Implementing women's and children's rights.

Abstract

Discussions about legal issues in the 'Asia-Pacific region' often neglect the Pacific part of the equation. The Pacific, which includes a diverse range of countries arranged under the cultural and geographic groupings of Melanesia, Polynesian and Micronesia, has its own very particular legal concerns and needs. To varying degrees, it also has a strong colonial history that has shaped and challenged its evolving legal identity. The aim of this article is to focus on the legal issue of women's and children's international human rights in the Pacific and the strategies for their implementation, particularly in the Independent State of Samoa (Samoa). I consider the difficulties and issues relating to implementation in that context and suggest directions for future action by both state and non-state actors. My involvement in this issue was as Legal Officer for the Samoan non-governmental organization Mapusaga o Aiga (Family Haven) that was established to address the issue of domestic violence and sexual assault against women and children. Many of the reflections in this article, which focuses on domestic violence, are based on my personal experiences of human rights in this context. The Polynesian nation of Samoa (known as Western Samoa until 1997) is a parliamentary democracy with a legal system based on Samoan custom and usage and the laws and procedures of New Zealand. It has a unicameral parliament of 49 seats - 47 are open to matai (traditional chiefs), of which there are 25,000 in a population of 180,000. Ninety-five percent of matai are men.' The remaining two seats are reserved for people of non-Samoan heritage. Under the Constitution of the Independent State of Western Samoa and the fillage Fono Act (1990), the village-based councils of matai fino) are conferred broad administrative and quasi-judicial powers over village disputes according to Samoan custom and usage. They are empowered to fine or banish local villagers for infringements of traditional custom. Samoa is considered a 'least developed country' by the United Nations2 and its economy relies mainly on agriculture. Domestic violence and sexual assault are two of the main inhibitors to social development, both in Samoa and throughout the Pacific.' Often, fa'a samoa (the Samoan way) tolerates the use of violence within the family as a means of resolving disputes or infringements of village custom. In a survey conducted by Mapusaga o Aiga in 1996, it was found that 28% of women surveyed had been victims of violence, 70% of whom were aged 15-24 when the violence occurred and in 96% of cases, the perpetrator was the husband of the victim.