Wednesday 5 June 2013, Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), Suva, Fiji –

A three-day regional consultation for judges and senior magistrates from across the Pacific, organised by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community Regional Rights Resources Team (SPC RRRT), took place this week in Brisbane, Australia.

The consultation focused on judicial independence, rule of law, and human rights issues in the contemporary Pacific context. They included sexual- and gender-based violence, disability inclusiveness and impacts of the Convention of the Rights of the Child on adoption.

The consultation serves as a forum for judges and magistrates from the Pacific region to share their professional experiences, with the aim of expanding their knowledge of human rights issues and best practices in the region.

The keynote address at the opening ceremony on Monday was delivered by Justice Logan of the Federal Court of Australia. The Pacific judges and magistrates were later hosted to a cocktail reception by the Chief Justice of Queensland, the Honourable Paul de Jersey, and judges of the Supreme Court of Queensland.

The consultation was attended by judges and magistrates from Australia, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Tuvalu.

SPC RRRT has supported the work of regional judges and magistrates for over a decade, mainly focusing on the promotion and application of international human rights treaties and universal standards in Pacific courts. This work supports state obligations derived through the ratification of international human rights treaties and the application and domestication of international human rights standards in Pacific courts.

The regional consultation this week is generously supported by AusAID.

For more information, please contact Jilda Shem, SPC RRRT Communications Officer on +679 330 5994 or email [email protected]

Lay magistrates from Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu at the sub-regional lay magistrates' consultation on human rights, Novotel, Suva, Fiji

A five-day sub-regional lay magistrates’ consultation on human rights, organised by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community Regional Rights Resources Team (SPC RRRT), was officially opened yesterday at the Novotel Hotel in Suva, Fiji.  

Lay magistrates and court officers from Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu are attending the consultation.

The main objective of the consultation is to enhance the knowledge of participants on human rights law and to provide an opportunity for participants to consider and discuss their roles in protecting the human rights of vulnerable groups, such as women, children and persons with disabilities, and ensuring that they have full and effective access to justice.

The Honourable Mere Pulea, SPC RRRT consultant, opened the consultation, remarking, 'This is one initiative to help us out of the transitional phase to be human rights compliant and to set the benchmark for ourselves – the standards of access to justice that meet with international best practices.'

Mr Aru Fredington from Vanuatu , one of the participants, stated that this was the first training on human rights and the law he had attended, 'I work as the court clerk for Torba province, an isolated province in the northern part of Vanuatu, and my office is usually people’s first experience of the justice system when they come with their land problems, child maintenance cases and family protection order applications. I am really grateful to SPC RRRT for this opportunity to learn more about human rights and go back to provide services that are in line with international human rights standards.'

At the end of the consultation, it is anticipated that the participants will have increased their knowledge and skills in applying a human rights-based approach to access to justice and also their technical knowledge with respect to pending and recent national legislation aimed at combating violence against women.  In addition, they will have more knowledge of national efforts to protect and promote the rights of person with disabilities and will have explored how this knowledge can be expanded via a national training programme in 2014.The consultation is supported by the Government of Australia.

For more information, please contact Jilda Shem, SPC RRRT Communications Officer on +679 330 5994 or email [email protected]

Tuesday 12 February 2013, Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), Suva, Fiji –

Fifteen human rights trainers from the Pacific region have graduated with greater capacity in imparting knowledge and skills through professional training after an intensive two week training course conducted by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community Regional Rights Resource Team (SPC-RRRT) in Suva, Fiji.

The training of trainers (ToT) course, facilitated by Trevor Kliese from Training Australia Unlimited, was an empowering experience, as the trainers increased their training skills in line with international standards. The ToT programme will assist not only trainers, but all others working in the area of capacity building, where the transfer of knowledge, skills and information is critical. This training was unique in that the skills component was complemented by the use of human rights topics.

The RRRT trainers who graduated from the course provide human rights training for government departments and civil society organisations throughout the Pacific region. This ToT training provides graduates with enhanced skills and techniques, leading to improved services and outcomes in SPC member countries.

Matakina Simii, a disability advocate in Tuvalu, is optimistic that she will put the knowledge she acquired from the ToT training to good use. One of her first priorities when she returns home will be to advocate through her training for the ratification of the Convention for the Rights of People with Disability, so that more children with disability can access education.

Commenting on the course, RRRT Country Focal Officer in Kiribati, Amberoti Nikora, who was previously a Member of Parliament in Kiribati, said he would have done better as a human rights advocate in Parliament if he had received this training during his time as MP.

Lepolo Taunila, RRRT Country Focal Officer in Tonga and a former Tongan Member of Parliament, expressed a similar sentiment, saying that the training has taught her the importance of good training preparation, sourcing the right facts to support her training and understanding adult learning principles in order to tailor training to meet the needs of her learners.

As part of the training, the recipients discussed contemporary human rights issues affecting Pacific Island nations, including violence against women, children's rights to education and health services, refugee rights, corruption and media freedom.

The ToT course was conducted from January 28 to February 8 and included participants from Fiji, Nauru, Tuvalu, Tonga, Kiribati, Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia. The training was generously supported by AusAID.

For more information, please contact Jilda Shem, SPC-RRRT Communications Officer on +679 330 5994 or email [email protected]

The Pacific Regional Rights Resource Team (RRRT) is a programme of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community and provides training, technical support, and policy and advocacy services tailored specifically for the Pacific region. Based in Suva, Fiji, RRRT has programmes across the Pacific Islands, with partners including governments, regional and civil society organisations

Visit the SPC website: www.spc.int

2 October 2012, Secretariat of the Pacific Community, Suva, Fiji -

Communities and groups within member countries of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) are making use of the resources offered by the SPC Legislative Lobbying Project.

The SPC Lobbying Project is a supported by the AusAID-funded Pacific Leadership Programme.

Ms Seema Naidu, SPC Pacific Regional Rights Resource Team (RRRT), said that civil society groups in Vanuatu, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Tonga, Solomon Islands and Samoa are engaged in a variety of community-led projects that are heading towards legislative change within their countries.

Ms Naidu is a trainer responsible for coordinating the Legislative Lobbying Project.

For example, in Nauru, a group of people with disabilities are addressing the rights of the disabled, and Chiefs in Vanuatu are supporting gender equality and promoting human rights.

This ownership is assisted by the information RRRT and the Legislative Lobbying Project provide to communities about their countries' constitutions and the purpose that laws fulfill.

She said that, as an example, access to clean water may be a health and sanitation issue, an environmental issue, or a climate change issue, but underlying all of these is the issue of a fundamental human right.

'For example, Vanuatu is engaged in three campaigns. One is on the outdated sexual offence penal code, which brought together local communities, the Department of Women, the Police Department, the Vanuatu Law Reform Commission, as well as the NGO World Vision.

Secondly, the Trade Unions are cooperating to progress the Vanuatu Employment Relations Bill so that it becomes an Act. In the process, union representative Evelyn Barney focused, successfully, on increasing the minimum wage.

Thirdly, there is a campaign to amend the Peoples Representation Act, a legislative change that will ensure a certain number of reserved seats for women in Parliament.

Ms Naidu said that the project gives people in the participating countries the opportunity to enter into a dialogue with their parliamentarians.

Wednesday 29 August 2012, Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), Suva, Fiji –

Members of parliament in the Pacific have expressed alarm at the disturbing level of violence affecting women in the region. The Pacific has some of the highest rates of violence against women in the world.

Sitting MPs from Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu met in Brisbane last month to discuss the issue and demand responses.

Dame Carol Kidu, former leader of the opposition in PNG, who attended the meeting, said MPs 'were alarmed that the Pacific has the worst record globally for violence against women.

The meeting prompted fourteen MPs to write a letter in support of the UN Secretary-General's global UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign. They are hoping more Pacific Island MPs will take up the cause to address the high rates of domestic, sexual and other types of gender-based violence affecting women and children in the Pacific.

Studies conducted by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) have found that in Kiribati 68 per cent of women aged 15 – 49 have experienced physical and or sexual violence.

In Solomon Islands the figure was 64 per cent and in Samoa it was 41 per cent. These figures are considered indicative of the scale of the problem across the region.

MPs are increasingly affirming that they have a pivotal role in addressing the issue through supporting law reform in parliament. Many of the present laws relating to violence against women in Pacific Island nations are decades old and do a poor job of recognising and responding to this complex social problem.

The introduction of new laws that provide more comprehensive legal responses and remedies can have a big impact on reducing rates of violence and providing support services to those affected.

The members of parliament signing in support of the UN Secretary-General's UNiTE campaign and calling for increased action in the Pacific were the Honourable Nandie Glassie and Tangata Vavia from Cook Islands, the Honourable Paliknoa Welly and Joseph Uresemal from the Federated States of Micronesia, the Honourable Martin Tofinga from Kiribati, the Honourable Regina Mesebeluu from Palau, former Opposition Leader Dame Carol Kidu from Papua New Guinea, the Honourable Clay Forau Soalaoi, Peter Tom, Martin Sopage and Vasian Lonamei from Solomon Islands, the Honourable Faalesa Pitoi from Tuvalu, and current Speaker of the House, the Honourable Dunstan Hilton, and former Minister for Justice, Isabelle Kora, from Vanuatu.

The MPs want their action to act as a catalyst for increased political awareness and effort throughout the Pacific to better protect women and children and ensure their right to live free from violence.

Pacific Leaders have, through the 2009 Cairns Communiqué, acknowledged that violence against women is an impediment to Pacific societies. They recognised sexual and gender based violence as a sensitive issue in Pacific cultures and noted that it is pervasive and underreported.

Addressing the problem 'at all levels of the community' is a priority, according to Leaders.

In 2010 the Pacific Islands Forum Regional Security Committee established a Reference Group to Address Sexual and Gender Based Violence.

The Reference Group's mandate is to raise awareness and guide national efforts to meet Forum Leaders' commitment to eradicate sexual and gender based violence and to ensure all individuals have equal protection of the law and equal access to justice.

For more information, contact Daiana Buresova, Senior Human Rights Legal Policy Researcher, SPC Regional Rights Resource Team: [email protected] +679 330 5582

Friday 20 July 2012, Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), Brisbane, Australia –

Dame Carol Kidu, former Leader of the Opposition in Papua New Guinea stated that, "Pacific countries are fighting issues of commonality such as climate change and violence against women despite the diversity of culture and language in the region".

Dame Kidu's remarks opened the Regional Human Rights Consultation for Members of Parliament held in Brisbane this week.

Dame Kidu shared the challenges she encountered in implementing human rights approaches as a PNG parliamentarian and emphasised that legislative reform especially in human rights related issues demanded courage of the parliamentarians and sensitising of one's constituency of the relevant human rights issue.

Dame Kidu highlighted that, "globalisation poses a greater threat to the region than colonisation and therefore it is imperative that human rights standards are adhered to."

She relayed her experience as the former PNG Minister of Community Development in which she was instrumental in lobbying for the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child; adding that national ownership of such international treaties is vital.

Members of Parliament from the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Niue, PNG, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu are being exposed to critical human rights issues facing the Pacific region such as: climate change, sexual and gender based violence, national and regional human rights commissions, HIV and inclusivity of persons with disabilities at the 4th Pacific Consultation on Advancing Legislative Reform in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

The consultation is aimed at providing an opportunity for Pacific Parliamentarians to gain further information on, and discuss current and critical human rights issues in their national parliaments.

The week long consultation ended with a mock parliament in which regional Parliamentarians raised and debated human rights issues.

The consultation is currently underway at the Park Regis North Quay Hotel in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia from 16 to 20 July 2012.

The annual consultation is facilitated by the SPC RRRT team in collaboration with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and in partnership with UN Women and the Asia Pacific Forum for National Human Rights Institutions.

The consultation is made possible thanks to the generous funding of AusAID.

For more information, contact Lionel Aingimea ([email protected])

PRESS RELEASE – Sept 2011

High Level representatives from the Justice, Health and Civil Society Organizations from Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu gather in Nadi to share their experience on human rights compliant HIV Policies and Laws.

The 3 days 'writeshop' (11-14 September, 2011) is organized by a partnership between the UNDP, UNAIDS, PIAF (Pacific Islands AIDS Foundation) and the Pacific Regional Rights Resource Team of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC/RRRT).

The objective of the workshop is to provide support and technical assistance that is required to advance human rights compliant HIV legislative change by analysing the current legislative status per country, providing various models of legislative reform, looking at the rationale for human rights compliant legislative responses to address the spread of HIV and writing a policy papers to step up progress to legislative reform.

While most HIV interventions target individual behavioral change, it is equally important, if not more, that the norms and structures that shape these behaviours are addressed. There is extensive and longstanding evidence that strategic structural investments can contribute to 'break through' progress.

It is expected that the delegates will leave the 'writeshop' with a strategic plan to implement the policy framework which will work towards guiding the respective countries in their response to HIV.

Garry Wiseman, Manager of UNDP Pacific Centre in his opening remarks highlighted that "...some countries in the region have already passed human rights-based legislation to better address HIV and AIDS: PNG, FSM and more recently Fiji. Others are in the process to start drafting new HIV laws such as Tuvalu and Cook Islands; and some are starting to develop new policy framework to do. This week will be an opportunity to share lessons learned and help each other."

The event represents an opportunity for intra-regional cooperation on these issues and uses an interactive format to ensure countries gain maximum benefit from experience sharing.

The event includes the participation of people living with HIV who are taking an active role in the policy dialogue.

Press Release – 15 December 2009

'Violence against women costs the Australian economy close to $8.1 billion per year,' said Queensland's Attorney General Hon.

Cameron Dick MP at the opening of an annual consultation with regional members of parliament in Brisbane, Australia held by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community's Regional Rights Resource Team (SPC / RRRT).

Twenty-five MPs from Tonga, Vanuatu, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Samoa, Tuvalu, Nauru and Kiribati attended this year's event, which focused on violence against women legislation.

The Attorney General stated that he was 'pleased that so many fellow parliamentarians from the Pacific Island countries have shown their commitment to improving the lives of Pacific people.' He made the comments in light of the recent data revealing extremely high prevalence rates of violence against women in the Pacific.

Both Kiribati and Solomon Islands were amongst the countries with the highest rates in a 17-country study by the World Health Organisation. In this study, only Ethiopia and Peru surpassed Kiribati and Solomon Islands in prevalence rates. PNG, Fiji Islands and Samoa have also been shown to have high prevalence rates in other studies.

In a conference room packed with members of parliament from nine Pacific countries, Queensland's Attorney General quoted the recent Cairns Communiqué in which Forum Leaders addressed the issue of sexual and gender-based violence and called for a range of measures to address it, including legal measures.

The Hon. Cameron Dick reiterated the stance taken by the Forum leaders by acknowledging that sexual and gender-based violence 'is now widely recognised as a risk to human security and a potential destabilising factor for communities and societies alike.'

The acknowledgment from Forum leaders is 'most welcome', he said because violence against women is a serious global problem that affects every country.

In 2006, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a resolution calling on all member states and the United Nations system to intensify efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women. Such violence has compounding human rights implications; causing trauma to women, families and communities. Sexual and gender-based violence is both a symptom and a cause of gender inequality and discrimination.

The Minister of Justice from the Republic of Nauru, Hon. Matthew Batsiua, stated

The Hon. Cameron Dick once served as the Attorney General of Tuvalu and was quite proud of that fact. He jokingly said that

He also said that he was proud that Tuvalu was 'mixing it with the big guns in Copenhagen.' The consultation in Brisbane will also discuss human rights implications of climate change.

The members of parliament have a week to look at human rights issues, including violence against women and HIV legislation, the new compulsory Universal Periodic Review process and the potential of a regional human rights mechanism to serve the needs of Pacific Island governments and peoples.

The consultation is funded and supported by SPC / RRRT, the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAid), the New Zealand Agency for International Development (NZAID), the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Pacific Islands HIV and STI Response Fund.

The Pacific Regional Rights Resource Team (RRRT) is a programme under the Social Resources Division of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community. For more information regarding this event, please contact Gwen Philips at [email protected] or Imrana Jalal at [email protected].

Tuesday 11 March 2009, Secretariat of the Pacific Community, New York

Pacific laws on violence against women (VAW) are outdated and treat women with indifference despite the globally high rates of VAW in the Pacific region.

Pacific Island governments need to make a concerted effort to review this legislation so that laws can better protect women.

Secretariat of the Pacific Community/Regional Rights Resource Team (SPC/RRRT) Gender and Human Rights Advisor, Imrana Jalal, made the comments whilst addressing members of the Pacific Islands Forum who attended the 53rd United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) held recently in New York.

Pacific representatives from the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, as well as Australia and New Zealand attended the meeting.

Jalal told those Pacific government representatives that only a handful of Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs) had made some progress.

Jalal said Fiji had addressed some elements of domestic violence in its family law but had not touched sexual violence or domestic violence in its criminal or civil codes. Despite being the first country in the region to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women, Samoa had not passed any legislation addressing any area of women's rights, since ratification.

Jalal was at the UNCSW as chair of the high-level UN Expert Group on Best Practices in Violence against Women Legislation. The panel advises the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on best practices from around the globe in terms of laws which relate to violence against women (VAW).

She told the PICT government representatives that SPC/RRRT had won a substantial grant from the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) Trust Fund. SPC/RRRT had to compete with 1027 applicants worldwide for the grant.

The grant, worth USD 720,000 provides SPC/RRRT with some resources to work with PICT governments and non-government organisations to help reform laws which relate to VAW. SPC/RRRT was the only Pacific organisation to win one of the 28 grants available.

Jalal said the grant focused on addressing the issue of legislation specifically, and SPC/RRRT's effort is meant to build on the groundwork already laid by organisations such the Fiji Women's Crisis Centre (FWCC) Pacific Women's Network on VAW.

The UNIFEM Trust Fund Pacific project ties in with the expert group's findings on best practices globally. Jalal said the best VAW laws emanated from the developing world, not the developed world, citing Mexico, Albania and India as examples.

Jalal said that compared to global standards, Vanuatu's new domestic violence law is also 'pretty decent legislation', although it is far from perfect. She said there were no perfect laws in the arena of human relationships.

Jalal said that the goal of the SPC/RRRT UNIFEM Trust Fund project was 'changing laws protecting women and lobbying for legislative change in violence against women and family law in order to enhance protective legislation for women and girls in six PICTs'.

Initially, SPC/RRRT will begin the legislative reforms with the governments of Cook Islands, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Samoa.

Jalal said that there was no need to re-invent the wheel as the UN Expert Group on Best Practices in VAW Legislation had come up with a compilation of best practices from around the globe which could be adapted to suit the Pacific context.

Whilst in New York Jalal made four presentations at various CSW panels as Chair of the UN Expert Group on Best Practices in VAW Legislation and also a half-hour video on VAW legislation for the UN's Division for the Advancement of Women (UNDAW). The video will be available on UNDAW's website shortly.

For more information, contact Sandra Bernklau, Programme Manager SPC/RRRT +(679) 3305 582 or email: [email protected]

Background: The Regional Rights Resource Team (RRRT), which is a programme of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), works with partners in nine focus countries (Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa,Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Nauru and Vanuatu) to offer training and expert advice on the development of human rights advocacy, lobbying, mobilisation strategies and the drafting of national human rights legislation. The team provides human rights training, technical support, and policy and advocacy services tailored specifically for the Pacific region. Its mission is to seek a Pacific region that is respected for the quality of its governance, the sustainable management of its resources, the full observance of democratic values and for its defence and promotion of human rights.

18 February 2009, Secretariat of the Pacific Community, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

They came in all colours, shapes and sizes, and in all manner of dress, both traditional and modern, veiled and unveiled, religious and non-religious, to begin a global campaign called Musawah.

Organised by the Malaysian Muslim feminist organisation, Sisters in Islam (SIS), Musawah, which means 'equality' in Arabic, brought together Muslim feminists, women's rights and human rights activists and lawyers to debate and discuss justice and equality in the family law of Islam.

Gender and Human Rights Advisor, Imrana Jalal, from the Secretariat of the Pacific Community's Regional Rights Resource Team (RRRT/SPC), was one of the panel of speakers at the 250-strong gathering at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which included the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, Yakin Ertürk, who was the keynote speaker.

Jalal, who was invited as an expert in legislative change, led two sessions on changing family laws in environments unfavourable to gender equality. She said the Musawah movement was only at its beginning but would soon be a strong global force.

Musawah will span 50 countries with the goal of reforming family laws in a Muslim context. It works on the premise that gender equality and human rights is consistent with Islamic doctrine. The movement calls for equality, non-discrimination, justice and dignity as the basis of all human relations; full and equal citizenship for every individual; and marriage and family relations based on principles of equality and justice.

Musawah is based on the principle that equality in the family is possible through a framework that is consistent with Islamic teachings, universal human rights principles, fundamental rights guarantees, and the lived realities of women and men.

Jalal shared the strategies she had learned in the passing of the Family Law Act in Fiji.

She told the BBC that although Fiji was a small country with a Muslim minority and without a parallel religious legal system, the lessons learnt on passing good legislation could be adapted and transferred to other parts of the globe.

RRRT works with partners in 9 focus countries; Cook Islands, Fiji , Kiribati , Samoa , Solomon Islands , Tonga, Tuvalu, Nauru and Vanuatu, by offering training packages and expert advice to partners which aids in the development of human rights advocacy, lobbying, mobilisation strategies and the drafting of national human rights legislation. RRRT provides human rights training, technical support, and policy and advocacy services tailored specifically for the Pacific region and with a mission to "seek a Pacific region that is respected for the quality of its governance, the sustainable management of its resources, the full observance of democratic values and for its defence and promotion of human rights".

For more information, please contact Sandra Bernklau, SPC RRRT Programme Manager (+679) 3305582 or email: [email protected].