Chapter 5
Appraising the Domestic Implementation of the International Humanitarian Law of Sexual Violence in the Pacific Region
In: New Zealand Yearbook of International LawSearch for other papers by Tamara Richardson in
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Abstract
This article examines the implementation of the international humanitarian law of sexual violence by the Parliaments of Pacific states into their respective domestic laws. Specifically, it focuses on the incorporation of seven sexual violence crimes: rape, sexual violence, enforced sterilization, forced pregnancy, enforced prostitution, sexual slavery and other crimes of comparable gravity into the domestic implementing legislation of fourteen Pacific states and self-governing states– Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. The article also provides an assessment of two challenges to incorporating contemporary sexual violence definitions in the Pacific region, primarily identifying both civilian and military leaders as perpetrators, and the incorporation of gender-neutral language. The article concludes that, with the exception of Samoa and Nauru, the remaining twelve states have not incorporated definitions for sexual violence crimes holistically, and as such contain definitions which do not reflect contemporary understandings of the crimes in IHL jurisprudence. The author recommends two options for addressing the existing flaws – amending the relevant domestic laws or introducing a single Act, both trends popular in current state practice.