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2007 Assessment

Vanuatu: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Vanuatu: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Civil Society Organizations
Indicators		Score
1	Are anti-corruption/good governance CSOs legally protected?	67
2	Are good governance/anti-corruption CSOs able to operate freely?	83
3	Are civil society activists safe when working on corruption issues?	100
4	Can citizens organize into trade unions?	63

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Are anti-corruption/good governance CSOs legally protected?

1a: In law, citizens have a right to form civil society organizations (CSOs) focused on anti-corruption or good governance.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Daily Post Chief Editor Kierry M. Tony Tarivonda from Transparency International

1b: In law, anti-corruption/good governance CSOs are free to accept funding from any foreign or domestic sources.

Score:

YES

Comments: One example would be the Media Association of Vanuatu, which can raise funds from members' subscriptions and may recieve donor funding for specific actvities.

References: Daily Post Chief Editor Kierry M. Tony Tarivonda from Transparency International

Peer Review Comments: The National Television service is not a CSO. It is a government-owned statutory authority funded by the national government and sponsorship, and it can receive donor assistance, particularly for technical upgrades.

1c: In law, anti-corruption/good governance CSOs are required to disclose their sources of funding.

Score:

YES

Comments: Tony said it is not necessary. Taking them for example, he said they only need to disclose their finance reports when needed.

References: Daily Post Chief Editor Kierry M. Tony Tarivonda from Transparency International

Peer Review Comments: Generally, CSOs are accountable to their funding sources, and unless the CSO publishes an annual report, this information tends not to be in the public domain. Due to the competition among CSOs for donor funding, some CSOs are also reluctant to divulge too many details about their funding sources. In the Pacific, national governments have been the focus of governance and accountability reforms, and while there have been projects to strengthen CSO capacity, there has been much less focus on public accountability.

Peer Review Comments: Lack of disclosure requirements are a problem in the NGO sector, including anti-corruption/good governance CSOs across the Pacific. Source: Pacific Centre for Public Integrity, Suva, Fiji.

Are good governance/anti-corruption CSOs able to operate freely?

2a: In practice, the government does not create barriers to the organization of new anti-corruption/good governance CSOs.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Daily Post Chief Editor Kierry M. Tony Tarivonda from Transparency International

Peer Review Comments: Historically, there has been some.

2b: In practice, anti-corruption/good governance CSOs actively engage in the political and policymaking process.

Score:

100

Comments: Kierry says, "sometimes, but not always." Tony says, "Yes, but practically no. Most times they are being left out from the scene."

References: Daily Post Chief Editor Kierry M. Tony Tarivonda from Transparency International

Peer Review Comments: Some CSOs do have good access to decision makers, particularly if they are working in conjunction with foreign or external aid donors, but this varies between issues and key stakeholders.

2c: In practice, no anti-corruption/good governance CSOs have been shut down by the government for their work on corruption-related issues during the study period.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned is there were no CSOs shut down by the government or forced to cease operations because of their work on corruption-related issues during the study period. NO: A NO score is earned if any CSO has been effectively shut down by the government or forced to cease operations because of its work on corruption-related issues during the study period. The causal relationship between the cessation of operations and the CSO\'s work may not be explicit, however the burden of proof here is low. If it seems likely that the CSO was forced to cease operations due to its work, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments: Tony said there have been few cases where ministers of the state have tried to use their powers to deport some individuals after reports of corruption were published in media.

References: Daily Post Chief Editor Kierry M. Tony Tarivonda from Transparency International

Peer Review Comments: The most high-profile government attempts at deportation have involved journalists/editors, following the publication of stories that were unfavorable to the government.

Peer Review Comments: Only foreigners can be deported, usually for criminal reasons. There has not been a successful case of deportation for media reporting on corruption in the past 15 years. A few expatriate journalists have been deported after exposing corruption in the media, but these deportations have been overturned by the Vanuatu courts and the deportees have generally been allowed to return to the country after a few days. In some cases rulings have been issued even before deportations have taken place. Note, that expatriate deportations for criticizing the government were very common from 1980-1990, but this is no longer the case.

Are civil society activists safe when working on corruption issues?

3a: In practice, in the past year, no civil society activists working on corruption issues have been imprisoned.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no CSO activists imprisoned because of their work covering corruption. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if any activist was jailed in relation to work covering corruption. The causal relationship between the official charges and the person\'s work may not be explicit, however the burden of proof here is low. If it seems likely that the person was imprisoned due to his or her work, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments: Tony said from their organization only threats have been received and also from their organization there has been no one imprisoned but it is possible. Kierry said it is very possible as there was an incident that took place two years ago over an editorial against the police actions on one of the reporters at a rugby match.

References: Daily Post Chief Editor Kierry M. Tony Tarivonda from Transparency International Vanuatu Constitution, Article 5.(1).(c) Penal Code Act 14 of 1989

3b: In practice, in the past year, no civil society activists working on corruption issues have been physically harmed.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no documented cases of CSO activists covering corruption being assaulted in the specific study period. A YES score can be earned if there was an attack but it was clearly unrelated to the activist\'s work. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if there were any documented cases during the study period of assault to an activist who covers corruption. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments:

References: Daily Post Chief Editor Kierry M. Tony Tarivonda from Transparency International

3c: In practice, in the past year, no civil society activists working on corruption issues have been killed.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no documented cases of CSO activists being killed because of their work covering corruption in the specific study period. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if there were any documented cases during the study period where a person was killed related to a corruption trial, scandal or investigation. The relationship between a mysterious death and an individual\'s history may not be clear, however the burden of proof here is low. If it is reasonable that a person was killed in relation to his or her work on corruption issues, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments:

References: Daily Post Chief Editor Kierry M. Tony Tarivonda from Transparency International

Peer Review Comments: This level of government action would be most unusual. The national government is much more likely to verbally threaten, exclude from the political processes, and in rare instances, deport if the person involved is from overseas. The level at which this happens varies depending on which government is in power, but most national governments are sensitive to criticism, and seek to control this.

Can citizens organize into trade unions?

4a: In law, citizens have a right to organize into trade unions.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Trade Unions Act - www.paclii.org/vu/legis/consol_act/tua150/ Vanuatu Constitution, Article 5(1).(h) - www.paclii.org/vu/legis/consol_act/cotrov406/

4b: In practice, citizens are able to organize into trade unions.

Score:

100

Comments: Kierry says, "No," but Tony says, "Yes," except that it is very rare in Vanuatu.

References: Daily Post Chief Editor Kierry M. Tony Tarivonda from Transparency International

Peer Review Comments: This is a very difficult question because both responses are correct. While there is legislation covering the formation of trade unions, this is a very small country with a number of pressing development priorities and a large rural/remote population. There are not many trade unions in the Pacific region, and where they do exist, e.g.Fiji, there is a reasonably large diversified workforce. This is not the case for Vanuatu. There would also need to be more public information on how/why to form a trade union and the resources to establish and build trade union capacity. Without public pressure, this is unlikely to be a high development priority.

Peer Review Comments: Citizens are able to organize into trade unions in Vanuatu, but barriers to organization are very powerful. Workplace intimidation is especially prevalent. Citizens are often unaware of their rights as workers including the right to organize and belong to a union. Consequently there are frequent violations of labor laws, including minimum wage laws, severance pay requirements and major violations of occupational health and safety issues. Workers who complain or attempt to take these matters to the union are often illegally dismissed. Department of Labor Officials, who regulate workplaces either in conjunction with or in the absence of a union, are then bribed to stop matters from going any further. The trade union sector in Vanuatu has been weak since the 1993 public service union-led strike when about one third of the public sector was fired.

Peer Review Comments: There are not many unions in Vanuatu, but there are some, like the teacher's union, that are active.