Cook Islands
How well are the Cook Islands respecting people's human rights?
Use the tabs below to explore the scores.
Cook Islands at a glance
Quality of Life
Economic and Social Rights
(2019)
Summary score
N/A
How well are the Cook Islands doing compared to what is possible at their level of income?
Right to
0
% of income adjusted benchmark achieved
HRMI score
100%
Very bad
Bad
Fair
Good
Safety from the State
Civil and Political Rights
(2021)
Summary score
8.1
How well is the Cook Islands' government respecting each right?
Right to freedom from
0
Score
10
Very bad
Bad
Fair
Good
Empowerment
Civil and Political Rights
(2021)
Summary score
7.6
How well is the Cook Islands' government respecting each right?
Right to
0
Score
10
Very bad
Bad
Fair
Good
Source: HRMI 2022 rightstracker.org
Quality of Life
For the Cook Islands no rights scores are available due to missing data in the relevant international databases.
Safety from the State
The Cook Islands' Safety from the State score of 8.1 out of 10 suggests that a significant number of people are not safe from one or more of the following: arbitrary arrest, torture and ill-treatment, forced disappearance, execution or extrajudicial killing.
Compared with the other countries in the Pacific, the Cook Islands are performing close to average on the right to be safe from the state.
Empowerment
The Cook Islands' Empowerment score of 7.6 out of 10 suggests that while many people are enjoying their civil liberties and political freedoms (freedom of speech, assembly and association, and democratic rights), a significant number are not.
Compared with the other countries in the Pacific, the Cook Islands are performing close to average on empowerment rights.
Quality of Life - overview
(2019)
How well are the Cook Islands doing compared to what is possible at their level of income?
Summary score
0
% of income adjusted benchmark achieved
HRMI score
100%
Right to
Very bad
Bad
Fair
Good
Source: HRMI 2022 rightstracker.org
For the Cook Islands no rights scores are available due to missing data in the relevant international databases.
To change the performance benchmark or assessment standard, please click on ‘Switch view’ above
Quality of Life - full details
See more detail on how the Cook Islands performs on the
?Right to
0
% of income adjusted benchmark achieved
HRMI score
100%
Right to
Very bad
Bad
Fair
Good
Source: HRMI 2022 rightstracker.org
By sex
How does the Cook Islands perform by sex for
?By sex
0
% of income adjusted benchmark achieved
HRMI score
100%
Very bad
Bad
Fair
Good
Source: HRMI 2022 rightstracker.org
Over time
How does the Cook Islands perform over time for
?Source: HRMI 2022 rightstracker.org
People at risk
Which people in the Cook Islands were identified by human rights experts to be particularly at risk of having their
violated?Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
Source: HRMI 2022 rightstracker.org
When asked to provide more context about who was particularly unlikely to enjoy their right to education in 2021, our respondents mentioned all of the following:
- Children with disabilities, as they did not have access to primary education and teachers are not taught to cater to those with learning disabilities
Safety from the State - overview
(2021)
How well is the Cook Islands' government respecting each right?
Summary score
0
Score
10
Right to freedom from
Very bad
Bad
Fair
Good
Source: HRMI 2022 rightstracker.org
The Cook Islands' Safety from the State score of 8.1 out of 10 suggests that a significant number of people are not safe from one or more of the following: arbitrary arrest, torture and ill-treatment, forced disappearance, execution or extrajudicial killing.
Compared with the other countries in the Pacific, the Cook Islands are performing close to average on the right to be safe from the state.
Note: For Cook Islands, because it has a very small population, we allowed some survey respondents to work for or with the government. This was only allowed for countries with a population of fewer than 120,000 people, and excluded politicians, police, and members of the military. For more information, please see the Methodology Handbook.
Over time
Source: HRMI 2022 rightstracker.org
People at risk
Which people in the Cook Islands were identified by human rights experts to be particularly at risk of having their
violated?Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
Source: HRMI 2022 rightstracker.org
Expert respondents did not provide any specific information about who is especially vulnerable to violations of this right.
Empowerment - overview
(2021)
How well is the Cook Islands' government respecting each right?
Summary score
0
Score
10
Right to
Very bad
Bad
Fair
Good
Source: HRMI 2022 rightstracker.org
The Cook Islands' Empowerment score of 7.6 out of 10 suggests that while many people are enjoying their civil liberties and political freedoms (freedom of speech, assembly and association, and democratic rights), a significant number are not.
Compared with the other countries in the Pacific, the Cook Islands are performing close to average on empowerment rights.
Over time
Source: HRMI 2022 rightstracker.org
People at risk
Which people in the Cook Islands were identified by human rights experts to be particularly at risk of having their
violated?Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
Source: HRMI 2022 rightstracker.org
When asked to provide more context about who was especially vulnerable to restrictions on their rights to assembly and association by the government or its agents in 2021, our respondents mentioned all of the following:
- LGBTQIA+ groups
- Immigrants
Which people are most at risk?
We asked human rights experts to choose from a list of options for which people were particularly at risk of having this right violated. The images below show their answers.
Highlight
in the word clouds below.Quality of Life
People at risk for
Right to education
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
People at risk for
Right to food
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
People at risk for
Right to health
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
People at risk for
Right to housing
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
People at risk for
Right to work
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
Safety from the State
People at risk for
Right to freedom from arbitrary arrest
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
People at risk for
Right to freedom from forced disappearance
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
People at risk for
Right to freedom from the death penalty
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
People at risk for
Right to freedom from extrajudicial execution
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
People at risk for
Right to freedom from torture and ill-treatment
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
Empowerment
People at risk for
Right to assembly and association
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
People at risk for
Right to opinion and expression
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
People at risk for
Right to participate in government
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
On this tab you can find data collected only in Pacific countries, on five themes.
Jump to:
Climate crisis
(2021)
How much has the climate crisis worsened human rights conditions in the Cook Islands?
3.3
Not at All (1)
Slightly (2)
Somewhat (3)
Moderately (4)
Greatly (5)
Extremely (6)
When asked to provide more context about how the climate crisis has worsened rights conditions in 2021, respondents mentioned the following:
- The climate crisis has increased the occurrence of severe weather events such as cyclones, heavy rain, and flooding
- Rising sea levels have caused trees to disappear, and coastal erosion has impacted homes and roadsides making it difficult more many to live, particularly on the outer islands
- People in the Northern islands are in danger of losing their homes due to sea level rise, increasing migration to the Southern islands. This can cause conflict due to differences in culture, lack of employment and housing availability, and rising costs of living
- Food security has been impacted by the salination of taro patches and dying coral reefs
- Many are struggling to provide for their families due to the impacts of climate change; women, children, and people with disabilities are particularly at risk
Indigenous sovereignty
(2021)
To what extent are Indigenous and/or native communities in the Cook Islands able to exercise self-determination?
4.1
Not at All (1)
Slightly (2)
Somewhat (3)
Moderately (4)
Highly (5)
Completely (6)
When asked to provide more context about Indigenous self-determination in 2021, respondents mentioned the following:
- The Cook Islands are a self-governing nation and have free association with New Zealand. Economically, the Cook Islands still rely on assistance from New Zealand
- Indigenous people face financial and employment struggles which impact their ability to exercise self-determination. As a result, many young people leave to work in New Zealand and often don't return
- The rights of Indigenous leaders (ariki, mataiapo and rangatira) are enshrined in legislation, however in practice they can be viewed as figureheads
- The government makes decisions without consulting Indigenous landowners, sometimes ignoring their wishes completely. There is also nepotism in selection of political parties
- Traditions and customs are more strongly exercised in the outer islands than the main island of Rarotonga
Indigenous lands
(2021)
To what extent do Indigenous and/or native communities in the Cook Islands have possession and enjoyment of their traditional lands?
4.2
Not at All (1)
Slightly (2)
Somewhat (3)
Moderately (4)
Highly (5)
Completely (6)
When asked to provide more context about Indigenous land rights in 2021, respondents mentioned the following:
- Land cannot be purchased or sold, only leased – ancestral land is passed down by succession following the death of a parent, and this must be done via a Succession Order in the High Court
- Application costs for Succession Orders have increased drastically, disadvantaging those who have a share in the land but face financial barriers. Landowners are not legally considered landowners until their application has been approved by the Court, leading to some not being able to collect lease payments owed to them
- Many landowners are unaware of their rights and are unable to claim their share, with some extended family members taking advantage of entitlement rights through 'determination of relative interest'. In some cases, younger family members come from New Zealand to claim land, sell the lease, and return to New Zealand with the profits. Leases are not permitted to be sold within 10 years of being obtained, however lack of rights knowledge leads to cases passing unobjected
- Some Land Court judges do not provide reasoning for granting land claims, meaning there is little guidance for landowners and a lack of reporting on Court happenings
- There are only 3 out of 15 islands in which the traditional land management system is followed
Cultural rights
(2021)
To what extent do people in the Cook Islands enjoy their cultural rights?
4.5
Not at All (1)
Slightly (2)
Somewhat (3)
Moderately (4)
Highly (5)
Completely (6)
When asked to provide more context about the extent to which communities can practise their cultural rights in 2021, respondents mentioned the following:
- Cook Islands Māori is spoken widely and regularly, each island has their own dialect which is spoken often
- Younger generations on the main island of Rarotonga have a tendency to speak more English than Māori
- The use of Cook Islands Māori has changed significantly in the media – previously, radio announcers would speak in Māori, but majority of announcements are now in English. Some press releases are poorly translated into Māori meaning words are often used in incorrect contexts
- Key pieces of legislation, such as the Infrastructure Act which directly affects landowner rights, have been not translated into Cook Islands Māori, causing further barriers to justice for Indigenous people. This is despite the Government’s commitment to the Cook Island’s two official languages being Māori and English
- Courts are monolingual due to judges coming from New Zealand
- Parliament is bilingual, however the government has been known to make decisions on matters without consulting traditional leaders and elders
- In the outer islands, children are taught to speak their native tongue at school while learning English. Indigenous children are thus fluent in Cook Islands Māori and their culture from a young age. After this, students become more immersed in the New Zealand education curriculum, which is taught in English and does not include teaching traditional knowledge or skills
Violence
To what extent are people in the Cook Islands free from violence in the community?
Violence against
0
Score
10
Less safe
More safe
Violence against children
When asked to provide more context about violence against children in 2021, respondents mentioned the following:
- Children continue to be subject to high levels of physical, verbal, mental, and sexual abuse. Some verbal and physical abuse is accepted as common practice
- Lack of financial stability, safe housing, and medical help, along with alcohol abuse in the family, all contribute to high levels of abuse against children
- Many cases of mistreatment of children remain unreported and are swept under the rug
- Domestic violence within the home has flow-on impacts on children such as truancy, rebellion, underaged drinking and drink-driving
- Public violence against children, such as striking or reprimanding children in public places, is now frowned upon and considered anti-social behaviour
Violence against people with disabilities
When asked to provide more context about violence against people with disabilities in 2021, respondents mentioned the following:
- There is still a stigma around people with disabilities. Many family members and communities do not recognise the vulnerabilities faced by people with disabilities, leading to further violence and abuse
- People with disabilities are often spoken down to and struggle with a lack of experienced medical practitioners, accessible facilities (ie lack of wheelchair access and accessible parking in most places), and financial assistance
- There have been reports of people with disabilities in the outer islands being tethered to prevent them from wandering and 'being a nuisance'
- There is a lack of awareness and reporting of people living with disabilities
Violence against MVPFAFF+/LGBTQIA+
When asked to provide more context about violence against MVPFAFF+ and LGBTQIA+ people in 2021, respondents mentioned the following:
- Homosexuality remains criminalised in the Cook Islands, and the MVPFAFF+/LGBTQIA+ community are challenging Parliament on this decision
- The government is complicit in allowing religious leaders to persist with homophobic attitudes
- While cases of violence are minimal, discrimination still exists, affecting the mental and social wellbeing of MVPFAFF+/LGBTQIA+ people
- There was one case of an Indigenous lesbian person who was unable to return to or visit their home island due to their sexual orientation
Violence against women and girls
When asked to provide more context about violence against women in 2021, respondents mentioned the following:
- Domestic violence is widely prevalent but remains underreported due to shame or fear
- High alcohol abuse among men contributes heavily to domestic violence, and battered woman syndrome is common
- There is a lack of support for victims in medical care, police enquiry and follow up, and within the justice system, further discouraging victims
- While reports of domestic violence have slightly increased, many complaints are later withdrawn from Court due to pressure from the victim’s partner and/or aggressor
- Domestic violence and rape of minors is still considered inappropriate to discuss publicly, and while discussed within communities, remains unreported. Many victims who speak out are further marginalised
Behind the numbers
Quality of Life
China is performing better than average in economic and social rights compared with other East Asian countries, according to our income-adjusted benchmark, though it still has significant challenges. We produce scores for China for the rights to food, health, housing and work.
Under the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, which China has signed, all countries agree to devote their maximum available resources to making things progressively better for their people in these areas.
HRMI has calculated what China could be achieving at its current level of income. The scores are given as a percentage of that realistic potential achievement.
China’s best scores are for the right to health, where it is achieving 98.4% of what we calculate should be possible, and for the right to food (96.4%). For these rights, China is doing nearly as well as it possibly could, given its level of income. It could still afford to make some gains now, but then would need to increase its income to make further improvements.
Of the four quality of life rights we measure, China needs to improve the most in the right to housing, where it is currently achieving only 87.2% of what we calculate should be possible at its level of income.
We further break the right to housing down into scores for the right to sanitation and the right to water.
With a GDP per capita of US$10,144 we calculate that China has the resources to ensure all of its people have running water and toilets in their homes. The good news is that China’s scores have been steadily improving since 2007, when the nation scored 74.5%.
However, China’s right to sanitation score of 83.9% shows that many people are missing out, even though China could afford to do better. If China efficiently used its available resources, it could achieve a score of 100%, which would mean that over 129 million additional Chinese would gain access to basic sanitation in their homes.
If China improved its performance for the right to water from 90.6% to 100%, over 106 million more people would have water on their premises.
When it comes to the right to food, if China lifted its score to 100%, over 2.5 million more children under five years old would have enough nutritious food to grow well – that would mean all children in China under five would have enough nutritious food to grow well. This is an achievable goal.
With a current score of 96.4%, China has improved only a little in respecting people’s right to food over the last 11 years.
On the right to work, China’s score has climbed up to 93.7% in 2019 from 62.2% in 2007, meaning many fewer people have been living in poverty over the last decade. Still, the latest score means 76 million Chinese are unnecessarily living in absolute poverty (living on less that $3.20 per day, measured in 2011 PPP$), and the government is only doing a ‘fair’ job at ensuring people have subsistence income.
China comes in second in the world in ensuring people’s right to health is fulfilled, with a score of 98.4%, when using the low and middle income assessment standard (when using the high income standard, China still comes in third in the world). For countries doing this well with their current level of income, an increase of income will be necessary to make significant further improvements. This is the right where China is most constrained by resources – for all of the other rights we measure, China should already be able to do nearly as well as any country in the world, at its current level of income.
People at risk
While China has room for improvement in all the rights we measure, a further consideration is inequity. There are several groups of people who our experts identified as being at higher risk of missing out. These include:
- People with lower social or economic status
- People from ethnic minorities, including Tibetans, Uyghurs, Mongolians, and Kazakhs
- Human rights advocates, protestors, and anyone who criticises the government
- People living in rural areas, particularly older people, and women
- Disabled people
- Detainees
- People from religious minorities, particularly those practising Falun Gong, Christianity, or Islam
- Internally displaced people
See the people at risk tab on the Rights Tracker for the full lists. The data also show a strong connection between political activity, especially criticism of the government, and lack of enjoyment of economic and social rights.
Room for improvement
All our Quality of Life scores show that China could make significant improvements to its people’s lives, even without more resources.
If China were using its resources more efficiently to ensure its people’s wellbeing, it could achieve 100% for all the rights we measure. Yet, while its best score is close to that mark—98.4% on the right to health — its worst score — 87.2% on the right to housing — is far from that level.
If China better upheld its rights obligations, and achieved a full 100% score on all the rights we measure, we would see millions more Chinese people living lives of dignity, even without income growth. For example, if China reached 100% we would see the following number of extra people benefitting:
- If China were to operate at its full potential given its current resources, we would expect an additional 2.5 million children under five to grow well and not be stunted.
- If China were operating at best practice, each year we would expect an extra 56,900 newborn babies to survive until their fifth birthday.
- If China were reaching its full potential, given its income constraints, an extra 343,300 15-year-olds could eventually reach the age of 60.
- If China used its resources efficiently, an additional 129 million people could have a toilet at home, and an extra 109 million people could have access to water in their homes.
- If China were operating at its full potential given its current resources, it could lift 76 million people out of absolute poverty.
Safety from the State
China scores 2.8 out of 10 for our overall Safety from the State category, telling us that many people are at risk of arbitrary or political arrest or detention, torture and ill-treatment, forced disappearance, execution, or extrajudicial killing. This is one of the lowest scores in our sample of 31 countries.
China’s worst score in this category is 1 out of 10 for freedom from the death penalty, the lowest score among all the countries we measure.
The human rights experts we surveyed said that agents of the state, particularly police, had total impunity to engage in torture of those detained.
Respondents overwhelmingly agreed that human rights advocates, protestors, and people who criticised the government were at particular risk of rights violations, especially arbitrary arrest and detention, forced disappearance, and torture and ill-treatment.
Survey respondents said that information about executions was deliberately obfuscated by the Chinese government, blurring the line between extrajudicial and judicial executions.
People from ethnic minorities were at extra risk of all five Safety from the State rights. Respondents noted that Uyghur people, and other ethnic minorities, were commonly detained incommunicado in concentration camps.
Other vulnerable groups include:
- People from ethnic minorities, including Tibetans, Uyghurs, Mongolians, and Kazakhs
- Human rights advocates, protestors, and anyone who criticises the government
- Detainees and those accused of crimes
- People from religious minorities, particularly those practising Falun Gong, Christianity, or Islam
- Internally displaced people
- People in Tibet, Xinjiang, and Hong Kong
Among other East Asian countries and territories where we measure these rights, China has the lowest scores for all five Safety from the State rights.
Right to Freedom from Arbitrary Arrest and Detention in East Asia
Summary score
0
Score
10
Right to Freedom from Forced Disappearance in East Asia
Summary score
0
Score
10
Right to Freedom from Death Penalty in East Asia
Summary score
0
Score
10
Right to Freedom from Extrajudicial Execution in East Asia
Summary score
0
Score
10
Right to Freedom from Torture and Ill-treatment in East Asia
Summary score
0
Score
10
Empowerment
The Chinese government limits civil liberties and political freedom, with China scoring a very low 2.1 out of 10 in empowerment rights. This is the lowest score in our sample of 30 countries.
For the rights to assembly and association, opinion and expression, and participation in government, all of China’s scores fall into the ‘very bad’ range. For all three rights, the human rights experts we surveyed agreed overwhelmingly that ‘all people’ were at risk of violations of these rights.
When it comes to the right to assembly and association, China scores 2 out of 10, and human rights experts identified a wide range of people not enjoying their rights, including human rights advocates, protestors, and people criticising or opposing the government, as well as those from ethnic and religious minorities. They also noted that people from religious minorities cannot freely gather, and that even small gatherings in homes have been broken up by authorities.
China’s score for the right to opinion and expression is a very low 2.3 out of 10, with no improvement from 2022. Respondents noted that there are no independent media organisations allowed in China, and that teachers, academics, and journalists cannot speak freely. Expression is also limited online, where content is censored by Chinese regulators.
China also scores in the ‘very bad’ range for the right to participate in government, with a score of 1.9 out of 10. Respondents noted that political participation is controlled and severely limited by the Chinese Communist Party, which selects legislators and other political representatives.
Other vulnerable groups include:
- People from ethnic minorities, including Tibetans, Uyghurs, Mongolians, and Kazakhs
- Human rights advocates, protestors, and anyone who criticises the government
- Detainees and those accused of crimes
- People from religious minorities, particularly those practising Falun Gong, Christianity, or Islam
- Internally displaced people
- People in Tibet and Xinjiang
Right to Assembly and Association in East Asia
Summary score
0
Score
10
Right to Opinion and Expression in East Asia
Summary score
0
Score
10
Right to Participate in Government in East Asia
Summary score
0
Score
10
Country details
Country status
Associated state of the New Zealand
Population
17.9k (2020)
GDP/capita
$15,840 (2020)
current US dollars