Human Rights and the South Pacific: A New Voice in the Global Dialogue

Over the past several decades, there has been a disconnect between the international community and the South Pacific region in terms of human rights. Countries in the region have been slow to adapt international declarations and conventions and slow to implement those they do ratify. Is this lack of agreement between the global human rights movement and local leaders due to the fact that human rights are perceived differently in the South Pacific region? This article suggests some possible points of difference between the South Pacific region and the dominant vision of human rights as laid out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related treaties.