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Pacific children Pacific children

and sharing on the status of children be improved and that Heyns and Willem Gravett, it’s an important experiment
the special needs and threats to children be factored into all and step forward that: “will in turn trigger further efforts
planning for climate change and disaster risk management. to ensure the broader ownership and visibility of the treaty
system, which is crucial to its long-term survival.”
WHAT’S NEXT? For committee members such as Gudbrandsson, the
So was the meeting worth the time and expense? meeting provided new insights: “Samoa was a great learning
While Prime Minister Susuga Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi experience. What we learnt was how your culture fosters
warmly welcomed delegates to his country, reminding them the people in this region. It’s so unique worldwide. The
that a ‘one size fits all’ approach is not possible when it importance of your community approach to things, how you
comes to human rights, after the conference was over he had deal with the issues of day to day life, the problems families
some criticisms of the way children raised issues, and the face, children, you seek communal solutions, the role played
consistency of reporting of sexual abuse cases by local media by your religious and spiritual leaders in society is extremely
[see sidebar]. important, all these cannot be articulated in reports, this
Icelandic Committee member Bragi Gudbrandsson, who is something which you need to live to appreciate fully. So I
visited Fiji after Samoa, said while the media shouldn’t only have no doubt in my mind that this has been a breakthrough
focus on the negative, “sexual abuse is a topic that must for the committee in terms of understanding and appreciating
not be swept under the carpet, on the contrary it must be the unique culture of this Pacific region.”
highlighted and we must work towards enhanced awareness of The COVID-19 outbreak, coming so soon after the Samoan
this issue if we are going to be able to protect our children.” measles outbreak and the tail-end of the cyclone season,
For the Pacific, which has the poorest record for reporting meant the meeting was even more of a logistical and financial
in full and on time to treaty bodies, whose children have challenge than initially anticipated. Given the expense (local
never met any member of the committee, where six of seven reports put it at US$357K) and mammoth logistical effort, can
reviews of the committee have previously been conducted by such meetings be held away from UN headquarters again?
video link, and where alternative reports from civil society “Well I certainly hope so,” says Gudbrandsson. “What has
have declined, there was clearly value in face to face been shown here is that you have managed to pull off an
engagement with the Committee members. extremely complex project… I think that I can speak for all
For advocates engaged in UN processes who have long the committee members that this was better than we could
called on the UN treaty system to move closer to people on have hoped for in all our wildest dreams.”
the ground, such as South African law academics Christof

SEX CRIMES, TRUTH read by those overseas and it sounds like this is all that men
in Samoa do from Monday to Sunday.”
AND PRIDE IN SAMOA Tuilaepa continued that when he sees reports being
televised about sexual crimes he switches off his TV set.
By The Samoa Observer But he didn’t stop there. He also criticised comments
made by a student during the 84th Extraordinary Session of
Prime Minister Tuilaepa Dr. Sa’ilele Malielegaoi’s insistence the Committee on the Rights of the Child that his peers were
on telling the media how to do its job is unnecessary. Coming being beaten up on a regular basis. He said the student’s
at a time when there are so many pressing issues he should be comments sounded like something that was rehearsed.
dealing with as the leader of this nation, we humbly suggest “This is what the people in the media are doing and it
he should focus all his energy there. includes those that are in the programme [C.R.C.] who are
On the pages of Weekend Observer yesterday, a story with badmouthing the country,” he said. While he did not name
the headline “Media should play down sex crimes: P.M.” was anyone in particular, he said such people have no pride in
a typical example. It immediately drew attention especially their country.
during a week when Samoa has hosted the 84th Extraordinary Well that’s tough, isn’t it? How does a person speaking
Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, where their mind about what is happening to them come across as
Tuilaepa himself had repeatedly called on the public to someone who has no pride in his/her country?
“break the culture of silence” about sex crimes and violence Besides, what about this nagging thing called the “truth”?
against women and children. When it comes to sexual crimes, the truth is staring at us
Away from the international audiences where he had been unblinkingly everyday. Down at Mulinu’u at the halls of
saying all the right things to keep them happy, when Tuilaepa justice, Judges of the Courts have been telling us for years
fronted up to the local media, he was singing a different that sexual crimes against women and young girls have been
tune. He turned on the local media for reporting sexual rising dramatically.
crimes saying they depict Samoa in a negative light. What’s more, the details of these crimes have become more
“It doesn’t happen often but the problem is the media disturbing by the day since they involve the violation of the
enjoys publicising these cases involving an elderly man doing sanctity of the homes, where women, girls and young boys
filthy things to his daughter,” Tuilaepa said. should be protected from harm.
“The cases are probably nowhere near ten in a year but it’s
being reported week in and week out. These reports are being Continue on page 34

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