Tonga

A Southern Pacific archipelago nation spread over more than 170 islands and covering more than 700,000 square kilometres of territory, Tonga’s neighbours include Fiji, Western Samoa and American Samoa. Never colonised or occupied by another country, Tonga never gave up its sovereign monarchy, who still rule to this day, though with most of their powers given over to parliament and the prime minister. Tonga has not yet acceded to all the major UN human rights treaties and concerns have been raised about domestic violence, the low minimum age of criminal responsibility and the continuation of corporal punishment in the legal system.