rp21 situational analysis - Pacific Health Voices

Situational analysis of drug and alcohol issues and responses in the Pacific
106
is made up of Filipino 15.3 per cent, Chinese
4.9 per cent, other Asian 2.4 per cent,
Caucasian 1.9 per cent, Carolinian 1.4 per
cent, other Micronesian 1.1 per cent, other
or unspecified 3.2 per cent. 495 Census data
suggest there are a relatively large number
of people in Palau who identify as having
no specific religion, numbering 16.4 per cent
of the population. Religious affiliations are
noted as: Roman Catholic 41.6 per cent,
Protestant 23.3 per cent, Modekngei 8.8
per cent (indigenous to Palau), Seventh-Day
Adventist 5.3 per cent, Jehovah’s Witness
0.9 per cent, Latter-Day Saints (Mormons)
0.6 per cent, and other 3.1 per cent. Significantly,
Palau is a matrilineal society with
land tenure linked to women. 496 One-third
of the population are foreign workers, making
up an estimated 73 per cent of the total
workforce. 497 The combined impact of this
population composition and the free movement
of Palauan people to the United States
deserves in-depth research, especially in relation
to patterns of drug and alcohol use.
Government
Palau, formerly part of the Caroline Islands
cluster, spent three decades as part of the
United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific
under United States administration. In 1978
Palau opted for independence in preference
to joining the Federated States of Micronesia.
498 A Compact of Free Association with
the United States was ratified in 1993 resulting
in full independence in 1994. 499 Palau is
a representative democracy, with its elections
synchronised to the United States four-year
cycle. 500 The President is both head of state
and head of government; 501 and there are
16 State representatives, one for each of the
16 States. 502 Notably, the Council of Chiefs
acts as an advisory body for the President
and is consulted on matters of traditional
law and customs. 503 Under the Compact, the
United States Government agrees to pay in
the vicinity of US$450 million over 15 years,
an arrangement that expires in 2009. 504
In addition, the Compact allows the Palauan
495 Ibid., according to the 2000 Census data.
496 Country report: Palau. In Freedom in the World 2008: the annual survey of political rights and
civil liberties. Washington DC: Freedom House. Available at: (accessed March 2009).
497 Ibid.
498 Above, fn.494.
499 Above, fn.496.
500 Palau’s last general election was held on 4 November 2008. Its first presidential election on the
same day resulted in the election of Johnson Toribiong as President.
501 Above, fn.491.
502 Above, fn.492.
503 Ibid.
504 Ibid.