Concerted effort to strengthen Tonga’s law and justice sector underway

October 16, 2019

Stakeholders in Tonga’s justice sector, both from government institutions and civil society, participated in the consultation workshop. (Photo: Ministry of Justice, Tonga)


Nukualofa, Tonga
– The development of Tonga’s law and justice sector-wide plan has kick-started with the establishing of close partnerships between Tonga’s law and justice institutions and organizations. The initiative is led by the Ministry of Justice and supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The law and justice sector plan aims to enhance institutional capacity and reinforce synergy, efficiency, responsiveness and accessibility of justice institutions as a ‘sector’. This sector-wide approach is expected to enable the institutions and organizations to deliver more coordinated and harmonized justice services to citizens of Tonga.

The development of the plan, which has been undertaken over a span of five months, includes the review and mapping of existing legal framework and policies, stakeholders and corporate plans; and consultations with the stakeholders to gather their inputs and feedback.

The Honourable Minister for Justice and Prisons Mr. Sione Vuna Fa'otusia said, “The Ministry is fully committed to lead the collective effort to take Tonga’s justice delivery to a higher standard. Through this sector plan, our aim is to enable the people of Tonga to enjoy their basic right to access to justice through effective and efficient justice service delivery.”

“The initiative aligns with the key regional and national development agenda, which will bring Tonga’s justice sector development to the attention of regional and international development partners”, he added.

A consultation was held on Friday 11 October, engaging both government institutions and civil society organizations to identify the needs of the justice stakeholders for better coordination.

Consultations will continue to take place in different forms, and a validation workshop will take place at the end of the month to bring stakeholders together to validate the draft sector plan.

The UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji Resident Representative, Levan Bouadze said, “UNDP assists national authorities and civil society to achieve delivering on comprehensive, sector-wide reforms that are inclusive and prioritize national ownership for long-term sustainability. I believe Tongan government, civil society and individual citizens will benefit from the initiative for their improved justice services.”

The development of law and justice sector plan also aims to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals particularly Goal 16 which is a commitment to promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.

For media queries, please contact:

Adi Talanaivini Mafi, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Justice, Tonga; email: amafi@justice.gov.to; tel: (+676) 7400812

Tomoko Kashiwazaki, Advocacy and Outreach, UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji; email: tomoko.kashiwazaki@undp.org; tel: (+679) 942 2193