the opposition, three other justices are appointed by the president on
the advice of the Judicial Service Commission)

Political parties and leaders: Jon Frum Movement [Song KEASPAI];
Melanesian Progressive Party or MPP [Barak SOPE]; National United Party
or NUP [Dinh Van THAN]; Union of Moderate Parties or UMP [Serge VOHOR];
Vanuaaku Party (Our Land Party) or VP [Edward NATAPEI]; Vanuatu Republican
Party [Maxime Carlot KORMAN]

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP,
FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU,
NAM, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIBH, UPU, WFTU,
WHO, WMO, WTrO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in the US: Vanuatu does not have an embassy
in the US, it does, however, have a Permanent Mission to the UN

Diplomatic representation from the US: the US does not have an embassy
in Vanuatu; the ambassador to Papua New Guinea is accredited to Vanuatu

Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green
with a black isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) all separated
by a black-edged yellow stripe in the shape of a horizontal Y (the two
points of the Y face the hoist side and enclose the triangle); centered
in the triangle is a boar's tusk encircling two crossed namele leaves,
all in yellow

Economy Vanuatu

Economy - overview: The economy is based primarily on subsistence
or small-scale agriculture which provides a living for 65% of the
population. Fishing, offshore financial services, and tourism, with about
50,000 visitors in 1997, are other mainstays of the economy. Mineral
deposits are negligible; the country has no known petroleum deposits. A
small light industry sector caters to the local market. Tax revenues
come mainly from import duties. Economic development is hindered by
dependence on relatively few commodity exports, vulnerability to natural
disasters, and long distances from main markets and between constituent
islands. A severe earthquake in November 1999 followed by a tsunami,
caused extensive damage to the northern island of Pentecote and left
thousands homeless. Another powerful earthquake in January 2002 caused
extensive damage in the capital, Port-Vila, and surrounding areas,
and also was followed by a tsunami. GDP growth has risen less than 3%
on average in the 1990s. In response to foreign concerns, the government
has promised to t