Pacific Island Countries and their commitment to International Law

This article discusses the commitment of Pacific Island Countries (PIC) to international law and their limitations in contributing to important Human Rights and other conferences at different UN bodies. It highlights the challenges faced by these countries in accessing UN instruments due to their geography and limited resources. However, cooperation among these states in a move to engaging with international environmental legal procedures is common as there is always strength in numbers.

Pacific island countries (PIC) 1
"Pacific island countries (PIC) have taken to heart the keynote concepts of the magnificent
declarations in the preamble of the UN Charter, including the reaffirmation of the equal rights of
nations large and small, and respect for international law."
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Pacific island countries (PIC) 2
The breach of the doctrine of equality of nations has been an itching issue from as early as 1907
and before (Armstrong, 1920). International law dictates that all states are equal rendering a idea
of inordinate and lesser powers having no chance in a spot-on system of international law.
Countries member to the UN Security Council, for example, tend to have more power over the
other countries (Henderson, 2010).
Against the statement by Tuiloma Slade, small island countries in the Pacific region do not have
sufficient resources in ensuring a sound contribution in important Human Rights and other
conferences at different UN bodies. Again, the region does not have a solid record of
commitment to the relevant human rights treaties. The geography of the region is still a limiting
factor on access to UN instruments as most of UN offices are in Europe (Un.org.
2014). However, cooperation among these states in a move to engaging with international
environmental legal procedures is common as there is always strength in numbers. Moreover, the
region is a beneficiary of various entitlements in international legal crimes (Martin et al., 2015).
PIC are more likely to emphasize respect for international law after the coup attempt in Fiji in
2000 that initiated a Constitutional problem. More so, there has been a conflict between
customary law and the international culture of human rights. The application of the latter is
uncertain based on the mere fact that they might destroy the existing customary rights (Tamata,
2009).

Pacific island countries (PIC) 3
References
Armstrong, S.W., 1920. The Doctrine of the equality of nations in international law and the
relation of the doctrine to the treaty of Versailles. American Journal of International Law, 14(4),
pp.540-564.
Henderson, C., 2010. The United Nations Security Council and War: The Evolution of Thought
and Practice Since 1945 by Vaughan Lowe, Adam Roberts, Jennifer Welsh and Dominik Zaum
(eds)[Oxford University Press2008, xxi+ 793 pp, ISBN 978-0-19-953343-5,£ 90.00
(h/bk)]. International & Comparative Law Quarterly, 59(2), pp.532-533.
Martin, P., Bigdeli, S.Z., Daya-Winterbottom, T., Du Plessis, W. and Kennedy, A. eds.,
2015. The Search for Environmental Justice. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Tamata, L., 2009. Application of human rights conventions in the Pacific islands courts. Journal
of South Pacific Law, 4, p.2000.
Un.org. (2014). Asia and the Pacific. [online] Available at:
http://www.un.org/en/sections/where-we-work/asia-and-pacific/ [Accessed 25 Feb. 2019].