Kiribati

The three island groups that make up Kiribati cover over five million square kilometres of the Pacific - though, with no land more than three metres above sea level, it is expected to be the first nation to lose all its territory due to climate change. Independent from Britain since 1979, Kiribati’s president is both head of state and of government, appointed by and from a 45 member elected legislative assembly. Kiribati’s major issue in human rights is its lack of capacity to engage with - and only limited ratification of - UN treaty bodies and relevant mechanisms, alongside issues of corporal punishment and life sentencing for both children and adults.