By Kate Schuetze, Amnesty International, Acting Deputy Regional Director for Research
This coming week will see a crucial moment for states and territories in the Pacific to express their views on challenges the region is facing and address them in ways that will ultimately benefit its people, as the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting takes place in Tonga from 26-30 August.
At the heart of this meeting is the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, which recognises the need for enhanced cooperation and leadership, participation at all levels of society, and human rights and equity for all, among others. Nowhere is this more apparent than the climate crisis, which is already negatively affecting the Pacific more than other regions that bear much larger responsibility for causing environmental damage. But climate justice is not the only concern common to both the region and all mankind; it goes hand in hand with international justice, and fairness in criminal justice systems.
Climate Justice
At last years’ Leaders Forum, groundbreaking new commitments were made on addressing climate justice through the Pacific Regional Framework on Climate Mobility that focused on people-centred movement in the context of climate change. Now is the time to add to that action by stronger commitments to transition away from fossil fuels.
States and territories in the region face an existential threat from rising sea levels and intensifying storms, caused primarily by fossil fuel use in higher income countries. A transformative movement for climate justice must be centred on the demands, experience and knowledge of groups and communities most affected by the climate crisis. Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, as the biggest emitters in the region, must take swifter action to meet clear and ambitious targets. It will take strong collective action from Pacific governments and people to change this.
With partners working for climate justice, Amnesty International is advocating for a massive scale-up of the quantity and quality of international climate finance. Pacific Islands countries and territories could play a large role in ensuring equitability and accountability of the climate finance initiatives. All states and territories, including in the Pacific, must put human rights at the centre of climate action if they want to avoid the most devastating impacts for ecosystems and humanity. The commitment to create a fossil fuel-free Pacific and the support for a moratorium on deep sea mining demonstrates how the region is showing global leadership for the benefit of all of us.
In 2023, Amnesty International welcomed a landmark UN resolution requesting that the International Court of Justice provide an authoritative opinion on states’ obligations and responsibilities surrounding climate change. This important initiative stemmed from brilliant campaigning by students from the Pacific Islands, who found champions among Vanuatu and other regional states to advance climate justice at the UN.
International Justice
Whereas climate justice demands that the global community takes urgent action to protect the heritage and survival of Pacific Islands states and territories, international justice requires the support of the region. A case in point is the project towards a Convention on Crimes against Humanity, presently under discussion at the UN. In October, states will discuss whether to open formal negotiations on a draft text adopted in 2019. No part of the world, including the Asia-Pacific, is free from these types of crimes, which as the draft text recognizes “deeply shock the conscience of humanity”. In addition, such a convention could fundamentally improve international standards on the protection against sexual and gender-based crimes. The 2050 Strategy calls for the defence and promotion of all human rights, including gender equality and rights of women and girls.
However, so far only half of Pacific Island states and territories have expressed support for this convention. This year it is essential that all Pacific Island UN members strongly and publicly join the call for a diplomatic conference. It is vital to show that closing this gap in the global framework of international justice enjoys overwhelming support from all regions.
Criminal Justice
At Amnesty International, we believe that the death penalty is irreconcilable with human rights. And most of the Pacific region have rescinded colonial-era laws, creating an almost death penalty-free zone. “Almost” because the host of this year’s Leaders Meeting, Tonga, is the only country in the Pacific to retain the death penalty in law.
With no death sentences or executions since 1982, Tonga is classified by Amnesty International as ‘abolitionist in practice’. But as long as capital punishment is on the law books, there is a chance of people being subjected to it, for example as a knee-jerk reaction to a high-profile crime. Such fears were ignited in Tonga in May this year when the Parliament held a debate on extending the death penalty to drug-related offences.
Yet we know the death penalty is unfair, discriminatory, and disproportionately affects already marginalized people. It clearly stands in opposition to the need recognized in the 2050 Strategy to address exclusion and inequality, marginalized groups, and protecting human rights for all. Nor is it an appropriate response to drug-related offences, which should be addressed through policies grounded in human rights and harm reduction principles.
Tonga is an outlier both in the region and globally: at the end of 2023, 112 countries, more than half of the world community, were abolitionist for all crimes, and in 2022 a record 125 countries voted for a UNGA resolution on a moratorium on the use of the death penalty. It is high time Tonga joins the regional consensus and fully abolishes this cruel punishment once and for all.
The 2024 Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting is about implementing the 2050 Strategy and the vision and values it expresses. This should be done by making it a reality within the region, but also by taking a vocal stand on the global level. Human rights, equity and non-discrimination must apply to all, while global action – and inaction – has consequences on the regional level, and vice versa. Climate justice, international justice, and fairness in criminal justice are shared goals and responsibilities that demand mutual action. Justice must be served on all these fronts to create a better future for the Pacific and beyond.