Part III Regional Regimes, Ch.24 Regional Refugee Regimes: Oceania

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Foster Michelle ◽  
Hood Anna
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Island ◽  
Island States ◽  
Refugee Law ◽  
Pacific Island States ◽  
Regional Regimes ◽  
Refugee Policies ◽  
International Refugee Law

This chapter discusses three of the most prominent approaches to refugee law and displacement issues in Oceania and analyses what they might reveal about the field of refugee law and the region of Oceania. The chapter looks first at the extent to which actors in the region have engaged with international refugee law. While adherence to international refugee law treaties is relatively low, it is not non-existent. The chapter then considers the approach to refugee law of the traditional regional hegemon: Australia. For decades, Australia has worked to encourage its regional neighbours to adopt policies that complement its own approach to refugee matters. Although Australia has had some success in obtaining support for its refugee policies from Pacific Island States, there have also been pockets of strong resistance. Finally, the chapter assesses some of the approaches to displacement adopted by Pacific Island States.

scholarly journals Multilateral Resource Negotiations Between Weak and Powerful States: The Case of the 1987 United States-Pacific Island Fisheries Treaty

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Sōsefo Fietangata Havea
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
Pacific Islands ◽  
The United States ◽  
Pacific Island ◽  
Island States ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Pacific Island States

<p>On April 2, 1987, the Treaty on Fisheries Between Governments of Certain Pacific Island States and the Government of the United States of America was signed. The signatories to the Fisheries were the 16 members of the South Pacific Forum and the United States of America. After six difficult years of negotiations, the Treaty permitted American fishing vessels to fish in Pacific Islands’ waters in exchange for a substantial access fee. This thesis identifies key aspects of that treaty and examines what it meant from both a theoretical and practical standpoint. How did a collection of small, comparatively weak Pacific states strike a satisfactory deal with the most powerful state on the planet? What did the agreement mean in terms of its political, legal and environmental consequences? As well as looking at the events and negotiations that led to the treaty, this thesis also attempts to discern the key political lessons that flow from this case that might be relevant for the future development of the Pacific island States in the key area of fisheries regulation. The thesis argues that disputes between Pacific nations and the United States over tuna resources and the presence of the Soviet Union in the Pacific region were the two critical factors that led to the adoption of the Treaty. From the United States’ perspective, the Treaty was seen (at the time) as the only viable option if it were to reconsolidate its long and prosperous position in the Pacific region. The US did not want the Soviet Union to capitalize on American fishing disputes with the Pacific islands, and it could not afford for the Soviet Union to establish a strong association with the Pacific islands. The Treaty therefore served three purposes for Washington: (i) it maintained its long friendship with the Pacific islands, (ii) it maintained its fisheries interests in the region, (iii) and it kept the Pacific communist-free. This fusion of US economic and strategic interests gave Pacific Island States a stronger hand in the negotiations than their size and power would have otherwise offered.</p>

scholarly journals Local Government in the South Pacific Islands

2008 ◽  
pp. 7-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham Hassall ◽  
Feue Tipu
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Pacific Islands ◽  
Government Reform ◽  
Pacific Island ◽  
Capita Expenditure ◽  
Island States ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Pacific Island States ◽  
South Pacific Islands

In this paper we seek to answer some basic questions about the condition of local government in the Pacific. Firstly, we examine what is meant by ‘local government’ in the various islands and for that matter how Pacific Island states have perceived and accepted local government institutions in practice; second, we ask basic questions about existing legal and constitutional recognition and powers; and third, we provide initial findings on current per capita expenditure and local government financial viability in a number of Pacific cities and towns. We also make some observations on current moves towards local government reform.

The Relationship between Remittances and Savings in Small Pacific Island States: Some Econometric Evidence

1995 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Foster
Keyword(s):  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Income Level ◽  
Pacific Island ◽  
Econometric Modelling ◽  
Island States ◽  
Western Samoa ◽  
Econometric Evidence ◽  
Pacific Island States ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Modelling Approach

The relationship between remittances and savings is examined for Tonga and Western Samoa using an econometric modelling approach. Savings deposits of various types held in banks in these countries are modelled and evidence is discovered of a strong relationship with the income level of migrants. Remittances are also found to be interest sensitive. The implications of the results for the “remittance decay” hypothesis are considered and preliminary conclusions are drawn with regard to the feasibility of introducing strategies to increase migrant saving flows into these and other South Pacific countries.

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