THE PACIFIC ISLAND STATES: THEMES EMERGING FROM THE UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL'S INAUGURAL UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEW?

This commentary reviews the Universal Periodic Review experience of the Pacific Island states. Under the auspices of the new United Nations Human Rights Council, every UN member state, including the 12 Pacific Island states holding UN membership, underwent the Universal Periodic Review in 2011. This new process seeks to review compliance with fundamental human rights through, in effect,'peer review'. Pacific Island states were reviewed but rarely participated in the review of other states. The UN documentation on the reviews of the Pacific Island states is perused to identify common themes: the desirability of more extensive engagement with the international human rights system (increased ratification of core treaties for example); and a need to transform international human rights into a meaningful reality informing national laws and policies. These are considered further with reference to the relevant review reports. The commentary concludes by looking towards the second review cycle and mooting some realistic areas of improvement.