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Tonga’s civic space rated ‘Shrink’ Provided by CIVICUS Monitor. Ongoing concerns recorded included the existence of criminal defamation laws, media restrictions and risks faced by the LGBTQI+ community.
In April 2024, some senior Tongan ministers Announcement of resignation After a months-long constitutional crisis with the king, Prime Minister Huakawameliku Shosi-Sovaleni told parliament he would give up his post as defence minister, while one of his key allies, Fekitamoloa Utoikamanu, would resign as foreign affairs and tourism minister in deference to King Tupou VI, who abruptly withdrew his “confidence and consent” over three key ministerial appointments in early 2024. Tonga’s Privy Council Issued instructions The king had lost confidence in Hu’akavameiliku and ‘Utoikamanu.
More than a year after Tonga was reviewed by the United Nations Human Rights Council, Universal Periodic Review Not yet implemented Key Civic Space RecommendationsDuring its May 2023 review, Tonga received 11 recommendations from UN member states to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The UN treaty guarantees rights such as freedom of speech, peaceful assembly and expression. Tonga also received six recommendations to establish a national human rights institution in accordance with the Paris Principles. CIVICUS does not know if any progress has been made on either of these recommendations.
Express
Challenges to press freedom continue
Tonga ranked 45th in the World Press Freedom Index in May 2024 Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
The constitution guarantees press freedom, but enforcement is spotty, according to Reporters Without Borders. A 2020 e-crimes law makes online harassment punishable by three years in prison, but the definition is vague. In 2022, the Ministry of Information and Communications quietly passed eight Strict media regulation Essentially, it is a punishment for spreading so-called “sensitive” information and protects politicians.
Reporters Without Borders said that faced with the threat of economic collapse, some journalists would self-censor for fear of angering advertisers, including the government, while some topics remained off-limits to the media, such as police torture, the abolition of the death penalty and the continued existence of child marriage.
Source: CIVICUS
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