Civic space is rated as ‘narrowed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor. Among concerns previously documented are threats to ban Facebook in the country and attempts to vilify civil society. The authorities have also restricted access to information, including requests from the media. Peaceful protests have also been dispersed.
Expression
Opposition calls for transparency on policing agreement with China
The opposition has called on the Solomon Islands government to immediately publish details of a police cooperation plan with China. The police agreement was among nine deals signed after Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing in early July 2023.
Solomon Islands opposition leader Matthew Wale called for transparency on the agreements signed, saying that "a number of government ministers were not aware of the deal" and the agreement "threatens our national security and puts us in an awkward situation with our other bilateral and security partners in the region".
As previously documented, civil society has raised concerns around access to information in the country. State dealings are not often open to scrutiny. In 2021, Transparency Solomon Islands (TSI) called on the authorities to enact laws that give rights to information to the citizens, which will enable them to have free access to information and educate themselves about issues and developments in the country. TSI recommended that the Solomon Islands develop a right to information law and fully fund its implementation.
New investigative media outlet launched
Journalists launch first investigative media outlet in Solomon Islands https://t.co/oOrzTPV7Px
— In-depth Solomons (@idsol23) May 9, 2023
Previously, in May 2023, it was reported that a new investigative media outlet had been launched in Honiara.
In-depth Solomons is an initiative of three leading Solomon Islands journalists, Ofani Eremae, Georgina Maka’a and Charley Piringi. Eremae, a journalist with more than 25 years’ experience, explained that the news outlet was initiated because of the dire need for investigative and in-depth reporting in the country.
The outlet was supported by the OCCRP (Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project), a leading global network of investigative journalists and Internews, an international media support group.
Association
Prime Minister takes aim at LGBTQI+ rights
On 10th June 2023, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare called on Western nations, especially the United States, not to weaponize LGBTIQA+ issues and use it as a condition for accessing aid.
He added that Solomon Islands “has the Christian faith, values, diversity, culture, heritage, and tradition” and ‘it will destroy the Christian faith and cultural values”.
This is not the first time for Solomon Islands leaders to openly express homophobic sentiments. In 2017, PM Sogavare reportedly shared his homophobic views to a local church group, speaking against same-sex marriage.
Sogavare warned SIBC TV, operated by the national broadcaster, that his office will be strictly filtering content that is LGBTQI+ related.
Same-sex sexual activity is a crime in the Solomon Islands. Under the Solomon Islands penal code, a person committing “buggery” could be liable to 14 years imprisonment, and same-sex sexual activity was punishable by five years’ imprisonment.
Communities affected by logging operations
A new report on the effect of industrial logging on the lives of Solomon Islanders highlighted a range of concerns including a lack of free, prior and informed consent.
The report, The Impacts of Logging on Human Rights in Solomon Islands, from Franciscans International, is based on visits and meetings with more than 300 people in six of the affected communities on Guadalcanal Island during October 2022 to ascertain whether the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) recommendations are successfully being implemented.
The reported released on 22nd June has been produced in partnership with Dominicans for Justice and Peace, the Society of St Francis, the Dominican network in the Solomon Islands, and the Community of the Sisters of the Church (CSC) (Solomon Islands-Pacific Province).
The key findings of these visits indicate that the concerns of affected communities are left largely unaddressed, and that logging threatens to cause irreparable harm to people and the environment they rely on and inhabit.
The report found that contracts to exploit customary land are often signed by a single individual considered as a representative of the community – even though they may not have received a mandate to do so. Further, property rights for registered land are not respected, with loggers felling trees on adjacent plots despite not being granted permission to do so. Although people have filed legal claims against logging companies, these cases are often dropped, allegedly after the complainants or the authorities are bribed to do so.
As previously documented, foreign logging companies have been allowed to operate with impunity by successive governments. In 2020, two environmental defenders were slapped with prison sentences after they were accused of burning logging machinery belonging to Malaysia-based firm Xiang Lin SI Ltd.