,
Rarotonga Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands. The island is volcanic, with an area of , and is home to almost 75% of the country's population, with 13,007 of a total population of 17,434. The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings a ...
, and the Outer Islands mean inequality in terms of delivery of public services. Internal migration between Rarotonga and the Outer Islands is relatively high due to lack of schooling and employment opportunities, and increased living standards and availability of medical and educational services in Rarotonga.Buchanan-Aruwafu, H “An Integrated Picture: HIV Risk and Vulnerability in the Pacific: Research gaps, priorities and approaches” (February 2007). Noumea, SPC at p 1

/ref> The Cook Islands are a state in free association with
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
since 1965, and has the power to legislate its own laws and enter into
international human rights instruments International human rights instruments are the treaties and other international texts that serve as legal sources for international human rights law and the protection of human rights in general. There are many varying types, but most can be clas ...
of its own accord.Cook Islands Government Online: Parliament
The country has a Westminster parliamentary system that is democratically elected. Rights are generally well respected, as provided for in the 1965 Constitution, but a number of issues still exist. These include the limitations that remain upon legislated rights and freedoms, political participation, women's rights, the rights of sexual minorities, and limits on freedom of religion.


International Human Rights Obligations

The Cook Islands is not a member state of the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
. Since 1988, treaties signed by the
Government of New Zealand , background_color = #012169 , image = New Zealand Government wordmark.svg , image_size=250px , date_established = , country = New Zealand , leader_title = Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern , appointed = Governor-General , main_organ = , ...
do not extend to the Cook Islands unless expressly stated. Prior to this, New Zealand treaty action extended the application of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (
ICCPR The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is a multilateral treaty that commits nations to respect the civil and political rights of individuals, including the right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedo ...
) and its first Optional Protocol, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (
ICESCR The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (GA) on 16 December 1966 through GA. Resolution 2200A (XXI), and came in force from 3 January 197 ...
), and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (
CERD The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) is a United Nations convention. A third -generation human rights instrument, the Convention commits its members to the elimination of racial discri ...
), to the Cook Islands.New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade: New Zealand National Universal Periodic Review Report (9 April 2009) at p

It is of note that the Cook Islands are yet to ratify in its own right seven of the nine core human rights treaties. The two instruments to be ratified by the country since 1988 include the Convention on the Rights of the Child ( Convention on the Rights of the Child, CRC) in 1997, and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women ( CEDAW) in 2006. The Cook Islands has also ratified the
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an international human rights treaty of the United Nations intended to protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities. Parties to the convention are required to promote, ...
, the 1949
Geneva Conventions upright=1.15, Original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term ''Geneva Conven ...
, and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court ( ICC).


Constitutional Protections

Fundamental civil and political rights are protected by the Constitution Act 1964, Part IV, introduced by the Constitution Amendment No. 9 in 1981.Cook Islands Law: Introductions
/ref> Rights protected include: *
Right to life The right to life is the belief that a being has the right to live and, in particular, should not be killed by another entity. The concept of a right to life arises in debates on issues including capital punishment, with some people seeing it as ...
, liberty and security of person (section 64(1)(a)) * Non-discrimination (section 64(1)) *Equality before the law (section 64(1)(b)) * Property rights (section 64(1)(c)) * Freedom of thought, conscience and
religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...
(section 64(1)(d)) * Freedom of peaceful assembly and
association Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...
(section 64(1)(f)) *
Due process Due process of law is application by state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to the case so all legal rights that are owed to the person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual pers ...
and
fair trial A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Types Variations of fairs incl ...
(section 65) Each of these rights is subject to limitations through section 64(2) of the Constitution Act by: any enactment or rule of law in force; for protecting the rights and freedoms of others or in the interests of public safety, order, or morals; the general welfare; or the security of the Cook Islands. To this extent the statutory protections are not absolute until the limitations described are removed.


The Ombudsman Office

In November 2007, Cabinet appointed the Ombudsman to head the Cook Islands Human Rights Office. This has been interpreted to mean that Cabinet has issued a directive for the Ombudsman to set up a Human Rights Division within its portfolio.Office of the Ombudsman: Extensions to the Ombudsman’s Jurisdiction
/ref> Under the 2008 Cook Islands Disability Act, the Ombudsman's jurisdiction was further extended to investigate complaints of discrimination against the disabled. The Cook Islands is the first Pacific Island country to develop a rights-based disability policy and action plan.


Capital Punishment

The death penalty was not abolished until 2007, although it had never actually been utilised.Amnesty International, “Death Penalty: World trend down but secrecy surrounds China execution figures- new report” (Posted 14 April 2008

/ref> Prior to reform, capital punishment only ever applied to the crime of treason, for which it was the automatic sentence.


Political Participation

Suffrage is universal to those above 18 years of age. Female parliamentary participation is present, but not equal. In 2009 there were three women in the 25 seat Parliament of the Cook Islands.US State Department, “2009 Human Rights Report: New Zealand (including Cook Islands)” (March 11, 2010) 2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practice

/ref> There is at present one female Member of Parliament,
Ngamau Munokoa Ngamau Mere Munokoa (born 13 August 1944), also known as "Aunty Mau", is a Cook Islands politician and former Cabinet Minister. She was the third woman ever elected to the Cook Islands Parliament, the second appointed to Cabinet, and the first ...
, who was the first woman to hold the post of Cook Island's Deputy Prime Minister.Cook Islands Government Online: Current Members of Parliament
A relevant issue is the presence of the
House of Ariki The House of Ariki () is a parliamentary body in the Cook Islands. It is composed of Cook Islands high chiefs (''ariki''), appointed by the King's Representative. While it functions in a similar way to the House of Lords and the Senate of Canada ...
, a parliamentary body of Cook Islands high chiefs that are not elected, but appointed by the King's Representative. The group is supposed to only discuss those matters allocated to it by the democratically elected Parliament, and in reply it responds only with its opinions. A threat to democracy was posed in June 2008 during a coup claim by a small majority of the House of Ariki members, claiming to take control of the country's leadership. The claim passed fairly quickly and was a one-off incident. In terms of chiefly participation within the House of Ariki, Christianity is credited with according women recognition as
ariki An ariki (New Zealand, Cook Islands), ꞌariki (Easter Island), aliki (Tokelau, Tuvalu), ali‘i (Samoa, Hawai‘i), ari'i (Society Islands, Tahiti), aiki or hakaiki (Marquesas Islands), akariki (Gambier Islands) or ‘eiki (Tonga) is or was a mem ...
(chiefs). Women are equally acknowledged as chiefs on Rarotonga, but less so in the Outer Islands.


Women’s Rights

Although the Cook Islands has, in its own right, ratified CEDAW, domestic violence against women remains at issue. There is no reliable data on the prevalence of domestic violence in the country, however anecdotal evidence does indicate it to be widespread, but largely going unreported The Crimes Act 1969, while providing for major sexual offences, does not include the full range of acts usually involved in domestic violence cases. There exists a “no-drop” policy response to domestic violence arrests, meaning that police must proceed with the case notwithstanding the wishes of the victim. Victims who wish to have their case withdrawn must make their request to the court. Progress has been made through the Non-Governmental Organisation Women's Counselling Centre, Te Punanga Tauturu Incorporated, which delivers educational awareness programmes across the Islands.


Sexual Minorities

Lesbian and gay rights in the Cook Islands are a pressing issue. Male homosexuality is illegal under the Crimes Act 1969. Consensual male sodomy is punishable by a maximum term of seven years imprisonment. Crimes Act 1969, section 155 Civil unions for both males and females are not legally recognised. The only law against discrimination based upon sexual orientation is in section 10(g) of the Disability Act 2008, which prohibits discrimination against a person with a disability on the grounds of their sexual orientation.


Freedom of Religion

The Religious Organisations Restrictions Act of 1975 limits the introduction of new religions to the only four authorised in the Act. Approval must be granted from the Minister of Justice before another religion be established.Converging Currents: Custom and Human Rights in the Pacific (NZLC, 2006), at p 11

Such a provision is in violation of the right to freedom of religion in Article 18 of the
ICCPR The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is a multilateral treaty that commits nations to respect the civil and political rights of individuals, including the right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedo ...
.


References


External links


Converging Currents: Custom and Human Rights in the Pacific (NZLC 2006)

Cook Islands Government

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Pacific Region


{{Oceania topic, Human rights in Human rights by country, Cook Islands Politics of the Cook Islands Cook Islands law