VANUATU, Disability Country Profile
 CONSTITUTION With effect from the 30 July 1980, Vanuatu became a sovereign democratic state with its own Constitution. Vanuatu has a system of reprinting its statutes, with the last revised edition being till June 1988. It is difficult to ascertain clearly the current state of law, as some law that applied before the Constitution date remains in force. HUMAN RIGHTS The Constitution created Vanuatu as a sovereign democratic state. It establishes basic human rights without specific reference to persons with a disability. Vanuatu has encountered some conflicts between provisions in its Constitution, particularly in relation to customary land rights. In one case (John Noel and Ors v Obed Toto), the Court decided that, although Article 5 guaranteed equal rights for women, customary land must prevail to determine ownership of land, but customary rights were to be disregarded if their effect was discriminatory. However, in the case in question the outcome was that the right to income from land was granted, rather than ownership of land. Vanuatu has an Ombudsman established under its Constitution, Chapter 9 Part 2. Actions or inaction of Governmental bodies may be reviewed at the discretion of the Ombudsman, who may make recommendations for corrective action. The jurisdiction includes improperly discriminatory conduct. In 2002 Government appointed a Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) and began receiving submissions from individuals and groups across the nation for amendments to the Constitution. In September 2002, the Disability Promotion & Advocacy Association (DPA) made a submission to the CRC to include disability as a ground for non-discrimination as follows: The Republic of Vanuatu recognises, that, subject to any restrictions imposed by law on non-citizens, all persons are entitled to the following fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual without discrimination on the grounds of race, place or origin, religious or traditional beliefs, political opinions, language, sex or disability but subject to respect for the rights and freedoms of others and to the legitimate public interest in defence, safety, public order, welfare and health: (a) life; (b) liberty; (c) security of the law; (d) protection of the law; (e) freedom and inhuman treatment and forced labour; (f) freedom of expression; (h) freedom of assembly and association; (i) freedom of movement; (j) protection for the privacy of the home and other property and from unjust deprivation of property; (k) equal treatment under the law or administrative action, except that no law shall be inconsistent with this sub-paragraph insofar as it makes provision for the special benefit, welfare, protection or advancement of females, children and young persons, members of underprivileged groups or inhabitants of less developed area. In its submission, DPA also included the suggestion FOR AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL DISABILITY COUNCIL, ITS FUNCTIONS, STRUCTURE, FUNDING AND RELATED MATTERS. Without having much knowledge to work from, DPA looked at and adopted the format of the Fiji Act of 1994 as its basis. The then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon Clement Leo had supported the establishment of the Act in 1999 after he signed the Proclamation on the Full Participation and Equality of People with Disabilities in the Asian and Pacific Region adopted on 5 December 1992 at the Meeting to Launch the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 1993-2002. Work toward the Act was attempted by DPA at its Annual General Meeting in February 2002. Due to insufficient knowledge and capacity by members of DPA, little progress has been made. It should be noted that liaison with the State Law Office who wanted to draft the Disability Legislation was requested by DPA to be put on hold until people with disabilities themselves have been consulted and included in the discussion of the Act. This follows the motto “Nothing about us without us”. At their Annual General Meeting in 2002 the first attempt to discuss the provisions of what should be included in the draft Act was attempted. This attempt failed as many members were new to this idea of DPOs, disability issues and lack of understanding of legal issues. In April 2004 the Government adopted the National Disability Policy directives of which Policy Area No. 1 is on National Coordination & Legislation. In February 2006 the National Disability Committee was established and is now in the process of developing an Action Plan which should see moves to have a Disability Act. SIGNATORY TO THE UN ESCAP PROCLAMATION ON THE FULL PARTICIPATION AND EQUALITY OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN THE ASIAN AND PACIFIC REGION Signed in April 1999 by Hon. Clement Leo, Minister for Foreign Affairs FOCAL POINT ON DISABILITY WITHIN GOVERNMENT Continuing dialogue between advocates and the government has lead to the establishment of a Disability Desk within the Prime Ministers Department, and it is hoped that a strategic plan for the next five years will be evolved, including an emphasis on implementation of the BMF. In October 2003, Morris Kaloran, then officer in the Department of Strategic Management (DSM) newly ‘designated’ officer responsible for disability issues presented a paper in Bangkok of the intention to establish the Disability Desk. This meeting was sponsored by ESCAP where representatives from Asia Pacific were invited to be briefed on the BMF. It was at this meeting that a paper presented by Kaloran talked about the establishment of the Disability Desk. To date this is still to be realized. From September 2003 disability was under the umbrella of the Department of Strategic Management under the Office of the Prime Minister. In December 2004 it was moved to the Ministry of the Comprehensive Reform Programme which was restructured in June 2005 and is now called the Ministry of Justice and Social Welfare. In March 2004 representatives of the Asia Pacific Disability Centre visited Vanuatu. One outcome of this visit was the agreement between APCD and DPA that DPA become the NGO Focal Point for the implementation of the BMF. While this was readily agreed by DPA, there are no provision from the APDC as to how a self-help organization like DPA is to move with this. In April 2004 Government approved a Nine-Point National Disability Policy Directives which incorporates targets from both the 1st Decade and the BMF. DPA held discussions with both ESCAP in mid 2004 and the Department of Foreign Affairs in early 2005 for a study of the situational analysis of persons with disability in Vanuatu. DPA submitted a request to the Department of Foreign Affairs in January 2005 to ask ESCAP Pacific Operations Centre to conduct this study. In July 2005, Alastair Wilkinson, Social Development Adviser to the ESCAP Pacific Operations Centre prepared a document called “Disability in Vanuatu: The Community View – Services and Service Priorities”. The report contains current situation of people with disability including children and provides a framework that Government can utilize to draw its long-term plan. This document can be found at UN ESCAP Pacific Operations Centre, Fiji. In November 2005 DPA, in conjunction with the Department of Strategic Management and UNESCAP POC held the 1st BMF Awareness Workshop with Government officials. Following this workshop, it was agreed that a National Disability Committee be established. In February 2006 the Department of Strategic Management prepared a Council paper for the Council of Ministers who approved the establishment of the National Disability Committee with representatives from both Government and NGOs. Of the seven members on the NDC, Mr John Suran, Chair of DPA and Ms Leisel Sope, member of the DPA Coordinating Committee are represented. The Vanuatu Society for Disabled People and vandisports are also represented. The Chair of the NDC is Mr Gregoire Nimbtik. From October 2006 the National Disability Committee will be embarking on drawing up Vanuatu’s National Disability Plan: 2007-2012. DISABILITY SPECIFIC LEGISLATION Education Legislation prohibiting discrimination in education is contained in the Education Act No. 21 of 2000 (assented on 30 December 2001 and commenced on 25 February 2002) under s8(1) and states that a child is not to be refused admission to any school on account of his or her gender, religion, nationality, race, language or disability. Section 8(2) provides that a child is not to be admitted to year 1 unless he or she is at least 6 years old and a child is not to be admitted to year 7 if he or she is over 15 years old. Otherwise, a child is not to be discriminated against on account of his or her age. Non-discrimination on the grounds of age was included in the Act following the findings of the Ombudsman that the Ministry discriminated against a 15 year child by not allowing that child to continue to secondary school because the child was considered to be too old. NATIONAL COORDINATION COMMITTEE OR NATIONAL DISABILITY COUNCIL The National Disability Committee was established in February 2006. It is hoped that the submission made by DPA to the Constitutional Review Committee in September 2002 will be seriously considered. As the Focal Point for the implementation of the BMF, DPA will be looking at pursuing this in 2006 and beyond. The report of the Constitutional Review Committee of 2002 is yet to be tabled in Parliament. NATIONAL DISABILITY POLICY AND ACTION PLAN The National Disability Policy contains the following policy directives: 1. National Coordination & Legislation To establish a National Coordination Committee on disability concerns and ensure inclusion of people with disabilities in policy and decision-making at a national level, protect and promote rights of people with disability through identifying, examining and amending existing legal and policy provisions that may be discriminatory against people with disabilities. 2. Self-Help Organizations and Rehabilitative/Service Organizations To strengthen the capacity of self-help organizations and rehabilitative service providers and ensure that persons with disabilities have equal access to health care, rehabilitation and equal opportunities to influence policies and decision-making in those organizations as well as decision making at the national level. 3. Women with Disabilities To recognize that women with disabilities are doubly discriminated and ensure that issues affecting them are incorporated into national programmes and policies. 4. Education, Training & Employment To ensure that all girls and boys with disabilities be given the fullest possible opportunity for education, provide equal opportunities for vocational training and employment for people with disabilities. 5. Access to built Environments & Transport To ensure that barrier-free features are incorporated as a standard requirement in designs and plans for all new construction, renovation and expansion of building and facilities used by members of the public, including transport, public offices and buildings, educational facilities, housing facilities and incorporate these provisions into existing building laws where they exist and where they do not exist, to enact new legislation. 6. Poverty Alleviation To reduce the increasing trend of poverty particularly in urban pockets impacting on persons with disabilities and nationally through a poverty alleviation policy and programme. 7. Early detection, early prevention and education Initiate public education campaigns directed early detection and the prevention of the most preventable causes of disability. 8. Access to Information & communication To generate, collate and disseminate information on the situation of persons with disability to provide a sound basis for policy formulation and action and to increase public awareness. 9. Regional Cooperation To enhance the sharing of information and experience on the advancement of people with disability and to strengthen their effectiveness in advocacy at regional and international forums. From October 2006 the National Disability Policy and Plan will be developed for 2007-2012. DISABILITY STATISTICS AND DATA COLLECTION Statistics on disability has been collected by the National Statistics Office (NSO) for a while and reported under the “Economically Active/Economically Inactive” category. The criteria has been whether the person enumerated was ‘economically inactive’ due to a disability. In the lead up to the 1999 national census, a preliminary survey was conducted and for the first time, the National Statistics Office enumerated the number of persons with disabilities on each island throughout the country. This information is contained in the NSO under the category “National Listing”. DPA was able to obtain these data for analysis just prior to the 1st DPI Oceania Leadership Training Seminar held in Port Vila in August 2001. It is include here for information.   However, the results of the Census itself in 1999 did not report on disability. This is a concern that has been raised with the National Statistics Office. Concerned about the lack of data, DPA submitted a project proposal to the EU in 2002. The ultimate result of this was an invitation to Inclusion International to assist with a survey which saw the partnership between II and VSDP. As a result of this survey, the following data was collected for the TAFEA Province.  In 1999 the following data was included in the Education Master Plan.  The Department of Education has been collecting data on the number of children attending schools since 2003. Not segregated by sex or disability, the information collected for the 2004 school year now contains these information. The compilation of these data have been carried out by Ms Fabiola Bibi, the Statistician at the Education Department. .jpg) SERVICE PROVIDERS The Vanuatu Society for Disabled People (VSDP) is a service delivery organisation, based mainly in Port Vila, but with the objective of providing services throughout the country. Established as 1986 under the auspices of the Red Cross, it provided centre-based rehabilitation services for those based mainly in Port Vila. In 2001 it shifted its focus to community based rehabilitation centre with funding from the Christoffel Blinden Mission (CBM) under the name of Nakato Society. Nakato is the Bislama word for ‘hermit crab’. In 1997 the name changed to the Vanuatu Society for Disabled People (VSDP). In 2004 VSDP placed its first Fieldworker on Tanna, a process that has taken some 8 years to fulfil. In 2005, VSDP was able to place one Fieldworker in MALEKULA. It has not been able to place anymore Fieldworkers elsewhere in the country. Following the TAFEA Disability Identification Survey, the following unmet needs were identified.  SELF-HELP ORGANISATIONS There is an active DPO, the Disability Promotion & Advocacy Association (DPA). This self-help NGO was established in 1999 to advocate for rights and promote abilities of people with disability. In 2001, DPA hosted the 1st Leadership & Training Seminar in conjunction with DPI Oceania. Representatives from eight Pacific States took part. From this meeting, one of the key outcomes was a recommendation that disability issues be placed on the Agenda of the Forum Secretariat. Advocates from Vanuatu pursued this goal with their own Government who “flagged” the issue in the 2002 Forum meeting in Nadi and as a direct result, disability issues are now on the Forum agenda. In 2003 DPA lobbied the Government of Vanuatu to have the Forum Heads of Government adopt the BMF which they did in August 2003 at their meeting in Auckland. On the national level, one of the results of that has been the approval of the National Disability Policy directives in April 2004. Members of DPA have attended a number of regional meetings since 2001. In 2002 for example, three members of DPA - John Suran, Edwin Siba and Belinda Mane from Fiji - attended the special session of ESCAP to review the decade which supported the extension of the Asian & Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities from 2003-2004. In 2002 John Suran and Andy Piau-Lynch attended the meeting to establish the Pacific Disability Forum in Nadi. In 2003 Nelly Caleb, a member of DPA attended the Women with Disabilities workshop in Bangkok. Two women Nelly Caleb and Doriana Naliupis from DPA also attended meetings organized by DPI Oceania in 2003 and 2004. In 2003 John Suran began attending the Ad Hoc committee meeting on the Draft Disability Convention. In 2005 John Suran attended the ICT workshop run by APCD. In September 2006 Andy Piau-Lynch attended the South-to-South Cooperation with APCD which provided an opportunity for Focal Points to review the work carried out by the APCD. John Suran was appointed by the Government of Vanuatu in 2003 as the country’s representative to the discussions on the UN Ad Hoc on the Draft Disability Convention. The Government of Vanuatu, as well as other agencies such as the UN Voluntary Fund, and Mr Remmy Maradona have been sponsoring him to attend the Ad Hoc Committee meetings from 2004 until the completion of the work in August 2006. There is a sports organisation vandisports, promoting sporting activities for persons with a disability. WOMEN WITH DISABILITIES Women with disabilities have attended the two WWD workshops held in Fiji in 2003 and 2004. A Women with Disabilities Committee was established on 23 November 2003. It is headed by Nelly Caleb. On 6 December 2004 a Caregivers Support Group was established in Santo and headed by Doriana Naliupis. Vanuatu ratified CEDAW in 1995, and CRC in 1993. The Combined Initial, First and Second Report on CEDAW was written by the Andy Piau-Lynch, the National Coordinator of DPA. The completed work was presented to the Hon Prime Minister Ham Lini on 22 December 2004. It was deposited at the UN Division of the Advancement of Women in New York on 2 March 2005. Of note in Vanuatu’s CEDAW Report is the inclusion of women and children with disabilities in the various Articles reflecting the UN CEDAW Committee’s General Recommendation 18. According to the figures from the national listing of 1999 (see Table 2 above) 41 percent of persons with disabilities are women. EARLY DETECTION, EARLY INTERVENTION AND EDUCATION A centre for children with disabilities under the Red Cross was closed in the 1991 when the CBR programme for persons with disabilities was established to reach people in all rural and outer island areas. In 1994 a programme for Children with Disabilities was developed; unfortunately due to our limited knowledge on how to pursue these plans, this programme has died. In 1999 the World Bank assisted the Ministry of Education do what is called the Education Master Plan. Within this plan there were provisions for the establishment of two schools for children with disabilities. At the 1st Leadership Training Seminar in August 2001, DPA identified this as one of the reasons why we should have a national disability survey: How can we arbitrarily decide to put two schools for kids with disabilities in Port Vila and Luganville? How do we know that these two locations are necessarily the most pertinent? How many teachers have we trained in special needs education? As a result of those concerns, the two schools have not been pursued further. In 2006, however, more information is coming to light through the compilation of statistics by the Ministry of Education which should provide the basis for informed decision on locating any special schools. The Ministry of Health has recognized the importance of the principle of equality in the workplace. Its commitment to non-discrimination is based on Article 1 of CEDAW and states that the Ministry is committed to: “Eliminating all forms of discrimination in the workplace based on age, sex, race, place of origin, geographic location – urban/rural, culture, language, physical, intellectual or physiological disability, industrial activity, political beliefs or activities, religious beliefs or activities, sexual preference, pregnancy, status as parent or care/family responsibilities or by personal association with anyone who has any of these characteristics”. By including non-discrimination based on disability, sexual preferences, pregnancy, and status as parents and caregivers or anyone associated with persons with these characteristics, the Ministry of Health has produced the most comprehensive non-discriminatory policy statement yet in the country. It is currently reviewing all legislation pertaining to health, and this review should be completed by 2006. It is hoped that provisions to include early detection and intervention programmes and provisions of assistive devises and support to service providers will be included. The Ministry of Health is near finalizing its HIV/AIDS Policy Paper. Included in this policy is proposal for the National AIDS Council. The Vanuatu Society for Disabled People has been listed as a potential member of the Council. There is a Mental Hospital Act for reception and detention of persons of unsound mind who are a danger to themselves or others or are wandering at large or not receiving proper care and attention. Detention must be on evidence and examination by a Medical Officer, and is subject to weekly review. A person who is charged but found to be of unsound mind may also be ordered to be confined. Vanuatu does not have any mental hospitals. The question has been: if there were someone who is confined under this Act, where would they put that person? In a review by Wano & Ziner-Toa in 2000, they identified the Mental Health Act is one Act in need of review. There were rooms at the Port Vila Central Hospital that used to house persons with mental health problems. In September 2006 the Health Department invited a group of interested people to meet at the Chief’s Nakamal to discuss the Act. Both DPA and VSDP were represented. The outcome of this meeting was to repeal this Act. The Ministry of Health will be looking into this recommendation. TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT Employers have a duty to provide safe working conditions and to rectify dangerous and unsanitary premises. There is a Health and Safety at Work Act. This is one area that DPA has not had the capacity to venture into. Following the meeting in Nadi in 2004 and the subsequent Tanoa Statement, Nelly and I have earmarked a “Employment Support” project for 2005. This will be a project for the Women with Disabilities Sub-Committee. So far members of the DPA in Santo who are working have been identified and their conditions of employment are being recorded. In Vila, only a few men and women with disabilities are working and we have absolutely no idea how many. Discussions have already been held with Lionel Kalwat, Deputy Commissioner for Labour to assist us in gathering statistics on men and women with disabilities and caregivers in employment and to approach employers who are not abiding by the law to do so in a way that is both beneficial to both employees and employers. As at September 2006 Vanuatu has not ratified ILO Convention 159. In June 2006 DPA met and discussed with Mr Gilles Bourdet, the Sales Manger of Air Vanuatu the possibility of getting discounts airfares. In the process of this discussion, he offered to give job opportunities to people with disabilities. The outcome of this is that as of July 2006, eight persons with disability are now sub-contracted by VSDP to the Catering Department of Air Vanuatu. ACCESS TO BUILT ENVIRONMENTS AND PUBLIC TRANSPORT There are no statutes requiring access to buildings and public places for persons with a disability, but progress has been made in providing access in Port Vila. . In March 2004 DPA presented a submission to the Minister for Public Utilities (who also happened to be the Deputy Prime Minister) to include universal access in any building code that is to be drafted. A letter was subsequently received from the Department that universal access is being included in the draft legislation. No further work has been done as at September 2006. ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS No specific information available. Discussion held with Telecom Vanuatu Ltd suggest that they follow the UN Standards. However, there are no obvious indications of what they follow. Again this is one area where DPA will need to work a lot more on. With regards to the digital divide, it not only affects people with disabilities but just about the whole population. Since there is no training provided to teachers, nurses, police officers and others for the need to communicate with persons with disabilities, there is a big gap in this area. Currently kids who are blind and who are attending school must learn stuff by rote: there are no training for using Braille or sign language. Again this is one area in which DPA is looking into. Thus one of the reasons for setting up the Sign Language Training Project under the Caregivers Support Group is to being this process of communication between children and parents/caregivers through sign language. In early 2005 a New Zealand volunteer, Mr Chris Faralley arrived in Vanuatu under DPA’s wing to commence training in Sign Language. He moved to VSDP in 2006 and continues to provide training members of both DPA, VSDP and others. POVERTY ALLEVIATION No specific post constitution social security laws were found. However, provisions under the Vanuatu National Provident Fund caters for superannuation for those who receive VT3,000 per month. In recent years the Department of Labour with assistance from ILO have been working on the possibility of introducing some other forms of social security. By 2007, further information should come to light. CRIMINAL LAW Criminal Codes. There is a presumption of sanity unless proved otherwise. The Court may order a medical report to determine whether a person, by reason of insanity or other mental disorder is unfit to plead or stand trial. If so, the Court may place the person under guardianship. Vanuatu has an Office of the Public Solicitor, established under Article 54 of the 1980 Constitution. In 2004 the Public Solicitors asked for a psychological assessment from Andy Piau-Lynch (who is a psychologist by profession). She also suggested that VSDP provide an assessment. In this case, a developmentally slow young man needed to be assessed as to whether his statement could be accepted which the defense wanted to rule. VSDP was also able to provide an assessment which the court accepted and the young man was able to speak during the proceedings. One of the problems with the criminal system is that there are no persons who can sign, there is no capacity for the individual who is disabled to be able to access justice if he or she cannot communicate. OTHER LAWS Estates and Inheritance. Probate or authority to administer estate cannot be issued until the Court is satisfied that adequate provision has been made for the maintenance of the spouse and children under 18. Wills Act Section 13(2). Marriage. There is no impediment to marriage for persons with a disability. However, the age of marriage for females is 16 years while for males is 18 years. This is discriminatory against women and contrary to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Immigration Act prohibits immigration for a person suffering from a mental disorder, and that his presence in Vanuatu would be a danger to the community. In 2006 the Correctional Services Act established the Department of Correctional Services. In this Act there are provisions for universal access. Return to Disability Country Profiles homepage | Disability homepage | Top of Page |
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