Vanuatu
Vanuatu exhibits mid-range performance in Rule of Law and Participation and is high performing in Representation and Rights in the Global State of Democracy framework. It is amongst the world's top 25 per cent with regard to several indicators, but it is amongst the bottom 25 per cent in terms of Gender Equality. Over the last five years, Vanuatu has experienced a notable advance in Access to Justice. Vanuatu is a lower-middle-income country, with an economy based primarily on small-scale agriculture, alongside some fishing, offshore financial services, and tourism. The country’s placement in the Human Development Index (HDI) is the third-lowest among Pacific island nations.
Formerly called the New Hebrides, Vanuatu was a jointly administered British and French territory prior to achieving independence in 1980. Since then, this multiparty parliamentary system has suffered from unstable coalitions and political tumult, often attributed to Vanuatu’s socio-cultural fragmentation and weak parties, leading to a new law being passed to reduce instability. The Ni-Vanuatu comprise the overwhelming majority of the population, but the English-French linguistic divide, regional differences, ideology, and personalism have contributed to partisan troubles. Corruption and clientelism remain major issues that threaten the country’s ability to respond to crises such as frequent natural disasters. Environmental issues loom large, as Vanuatu is one of the countries most affected by climate change and rising sea levels, prompting it to develop a comprehensive action plan in 2022.
Vanuatuan women continue to face significant discrimination, and many live under the specter of domestic violence; however, progress is being made on this front, as new legislation seeks to combat gender-based violence. Despite improvements, additional concerns include a significant underrepresentation of women in politics and a lack of access to modern contraceptives. With these issues largely excluded from the public sphere, the country’s politics have been dominated largely by economic and development issues. Infrastructure, as well as schools and basic services, have all been hampered by limited resources and insufficient investment. Inequality and an uneven distribution of these resources have long been identified as key issues. Given the dispossession of land under colonial rule, land ownership remains a political issue and repeated legislative interventions have been necessary over the years to protect land rights.
One controversial approach to growing the country’s economy has been the Vanuatu Foreign Investment Promotion Agency, which highlights the low tax rates available to investors. Even more hotly debated is the practice of selling citizenships and passports with some Ni-Vanuatu fearing that the policy risks undercutting the value of the national passport and harming relations with other countries as a result of the fact that many unscrupulous figures take advantage of the policy.
Looking ahead, it will be important to watch how government coalitions impact Effective Parliament, especially considering persistent political instability. Moreover, first moves towards anti-corruption measures, such as the establishment of an anti-corruption commission, could impact Absence of Corruption and Judicial Independence. Vanuatu’s future depends in large part on the world’s response to climate change, and it is leading international diplomatic efforts to obtain a judgement from the International Court of Justice on national obligations to combat it.
Last Updated: June 2024
https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/
October 2024
Government to crack down on LGBTQIA+ rights
Vanuatu’s Ministry of Justice and Community Services announced on 31 October plans to draft a National Policy banning LGBTQIA+ advocacy and activities in the country. A committee in the Ministry will create a workplan in November that will guide governmental efforts to prevent LGBTQIA+ advocacy until the full policy is in place in six months’ time. Vanuatu’s National Human Rights Coordinator, Albert Nalpini, stated the decision was made at the behest of Vanuatu’s Council of Ministers, and singled out the local LGBTQIA+ rights non-profit V-Pride as a prime target of the new policy. Legal experts have pointed out any such policy would violate both Vanuatu’s constitution and its obligations under international law.
Sources: Daily Post, Radio New Zealand, Post-Courier
May 2024
Public approves constitutional amendments in referendum
Voters approved two constitutional amendments aimed at improving political stability in a national referendum on 29 May. The amendments aim to bring political stability by weakening the ability of MPs to engage in the kind of behaviour that has made political stability endemic in the country, such as forming single-MP parties and changing partisan affiliation in order to obtain political favours, and in turn strengthen political parties. The two amendments, which were previously approved by parliament in December 2023, (a) require a member of parliament (MP) who leaves or resigns from her/his political party to also vacate the seat in parliament and (b) mandate that MPs who are elected but do not belong to a party join one within three months or vacate the seat. The first amendment was approved with 59 per cent of the vote and the second with 58 per cent. Political instability has long been a problem in Vanuatu, and support for the amendments grew after the country changed prime ministers three times between September and October last year.
Sources: Radio New Zealand, ConstitutionNet, Australian Broadcasting Company
December 2023
New political parties law to reduce instability
Vanuatu’s parliament passed the Political Parties Registration Act on 12 December with 42 votes in the 52-seat chamber. Members of parliament in government and the opposition hailed the passage as a major step forward in ending years of political instability, rooted in part in the lack of restrictions on party-switching or rules against forming short-lived parties without clear platforms. Parties will now have to be formally registered and meet the same financial reporting requirements as other legal institutions, like private entities and NGOs, with compliance subject to regulation by the Election Commission. Political party registration has been on the political agenda since 2015, and the bill’s passage was in part propelled by public dissatisfaction with the heightened level of political instability that has produced three prime ministers since 4 September.
Sources: Daily Post, DevPolicy Blog
October 2023
Political chaos continues with third PM in one month
Charlot Salwai was elected prime minister of Vanuatu on 6 October, making him the third prime minister in the last month. Salwai was the sole candidate before parliament following a show of hands no-confidence vote in which his predecessor Sato Kilman was ousted. Kilman had done the same to his predecessor Ishmael Kalsakau in a similar procedure on 4 September. The current government holds only a slim majority over the opposition, and defections and the removal of MPs for procedural reasons have played a role in the repeated removal of prime ministers over minor policy disagreements.
Sources: Radio New Zealand (1), ABC Australia, Radio New Zealand (2)
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