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Kiribati - Universal Periodic Review

UPR35, January 20, 2020
Recommendations by Canada

Background

According to UPR info, a non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO) that tracks the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, in the first two cycles of the UPR, the Republic of Kiribati received 205 recommendations, of which 112 have been accepted and 93 noted (an acceptance rate of 55%). Canada’s previous recommendations to Kiribati related to gender equality and the ratification of key human rights covenants.

The Republic of Kiribati is a multiparty democracy with human rights protections outlined in Chapter II of its Constitution. It has established a Human Rights Unit in the Ministry of Justice, responsible for providing human rights training within the government and coordinating the implementation of ratified human rights treaties.

Kiribati is a party to three of the nine principal human rights conventions and covenants, having recently become a party to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) in 2019. It has also become a party to both of the Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child since the previous UPR cycle.

Kiribati has taken concrete steps to address gender-based violence (GBV) and inequality since its last review. In 2019, the Government joined the Pacific Partnership to End Violence against Women and Girls Programme. It opened the Kiribati Women and Children Support Centre (KWCSC) in 2018 to provide counselling and case management services to GBV survivors. The Government has acknowledged that the commercial sexual exploitation of children remains a problem and has taken some measures to address sex trafficking. However, continued work is necessary to proactively identify victims, investigate and prosecute suspected trafficking offenders, and educate the public on the dangers of human trafficking. Anti-trafficking efforts require improvement as children continue to be vulnerable to commercial sexual exploitation, particularly by visiting ship crew members.

Kiribati’s 20-Year Vision (KV20) recognizes that significant work remains to remove all forms of GBV in Kiribati. Kiribati has one of the highest rates of intimate partner violence in the Pacific. Seventy-three percent of Kiribati women have reported experiencing physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner in their lifetime; this is more than twice the global average (30%).   

The same document also acknowledges the need to increase female participation and representation in politics within Kiribati. Kiribati is 117th out of 193 countries for female political participation as 3 of the 46 members of Kiribati’s legislature are women. Moreover, there are no women present in Kiribati’s current Cabinet.

Much remains to be done to address inequality based on sexual orientation and to improve LGBTI rights in Kiribati. Consensual sexual relations between men are illegal, with a maximum penalty of 5-14 years imprisonment. LGBTI persons in Kiribati face legal challenges and discrimination disproportionate to non-LGBTI citizens.

Recommendations

Thank you, Madame President.

Canada thanks the Republic of Kiribati for its presentation and commends the launching of the Pacific Partnership to End Violence against Women and Girls Program in June 2019, as well as establishing the Kiribati Women and Children Support Centre, in January 2018.

Canada recommends that Kiribati:

1. Strengthen domestic violence laws and improve the handling of domestic and sexual violence cases by allocating more resources to the Domestic Violence and Sexual Offence (DVSO) Unit of the Kiribati Police Service and the judiciary system.
2. Take concrete measures to encourage women’s political participation and increase the representation of women in parliament, noting there are currently only three seats held by women and that none are part of the Cabinet.
3. Decriminalize consensual sexual relations between adults of the same sex by amending sections 153, 154 and 155 of the Penal Code.
4. Investigate, convict and impose stringent penalties against the offenders who exploit or facilitate the commercial sexual exploitation of children and hold accountable all persons responsible, including parents and guardians.

Canada urges Kiribati to sign and ratify core international human rights instruments including the ICCPR, the ICESCR and the Optional Protocol to CEDAW.