The EU says democracy, civil society and the press are under growing threat, including in the Pacific.
Photo: RNZ / Daniela Maoate-Cox
The findings came in the body's annual report on human rights and democracy released last week.
The report said discrimination against women and domestic violence were an ongoing problem in several Pacific countries and especially in Tuvalu and Tonga, aided by a culture of silence and legislative shortfalls respectively.
In Fiji, concerns persist over civil society engagement and media freedoms, including self-censorship.
Its election to the UN Human Rights Council, however, "should give further impetus to strengthening the rule of law and ensuring protection of human rights and freedoms in the country".
The EU said forced labour and sex trafficking remain unreported in the Federated States of Micronesia, where the judiciary lacks funding.
"No labour unions exist, though there are no laws against their formation. The right to strike and bargain collectively is not legally recognised."
It said Nauru's mixed track record with democracy continues with the government's pursuit of prosecution for the so-called Nauru 19.
However, it said the overall situation for refugees and asylum seekers in detention centres has slightly improved, after the introduction of an "open door camp" policy.
"Although the situation remained difficult for many refugees and asylum seekers, cases of depression and self-harming decreased consistently following the easing of the detention conditions."
Photo: RNZI/Sally Round
And in PNG, the report said post-election violence and police brutality were ongoing and corruption continue across all levels of government.
"In spite of genuine efforts on policy development in the last few years the country's concrete progress is held back by weak institutional capacities (including lack of co-ordination among different entities in the administration) and poor policy implementation."
In Tonga, ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) was still stalled and there was no full equality of suffrage, in breach of human rights conventions.
Meanwhile, Tuvalu had no legislation prohibiting discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation.
In Vanuatu, where no women served in the 52-member parliament in 2018, the report said "traditional attitudes regarding male dominance and customary familial roles have hampered women's participation in political life".