Overview of Human Rights in Samoa

The Independent State of Samoa is a hybrid system including a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy.  Some recent elections were marred by charges of fraud and bribery, resulting in mandated by-elections by the Supreme Court after challenges were filed by losing candidates.

The government generally respects the rights of its citizens with a few noted exceptions. Prison conditions have deteriorated in recent years, especially for the male populated prisons. Political discrimination and violence against children are problems. Societal pressures and customary law often interfere with the judiciaries’ ability to conduct fair trials. Those who do not conform to the norms of society are often the victims of violence or even banishment from the community. Improvements in religious freedom were recently when a court ruled that a village could not expel bible study groups and that their rules restricting minority religious practices were illegal.

Overall, Samoa has a better than average human rights record when compared with other countries across the globe.

Human Development Index (HDI) Rank:

75th out of 177

Note: Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite index that measures the level of well-being of nations in the world. It uses factors such as poverty, literacy, life-expectancy, education, gross domestic product, and purchasing power parity to assess the average achievements in each nation. It has been used in the United Nation’s Human Development Report since 1993.