By Eileen Gould
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

SUVA, Fiji – Yesterday, Fiji’s Interim Prime Minister, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, addressed the United Nations in New York in the wake of the European Union’s decision to extend its trade sanctions on Fiji until March 2010.  The international community has urged Fiji’s government to rethink its position.

The EU refuses to provide Fiji with any development aid until it demonstrates a commitment to return to a democratic state. This aid was aimed at improving Fiji’s economy by assisting, for one, the sugar industry.  Poverty levels in Fiji’s rural communities continue to rise, and its people are extremely discontented.

According to a professor from the School of Economics at the University of the South Pacific, Wadan Narsey, the EU’s decision is indicative of the international community’s increasing concern about the situation in Fiji.

“For the European Union to say that they are going to continue with these sanctions for another six months ought to be taken very seriously by this military government that they have got to rethink their strategy forward,” Narsey said.

Fiji’s government refuses to hold elections until 2014.  This timeline is unacceptable, according to Kamalesh Sharma, the Secretary General for the Commonwealth of Nations, who met with Prime Minister Bainimarama in New York on September 25th.

Sharma also reiterated the Commonwealth members’ disapproval of the human rights situation in Fiji.  He further stated that the Government should rescind the Public Emergency Regulation, an act extending a broad range of powers to the government, including the power to censor the media.  The pair was unable to reach an agreement.

On September 26th, Bainimarama addressed the 64th Session of the United Nations General Assembly international community.  He plans to put a new constitution into place by September 13th.  “The basis for the new constitution will be the ideals and principles formulated by the People’s Charter for Change and Progress, a document prepared following widespread consultation with, and input from, the people of Fiji”.

The Prime Minister claims that Fiji’s history shows a great deal of “mismanagement, corruption and nepotism”.   He requested that the international community have patience as Fiji attempts to overcome its past.

He further expressed his disappointment with the UN’s decision to exclude Fiji troops from participating in peacekeeping operations.  Although he did not explicitly mention Australia or New Zealand, it is no secret that these countries are Fiji’s strongest critics.

In December 2006 Bainimarama staged the fourth coup in Fiji since 1987. The Commonwealth suspended Fiji’s membership on September 1.
For more information, please see:
Fiji Village – PM calls for patience and understanding – 27 September 2009

Radio New Zealand News – No agreement between Commonwealth and Fiji – 27 September 2009

TVNZ – Fiji urged to change election plans – 27 September 2009

Xinhua News – Fiji asks critics to have patience during the reform period – 27 September 2009

ABC News – Bainimarama to address UN General Assembly – 26 September 2009

The Associated Press – Fiji stung by exclusion from new UN peacekeeping – 26 September 2009

UN News Centre – At UN, Fijian regime asks critics to have patience during reform period – 26 September 2009

Radio New Zealand International – Fiji regime urged to rethink its stance as EU sanctions continue – 25 September 2009

By Cindy Trinh
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

SYDNEY, Australia – Two Kenyan women in Australia are facing deportation after their asylum applications were rejected. The two women, Grace Gichuhi, and Teresia Ndikaru Muturi, face possible genital mutilation if they are deported back to Kenya. Many Australians have expressed outrage, and urge the Immigration Minister to intervene and allow the two Kenyans to stay in Australia.

A refugee’s fear of persecution must be based on “race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.” Because fear of genital mutilation does not fit into one of these categories, the women could be sent home to Kenya.

In parts of Africa, female circumcision is still practiced, and is mainly done for cultural purposes as an initiation into womanhood. In some cases, older women perform the circumcision with a broken glass or a tin lid. In other cases, the female is held down by 10 men, and her clitoris is cut off with a knife.

Both women left Kenya because they feared for the safety of their lives. Grace Gichuhi’s mother was killed for refusing to be circumcised. Grace Gichuhi is 22 years old. Teresia Muturi, only 21 years old, fled from an arranged marriage with a 70-year-old man and angered her family when she refused to be circumcised.

The two women applied for refugee status, but were denied by the immigration department. A spokesman from the immigration department stated that “[u]nder the refugee convention, they weren’t found to engage with Australia’s international obligations.”
An appeal was filed to the Australian Immigration Minister, Chris Evans, but he rejected the appeal. A second appeal was filed, but nothing has yet been determined. Currently, the women have been told by the immigration department to prepare for deportation.

Senator Nick Xenophon urged Chris Evans to grant the women visas to stay in Australia. The Senator expressed opposition to the laws of Australia, stating that “[i]f the laws are changed, these women have a clear case for asylum,” and urged the minister “to exercise discretion to give these two women asylum.”

Senator Nick Xenophon is joined by many political adversaries, lawyers, and refugee groups who also want Chris Evans to intervene.

Senator Sarah Hanson-Young believes the women are “prime candidates” for proposing “complementary protection” laws targeted at expanding on existing refugee criteria.

Spokeswoman for Opposition, Sharman Stone, took a different perspective than Sarah Hanson-Young, stating that the existing intervention powers were sufficient to give the two Kenyan women asylum. Sharman Stone contends that the minister is not obligated to adhere strictly to any convention, and can exercise his “own sense of what is right and just and humane.”

Mary Crock, a professor of public law at the University of Sydney, opposed Sharman’s Stone’s view, stating that proposing new “complementary protection” laws that would more certainly give protection to women, such as Grace Gichuhi and Teresia Muturi, is the better choice.

News of the Kenyan women has also raised debate and controversy amongst citizens of the local community. After an article about the two women was published in The Age, an Australian newspaper, concerned readers contacted the newspaper to express their outrage at the situation.

In the online spectrum, Penny Eager, a blogger, wrote to Chris Evans expressing her belief that the “torturous practi[c]e of genital mutilation is abhorrent, and that to deny these women refugee visas is to take a weak stance on this issue.” She further urged Chris Evans to intervene, to not only help the women, but to also “send a clear message to Kenya that Australia does not condone these practi[c]es.”

A Facebook “Causes” page titled “Help save these Women from Genital Mutilation” was created to support the two Kenyans. The Facebook page was launched by Vanessa Muradian, a citizen of Swinburne, to show support for the women’s efforts to remain in Australia.

For more information, please see:

Facebook – Help save these Women from Genital Mutilation

The Age – Huge support for Kenyan fugitives – 23 September, 2009

Global Voices – Australia: Kenyan women refused refugee status – 23 September, 2009

Pocket Carnival – Grace Gichuhi and Teresia Ndikaru Muturi – 22 September, 2009

Embrace Australia – Refugee Girls Face Deportation and Mutilation – 21 September, 2009

By Eileen Gould
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga – Last week, the Tongan government rejected the United Nations’ Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).  In a vote of 18 to 1, with four abstentions, the Legislative Assembly refused to ratify the convention because it goes against Tongan culture.

The government claims there is no need to change the position of Tongan women in society because under the current way of life, they are “respected and cherished”.  Ratifying the convention would disturb Tongan traditions by paving the way for the legalization of abortion, the promotion of same-sex marriages, and the granting of land ownership rights to women.

Last week, the Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement which said that “the Tongan way of life is not solely based on the rights and responsibilities, freedom and obligations of the individual, but also emphasize its rights to the extended family and the whole community.”

Instead, the parliament’s actions will preserve the Tongan way of life by addressing women’s issues on its own.

Women activists were less than thrilled with the government’s explanation and refusal to adopt CEDAW.  A representative from the Tonga National Centre for Women and Children (TNCWC), an NGO that advocates on behalf of victims of abuse, expressed concern over the government’s lack of recognition of domestic violence.  In a country where women are held in high regard, the Tongan government has refused to pass an act aimed at preserving women’s rights.

The Ministry of Police reported the murders of four women in domestic disputes in 2009, as well as three rapes in August alone.  Further, TNCWC claims that over 200 women subjected to such violence seek help each year.

Contrary to the government’s suggestion that CEDAW’s provisions necessitate a complete revamping of Tongan law, the 132 year old constitution upholds basic human rights and freedoms.  However, it continues to discriminate against women and fails to afford them protection. Tonga has signed the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), as well as, the Pacific Island Forum’s Pacific Plan, and remains heavily involved in the promotion of human rights in the region.

Yesterday, an UN health advisor and a spokesperson for the New Zealand Labour Party criticized Tonga during a parliamentary hearing on Pacific maternal health in Wellington, New Zealand.

For more information, please see:

Radio New Zealand International – NZ Pacific MP critical of Tonga’s move not to ratify UN Convention – 22 September 2009

Matangi Tonga – Tongan parliament blatantly ignores women’s rights – 19 September 2009

ABC Radio Australia – Tonga rejects convention on discrimination against women – 18 September 2009

Matangi Tonga – Tongan parliament decides not to ratify CEDAW – 18 September 2009

Radio New Zealand International – Tongan women disgusted with government for snubbing CEDAW – 18 September 2009

Radio New Zealand International – Tonga not to ratify CEDAW – 17 September 2009

By Cindy Trinh
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Last week, Indonesia endorsed a new bylaw which authorizes stoning and caning as punishment for adultery and homosexuality, as well as, several other acts mentioned in the Islamic Criminal Code.

The bylaw, which is being described as “cruel” and “harsh,” is under heavy criticism. The Indonesian central government has even admitted that the law poses a violation to the country’s constitution.

The Islamic Criminal Code forbids a number of acts, including alcohol consumption, gambling, adultery between unmarried and married couples, and homosexuality. The bylaw was passed September 15th in Indonesia’s devoutly Muslim Aceh province, by the Aceh Provincial House of Representatives. The law, which further extends the Sharia code already in force, was passed by the regional parliament in aims to discipline behavior that is considered morally unacceptable.

The law specifically authorizes punishment for adultery and homosexuality. Under the new law, those who are unmarried and commit adultery will be punished with 100 cane lashes, and those who are married and commit adultery will be stoned to death. Those who perform homosexual or lesbian acts will be punished with 100 cane lashes and a fine of 1,000 grams of gold or imprisonment of up to 100 months. Also, those who commit rape or consume alcohol will be punished with up to 200 cane lashes performed in public.

Amnesty International has demanded that the Indonesian government repeal the bylaw.

Sam Zarifi, from Amnesty International, said, “[s]toning to death is particularly cruel and constitutes torture, which is absolutely forbidden under all circumstances in international law.”

The Indonesian central government has also admitted that the law poses a violation to the country’s constitution.

It is well known that Aceh has endorsed strict punishment in the past. However, legalizing the stoning to death of married persons who commit adultery has posed more serious matters of international human rights, and Amnesty International contends that the bylaw has gone beyond the threshold of acceptability.

Amnesty International urged Aceh’s legislature to repeal the law, to conform with international human rights law and standards, and also to conform with the provisions of the Indonesian Constitution. However, Bustanul Arifin, secretary of Aceh parliament’s special committee for drafting the law, defended the endorsement of the law, stating that “it is time now for people to understand the real meaning of Sharia.”

For more information, please see:
Foreign Policy – Indonesia’s harsh new laws – 18 September 2009

Amnesty International – Indonesia Must Repeal “Cruel” New Stoning and Caning Law – 17 September 2009

Telegraph News – MPs pass law to stone to death adulterers in Indonesian province – 15 September 2009