Wayzata World Factbook 1996/The World Factbook - 1996 Edition - Wayzata Technology (3079) (1996).iso/mac/TEXT/HUMANrts/KIRIBATI.TXT

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TITLE:  KIRIBATI HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1994
AUTHOR:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DATE:  FEBRUARY 1995

                            KIRIBATI


The nation of Kiribati comprises some 76,300 people occupying
33 small islands widely scattered across 3.5 million square
kilometers of the central Pacific.  The population is primarily
Micronesian, with a significant component of Polynesian
origin.  Kiribati gained full independence from the United
Kingdom in 1979 and became a republic within the Commonwealth
of Nations.  It has a nationally elected president and a
legislative assembly with 39 members elected by universal
suffrage and 2 members ex officio .

The main security apparatus is a police force of about 250
personnel, responsible to and effectively controlled by
civilian authority.

Economic activity consists primarily of subsistence agriculture
and fishing.  The islands' isolation and meager resources,
including poor soil and limited arable land, severely limit
prospects for economic development.

Kiribati society is egalitarian, democratic, and respectful of
human rights.  There were no reports of specific human rights
abuses in 1994, but in the traditional culture women have
occupied a subordinate role, with limits on their job
opportunities.

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Section 1  Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
           Freedom from:

     a.  Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing

There were no reports of politically motivated or other
extrajudicial killings.

     b.  Disappearance

There were no reports of disappearances.

     c.  Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
         Treatment or Punishment

Although torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment are forbidden by the Constitution, corporal
punishment is permitted under traditional mores for criminal
acts and other transgressions.  On some outer islands, the
island councils occasionally order strokes with palm fronds to
be administered for public drunkenness and other minor offenses
such as petty thievery.

     d.  Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile

Constitutional safeguards against arbitrary arrest and
detention are observed in practice.  There is no exile,
internal or external.

     e.  Denial of Fair Public Trial

The right to a fair public trial is assured by law and observed
in practice.  The Constitution provides that an accused person
be informed of the nature of the offense for which he is
charged and be provided adequate time and facilities to prepare
a defense.  The right to confront witnesses, present evidence,
and appeal convictions is enshrined in law.

Procedural safeguards are based on English common law.  The
judiciary is independent and free of governmental interference.
Kiribati has no political prisoners.

     f.  Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
         Correspondence

The privacy of the home is protected in law and respected by
the Government.  There is no arbitrary intrusion by the State
or political organizations into the private life of the
individual.

Section 2  Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

     a.  Freedom of Speech and Press

Freedom of speech and press is provided for in the Constitution
and observed in practice.  Kiribati's radio station and only
newspaper are government owned but offer a variety of views.
Churches publish newsletters and other periodicals.  Academic
freedom is respected.

     b.  Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

The Constitution provides for freedom of assembly and
association, including the right to form or belong to
associations for the advancement or protection of a group's
interests.  There are no significant restrictions in practice.

     c.  Freedom of Religion

Freedom of religion prevails.  There is no state or preferred
religion.  Missionaries are free to seek converts.

     d.  Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
         Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation

Citizens are free to travel within the country and abroad.
There are no restrictions on repatriation.  Kiribati has no
refugees or displaced persons.

Section 3  Respect for Political Rights:  The Right of Citizens
           to Change Their Government

The Government is chosen by the people in periodic free and
open elections.  Executive authority is exercised by the
President, who is elected by the people for a 4-year term.  No
less than three and no more than four presidential candidates
are nominated by the elected Legislative Assembly from among
its members.  Under the Constitution, the President is limited
to three terms.

Prior to a snap general election held in August, there had been
no formally organized parties, although election time did bring
about coalitions of various interest groups.  Since
independence in 1979, the former ruling group called itself the
National Progressive Party.  After the Government fell in May
in a no-confidence vote, the opposition forces which brought it
down formed the Maneaban Te Mauri Party (MTM).  In the August
parliamentary election, the MTM won 19 of the 39 seats in the
Assembly.  An opposition leader, Teburoro Tito, was elected
President in the September balloting.

Section 4  Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
           Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
           of Human Rights

There are no restrictions on the formation of local
nongovernmental organizations that concern themselves with
human rights, but to date none has been formed.  There have
been no reported allegations of human rights violations by the
Government and no known requests for investigations.  Kiribati
is not a member of the United Nations.

Section 5  Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
           Disability, Language, or Social Status

The Constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of race,
creed, national origin, or sex, and this prohibition is
generally observed in practice.  Kiribati society,
fundamentally egalitarian, has no privileged chiefly class.

     Women

The traditional culture, in which males are dominant, has been
an impediment to women taking a more active role in the
economy.  This is slowly changing, and more women are finding
work in unskilled and semiskilled occupations.  There are also
signs of affirmative action in government hiring and promotions
to redress this culturally based inequity.  Recent examples of
affirmative action with regard to the advancement of women
include the appointment of Makurita Baaro as the nation's first
female Secretary for Foreign Affairs.  Furthermore, the
selection of recent female participants from Kiribati in
overseas training programs in the United States, Japan, and
other countries reflects a firm commitment to the advancement
of women.  Women have full and equal access to education.

Statistics on the participation of women in the work force and
comparative wages are unavailable.  Women have full rights of
ownership and inheritance of property.  Violence against women
does not appear to be a major problem in this isolated, rural
society.  Rape is a crime under the law, and the law is
enforced when charges are brought to court.  To the extent that
it exists, wife beating is dealt with informally and in a
traditional way; frequently, communal pressure is brought to
bear.

     Children

If child abuse exists, it is rare and has not become a source
of societal concern.  Within the limited resources of the
Government, adequate expenditures are made for child welfare.

     People with Disabilities

There is no evidence or complaint of discrimination in
employment, education, or provision of other state services.
Accessibility for the disabled has not been mandated.

Section 6  Worker Rights

     a.  The Right of Association

Freedom of association is provided for in the Constitution.
Workers are free to organize unions and choose their own
representatives.  The Government does not control or restrict
unions.  Over 90 percent of the work force is occupied in
fishing or subsistence farming, but the small wage sector has a
relatively strong and effective trade union movement.  In 1982
the seven trade unions registered in Kiribati merged to form
the Kiribati Trade Union Congress (KTUC).  It has approximately
2,500 members, mostly from the public service sector.  The KTUC
is affiliated with the International Confederation of Free
Trade Unions.  The right to strike is provided for by law.
However, strikes are rare, the last one having taken place in
1980.

     b.  The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

Collective bargaining is provided for under the Industrial
Relations Code.  Government wage setting is the rule in the
large public sector.  The Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and
Employment sets wages after consultations with the Ministry of
Finance and Economic Planning.  However, in a few statutory
bodies and government-owned companies, employees may negotiate
wages and other conditions.  In the private sector, employees
may also negotiate wages with employers.  Negotiations are
generally nonconfrontational, in keeping with Kiribati
tradition.  There have been no reports of antiunion
discrimination.  However, there are mechanisms for resolving
any such complaints.  Kiribati has no export processing zones.

     c.  Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

Forced or compulsory labor is prohibited under the Constitution
and is not practiced.

     d.  Minimum Age for Employment of Children

Kiribati law prohibits the employment of children under age
14.  Children through age 15 are prohibited from industrial
employment and employment aboard ships.  Labor officers from
the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Employment normally
enforce these laws effectively, given the rudimentary
conditions of the economy and its industrial relations system.
Children are rarely employed outside the traditional economy.

     e.  Acceptable Conditions of Work

The Government has taken no concrete action to implement
longstanding legislation authorizing establishment of minimum
wages.  There is no legislatively prescribed workweek.  The
Government is the major employer in the cash economy.

Employment laws provide rudimentary health and safety standards
for the workplace.  Employers must, for example, provide an
adequate supply of clean water for workers and ensure the
existence of sanitary toilet facilities.  Employers are liable
for the expenses of workers injured on the job.  The
Government's ability to enforce employment laws is hampered by
a lack of qualified enforcement personnel.  Women may not work
at night except under specified circumstances (generally in
service jobs such as hotel clerks).