Tonga set to finally sign CEDAW

Transcript

Tonga is preparing to finally ratify the United Nations convention on eliminating all forms of discrimination against women but with conditions.

Tonga has been investigating the pros and cons of ratifying for years and is one of only seven nations which haven't signed CEDAW  - the others include Iran, Sudan, Somalia and the US.

Koro Vaka'uta reports.

The Chief Executive of Internal Affairs Lopeti Senituli has been hosting roundtable discussions and gathering submissions on the issue this month. Mr Senituli says he hopes to have a proposal to sign the convention presented to cabinet by next week. He says there have been at least two years of delays because of local cultural and legal conflicts with the convention, including the succession to the throne being along male lines and restrictions on land registration for women.

LOPETI SENITULI: Succession to the throne, including succession to hereditary nobles titles and estates and also to registered land, abortion and same-sex marriage.  Those are the areas where there are major differences between UN CEDAW and the laws of Tonga.

But Mr Senituli says despite the conflicts there is an allowance in the ratification process for signees to add reservations.

LOPETI SENITULI: We can make reservations but on the understanding that the discussions will continue and I think it will be to the country's benefit as a whole for us to ratify now and continue the public discourse over the next few years.

The director of the Women and Children Crisis Centre, Ofa Guttenbeil-Likiliki, says she has her fingers crossed that ratification will finally happen but the government has gone through what she calls mood swings and changes of heart in the past. As far as the reservations go, Ms Guttenbeil-Likiliki is looking to see restrictions on land registration for women lifted and Mr Senituli says the government is open to discussing the matter further once CEDAW is ratified. The other reservations surrounding royal succession and bans on abortion and same-sex marriage won't change any time soon. Ms Guttenbeil-Likiliki says the latter issues aren't a priority for women in the kingdom.

OFA GUTTENBEIL-LIKILIKI:  Compared to other countries who have progressed on those particular issues, Tonga is nowhere near that and I think it's the same with many other Pacific Island nations.  You have to remember that Tonga is a heavily Christian-based society and so a lot of the influences and momentum around our laws really does reflect on the values we have as a Christian nation.  So that just is contextualising the reality.

The director of women's development programme, the Talitha Project, Vanessa Heleta says the ratification of CEDAW would still be an historic day.

VANESSA HELETA:  For us group of women who have been at the forefront of pushing the CEDAW forward, it's like a big burden has been lifted off our shoulders and now we can just move on to other things.

Mr Senituli says once CEDAW is signed the government will turn its attention to other UN conventions.