Nauru's rights record under review; Vanuatu students in Fiji await fate; CNMI vaccine aim; and more
Nauru urged to respect media freedom
Nauru's human rights record is under United Nations scrutiny again, with media freedom a prominent concern.
A report of the Pacific country's 2021 universal periodic review is being tabled at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Various countries, including New Zealand, have recommended that Nauru lower the prohibitive visa fees for journalists wanting to visit the country.
People hold up placards during a pro-refugee rights protest in Melbourne on June 13, 2020 as several asylum seekers who were evacuated for medical reasons from offshore detention centres on Nauru and Manus Island, look down from the hotel where they have been detained. Photo: AFP / William West
The Netherlands has urged Nauru to protect and uphold the right to free and independent media.
Among other concerns raised are the Nauru government's interference in the Judiciary, the welfare of refugees sent there by Australia, and the jailing of political opponents.
Niueans must have say on constitution says academic
A legal expert says the Niue constitutional review process needs to be more transparent.
Niue Broadcasting sought an opinion from Auckland University law lecturer, Fuimaono Dylan Asafo, on the review of the 1974 constitution.
That review is now before parliament after limited public consultation.
Fuimaono says constitutional reviews are so important and rare, they must be transparent and the people must have every opportunity to participate.
He says the constitution review committee is wasting a great opportunity and any problems will continue to burden Niue for generations.
Vanuatu govt to decide on plight of students in Fiji
Vanuatu's government is expected to decide on whether its scholarship students studying in Fiji should be repatriated.
A number of ni-Vanuatu students at the University of the South Pacific have been caught up in Fiji's alarming Covid-19 outbreak, with several having tested positive for the virus and gone into isolation.
The Daily Post reports that Vanuatu's prime minister Bob Loughman was briefed on the students' situation yesterday by education officials.
A paper with options on how to support the students if they wish to return home is to be deliberated on by Vanuatu's Council of Ministers.
Marianas sets vaccine target
The Northern Marianas look set to have 70% its eligible population vaccinated against Covid 19 by the end of the month.
The CNMI COVID-19 Task Force says it is still aiming to achieve an 80 percent vaccination rate by September.
The task force says an 80% vaccination rate would secure herd immunity for the Marianas and could trigger more relaxed guidelines for the community.
The Northern Marianas is also hoping to to jump-start its tourism industry.
Voters purged from electoral register
More than 2,500 registered voters in American Samoa have been purged from the voter's registration roll by the Election Office.
The Office is allowed under local law to remove registered voters who didn't vote in two consecutive general elections.
And it conducts a review of the voter roll, after each election, with the last one held last November.
The territory's Chief Election Officer, Lealofi Uiagalelei, says all purged voters have been given letters about their voting status and information on how to restore their names in the voter registration list.
American Samoans next vote in the mid-terms in November 2022.
Rail will boost PNG province says MP
Papua New Guinea MP Sir Puka Temu is advocating rail to solve transport problems in and around Central Province.
Sir Puka says building the railway will connect the people and improve infrastructure.
He told the Central Provincial Development Forum in Port Moresby last week that railways can ease the burden of high transport costs.
The Post Courier reports him saying Central has enormous potential to become the economic hub of PNG.
He said "we need to take leadership into the programs we are running and develop ways that could empower our people at the village level up."