Wayzata World Factbook 1996/The World Factbook - 1996 Edition - Wayzata Technology (3079) (1996).iso/pc/text/humanrts/tonga.txt

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

                             TONGA


The Kingdom of Tonga comprises 169 small islands scattered over
a wide area of the South Pacific.  Most of the approximately
104,000 inhabitants are Polynesian.  Tonga is a constitutional
monarchy in which political life is dominated by the King, the
nobility, and a few prominent commoners.  Tonga is fully
independent and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

The security apparatus is composed of the Tonga Defense
Services (TDS) and a police force.  The 350-man TDS force is
responsible to and controlled by the Minister of Defense.

Tonga's economy is based primarily on the cultivation of
tropical and semitropical crops.  An increasing demand for
imported manufactured goods and products unavailable locally
has led to a substantial trade deficit.  This has largely been
offset by remittances from Tongans employed abroad, overseas
aid, and, to a lesser degree, tourism.  Remittances from
Tongans overseas continued to diminish, due in part to
recessionary economic conditions and in part to a weakening of
emigrant ties to Tonga.

The principal human rights abuses remain severe restrictions on
the right of citizens to change their government and
discrimination against women.  The Constitution, dating from
1875, has been increasingly challenged by commoners, whom it
disadvantages.

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 political or other extrajudicial
killings.

     b.  Disappearance

There were no reports of disappearances and no evidence of
people being abducted, secretly arrested, or clandestinely
detained.

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

The Constitution forbids torture and inhuman or degrading
punishment or other such treatment, and there were no reports
of such practices.

     d.  Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile

The Constitution provides for the right to judicial
determination of the legality of arrest, and this is observed
in practice.  There is no exile, internal or external.  There
is no preventive detention, although there are no statutory
limits to the length of time a suspect may be held prior to
being charged.  The law does not limit access by counsel and
family members to detained persons.

     e.  Denial of Fair Public Trial

The judiciary, whose top judges are expatriates, is independent
of the King and the executive branch.  The Court of Appeals, as
the appellate court of last resort, is the highest court.  The
King's Privy Council presides over cases relating to disputes
over titles of nobility and estate boundaries.  The King has
the right to commute a death sentence in cases of murder or
treason.  In addition, Tonga's court system consists of the
Supreme Court (which has original jurisdiction over all major
cases), the police magistrate's courts, a general court, a
court martial for the Tongan Defense Services, a court tribunal
for the police force, and a court of review for the Inland
Revenue Department.

The law provides for the right to a fair public trial, and the
Government honors it in practice.  A court may not summon
anyone without providing the person a written indictment
stating the offenses it charges the person committed.
Defendants are entitled to counsel, and lawyers have free
access to defendants.  There are no political prisoners.

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

By law and in practice, no one may enter or search the home of
another or remove any item of property unless in possession of
a warrant issued by a magistrate.  Neither the State nor
political organizations intrude arbitrarily into a person's
private life.

Section 2  Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

     a.  Freedom of Speech and Press

The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and press.
Tonga has five newspapers (one of which is government owned)
and two national magazines.  The Government owns the only radio
station.  While there is generally little editorializing in the
government-owned media, opposition opinion appears regularly
alongside government statements and letters.  A privately owned
newspaper, Kele'a, openly criticizes the Government without
government interference.  A Catholic monthly, Taumu'a Lelei,
also speaks out freely.  The Minister of Police has on occasion
threatened action against the independent media, but no action
has ever been taken.  Specific infringements are usually tied
to a particular event, such as the November 1992 Prodemocracy
Convention, when live reporting was banned and media attendance
inhibited.  There were no reports of any restrictions in 1994.
However, the King signed legislation on January 3 which greatly
increased the penalties available through the Defamation Act.
Prodemocracy leader 'Akilisi Pohiva has been a frequent target
of defamation lawsuits for reports in his independent
publication.  He also has initiated his own lawsuits against
others.  Court decisions in these cases have gone both for and
against Pohiva, based on the merits of the case.

     b.  Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

The law provides for peaceful assembly and association.  There
are no significant restrictions.

     c.  Freedom of Religion

The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and it is
observed in practice.  Missionaries may proselytize freely.

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

Citizens are free to travel anywhere within the Kingdom and
abroad.  The law places no restrictions on repatriation.  There
are no displaced persons in Tonga.

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

Citizens do not have the ability to change their leaders or the
system of government.  The King and a small group of hereditary
nobles dominate political life in Tonga.  They assert authority
largely through their control of substantial land holdings and
their predominant role in the Legislative Assembly.  The
Constitution allows the monarch broad powers, many of which do
not require the endorsement of the legislative branch.  The
King appoints and presides over the Privy Council, which makes
major policy decisions.  (When the King is not presiding, the
Privy Council is called the Cabinet.)  The King also selects
the Prime Minister and other Cabinet ministers, who hold office
at his pleasure.

Tonga's unicameral legislature, the Legislative Assembly,
consists of 12 Cabinet ministers, 9 nobles elected by their
peers, and 9 people's representatives.  All literate Tongans,
21 years of age or older, are eligible to vote.  The King
appoints the Speaker from among the representatives of the
nobles.  Government ministers generally vote with the nobles'
representatives as a bloc.  People's representatives sometimes
vote against the Government.  Elections are held every 3 years,
most recently in February 1993.  As a result of those
elections, the Prodemocracy Movement extended its influence
with the election of strong supporters to six of the nine
people's representative seats.

Throughout the 1990's people inside and outside the government
establishment have called for democratic change.  The
Prodemocracy Movement, formally established in 1992, is
dedicated to educating the people about their democratic
rights.  Following its election victory in February 1992, the
movement turned to drafting proposals for revision of the 1875
Constitution, most notably proposals for popular election of
all 30 members of the Assembly and election of the house
speaker from among Assembly members.

In August the Prodemocracy Movement made history when its
leaders founded Tonga's first political party "The People's
Party."  The party continues the goals of the Prodemocracy
Movement, maintaining that the Monarchy is an inalienable part
of the national identity, but arguing that the Government must
become more relevant to today's world.  It seeks greater power
sharing by the King and greater accountability on the part of
the Government.  Official reaction to the party has been one of
disdain, with no effort to repress it or interfere in its
functioning.

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

While there are no known barriers to the formation of local
nongovernmental organizations that concern themselves with
human rights, no such organizations exist in Tonga.  No outside
organizations are known to have made requests to investigate
human rights violations.  Tonga is not a member of the United
Nations.

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

Social, cultural, and economic facilities are available to all
citizens regardless of race or religion.  However, members of
the hereditary nobility have substantial advantages in Tongan
society.  These include control over most of the land and a
generally privileged status.  Nonetheless, it is possible for
commoners to rise to Cabinet positions in government and to
accumulate great wealth and status in the private sector.

     Women

In Tonga's male-dominated society, women generally occupy a
subordinate role.  While the strong Polynesian cultural
tradition has discouraged the rise of women to positions of
leadership, a few have nonetheless become members of the
legislature and have served in responsible positions in various
occupations.  However, these women needed connections with the
nobility or extraordinary luck, and they face severe limits on
their upward mobility in this tradition-bound society.  Some
village women are breaking the mold of passive, docile
followers by leading village-based development projects.  The
Government has sought to direct the efforts of nongovernmental
women's organizations (NGO's) by establishing a women's unit
within the Prime Minister's office.  However, women's groups
view this as an attempt to coopt them and their programs.  They
criticize the Government's emphasis on organization, process,
and control, with few programs of substance.  The NGO's and the
women's unit disagree on the need for and potential composition
of a government-sponsored national council of women.

Domestic violence is infrequent.  As a result, the country does
not have a women's crisis center.  Incidents of wife beating
that do occur are generally dealt with in traditional ways
between the families and village elders; abused wives sometimes
return to their families if mediation fails.

     Children

Child abuse, if it occurs, is rare and has not become a source
of societal concern.  The Government is committed to children's
human rights and welfare and provides commensurate funding for
children's welfare within the context of the total resources
available to the State.

     People with Disabilities

No mandated provisions for accessibility for the disabled
exist.  There were no known complaints of discrimination in
employment, education, or provision of other state services.
Education of children with special needs has been a
longstanding priority of Tonga's Queen.

Section 6  Worker Rights

     a.  The Right of Association

Workers have the right to form unions under the 1964 Trade
Union Act, but to date no unions have been formed, presumably
because of the small size of the wage economy and the lack of a
perceived need for unions.

     b.  The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

Since no unions have been formed, collective bargaining is not
practiced.  There is no legislation permitting and protecting
collective bargaining or the right to organize.  Labor laws and
regulations are enforced in all sectors of the economy,
including in the two small export enhancement zones.

     c.  Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

The law prohibits forced labor, and it is not practiced.

     d.  Minimum Age for Employment of Children

Child labor is not used in the wage economy, although there is
no legislation prohibiting it.  Education has been compulsory
in Tonga since 1882.  Although it is sometimes criticized as
being of poor quality, education is provided for all children
through Form 6 (high school).  Compliance rates are good.

     e.  Acceptable Conditions of Work

Tonga does not have a minimum wage law.  Labor laws and
regulations, enforced by the Ministry of Labor, Commerce, and
Industry, limit the workweek to 40 hours.  The Ministry Labor
enforces laws and regulations reasonably well in the wage
sector of the economy, particularly on the main island of
Tongatapu.  Enforcement in agriculture and on the outer islands
is limited by isolation.

Industrial accidents are rare, as few industries exist that
would expose workers to significant danger.  Due to these
factors, there has been little or no work done in Tonga on
industrial safety standards.