About the East-West Center

The East-West Center promotes better relations and understanding among the United States, Asia and the Pacific through collaborative study, research, and dialogue. Across Asia and the Pacific Islands, and at our campuses in Honolulu and Washington DC, the Center hosts conferences, exchanges, and in-depth trainings for policymakers, educators, cultural and civil-society leaders, and entrepreneurs. The Center conducts multidisciplinary research on environmental issues, public health, demography, economic policy and geopolitics, and provides graduate degree fellowships for the next generation of leaders. The Center also hosts the Pacific Islands Development Program—the focal point of EWC programming for Pacific nations, and the seat of the secretariat of the Pacific Islands Conference of Leaders.

EWC and PROJECT Governance

The East-West Center is proud to join SPC, IFES, and CARE as part of the Blue Pacific Alliance implementing PROJECT Governance. EWC will lead four mutually reinforcing activities focused on supporting financial-governance offices and officials across the region:

• Financial Governance Training: A region-wide training program to enhance Pacific governments’ sovereign authority and law-enforcement capabilities to identify, investigate, and prosecute financial crimes, by strengthening national financial governance agencies and connecting them regionally through a Pacific Islands Financial Intelligence Network.
• Financial Media Training: Reporting tours and training programs in government investment and financial policies for Pacific investigative journalists and media professionals, expanding the independent media’s ability to inform the public on financial issues and hold governments and enforcement agencies accountable.
• PROJECT Governance Graduate Fellows: Equipping a core group of exceptional Pacific governance leaders through graduate degree fellowships for advanced degrees in management and finance.
• Blue Pacific Governance Gateway: An online platform to support, synergize, and sustain the full array of PROJECT Governance initiatives. The Gateway will serve as a digital meeting place and resource for networking, communications, and capacity development, and as the portal for sharing the digital tools and data developed across the project.

For more information about the East-West Center and PROJECT Governance, please contact us at [email protected].

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]

Joshko Wakaniyasi of IDEA – a programme advocating for jobs for persons with disabilities in mainstream employment in Fiji – will be a recipient of a 2013 Pacific Human Rights Award

Four organisations and two individuals from the region will be honoured with Pacific Human Rights Awards today.

The courageous and innovative individuals and organisations whose stories have been documented in various forms for this year’s theme – human rights in everyday Pacific life – will receive their awards at a ceremony at the University of the South Pacific in Suva, FBE conference room from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

This year’s awardees include Joshko Wakaniyasi, Director of Fiji’s Spinal Injury Association; Australia-Pacific Technical College (APTC); the Rainbow Theatre Group of Vanuatu; Teta Etau of Kiribati’s School for Disabled; Chelcia Gomese; and Rowena Wemahanua of Solomon Islands.

An excited Joshko Wakaniyasi, who will be receiving the award for outstanding contribution to advancing the rights of persons with disabilities to employment in Fiji through the IDEA Programme (Include Disability Employ this Ability), is ever grateful to the Regional Rights Resource Team of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community for the recognition of their work in Fiji.

Since taking the reigns of the Spinal Injury Association in 2007, Joshko Wakaniyasi transformed a struggling, cash-strapped organisation into an efficient provider of crucial medical supplies, equipment and support services for its members. His amiable yet determined approach when negotiating with private sponsors, donors and overseas charities has secured the delivery of seven shipments of wheelchairs, crutches, walking frames, toilet and shower chairs and other aids to support people with disabilities and their carers in Fiji.

The Pacific Human Rights Awards are presented biennially to reward and celebrate outstanding work in human rights in the region and are an opportunity not only to give public recognition to the achievements of the recipients, but also to send a clear message to human rights defenders region wide that the Pacific community is grateful for, and supports, their tireless efforts to promote human rights for all.

The awards are open to all Pacific Island nationals who have demonstrated a high degree of commitment to social justice and human rights, as well as having made significant contributions to human rights promotion or protection in their countries or the region through an extended period of dedicated work (paid or voluntary).

In 1998, SPC RRRT won the prestigious UNICEF Maurice Pate Award for its pioneering work in promoting human rights education for women and children in the Pacific. Since then, SPC RRRT has been offering the Pacific Human Rights Awards to encourage the development of a human rights culture that will protect the rights and promote the well-being of disadvantaged and vulnerable groups.

The Pacific Regional Rights Resource Team (RRRT) is a programme under the Education, Training and Human Development Division of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC).  RRRT provides training, technical support, policy and advocacy advice in human rights to promote social justice and good governance throughout the Pacific region.  RRRT receives core support from Australian Aid and additional project support from UN Women and other donor partners.

The 2013 awards include;

IDEA (Include Disability Employ this Ability) Program, Fiji

Outstanding contribution to advancing the rights of persons with disabilities through the IDEA Program in Fiji

APTC Australia-Pacific Technical College

Outstanding contribution to advancing the rights to housing and employment on Upolu Island, Samoa, after Cyclone Evan in 2012

Rainbow Theatre Group, Vanuatu

Outstanding contribution to advancing the rights of persons with disabilities in Vanuatu through theatre

Kiribati School for the Disabled

Outstanding contribution to advancing the rights of persons with disabilities at the School for the Disabled in Kiribati

Chelcia Gomese of Solomon Islands

Special recognition for highlighting the right to education through creative writing

Rowena Wemahanua of Solomon Islands

Special recognition for highlighting human rights through creative drawing

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

17 DECEMBER 2010 SUVA (RRRT)

The Chief Justice of New Zealand, Dame Sian Elias congratulated SPC/RRRT and AusAID for supporting human rights dialogue amongst members of the judiciary in the Pacific.

In her speech she reiterated to her 18 Pacific colleagues that human rights can galvanise social and legal change and are central to the rule of law. Chief Justice Elias made these remarks at the opening of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community / Pacific Regional Rights Resource Team (SPC/RRRT) 2010 Pacific Judges and Magistrates Consultation in Auckland, New Zealand.

She reflected on the rights and freedoms violated in World War 2 and called for greater commitment towards meeting human rights standards and norms in our island states.

The representatives of the Pacific Islands judiciary are attending the three-day consultation reviewing human rights issues, including disability rights and legislation on violence against women.

The consultation is organised and hosted by SPC/RRRT and funded by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID).

RRRT is an SPC programme that provides human rights training, technical support, and policy and advocacy services tailored specifically for the Pacific region....PNS (ENDS)

For further information, please contact Seema Naidu, SPC / RRRT Human Rights Trainer, Fiji +(679) 330-5582 NZ +(64) 9 337-0349 (Dec. 10–14) or email: [email protected]

21 DECEMBER 2009 SUVA (RRRT/SPC)

Regional parliamentarians meeting in Brisbane have called for a regional human rights mechanism to facilitate handling the increasing number of inter-jurisdictional human rights issues such as the effects of climate change and migrant workers.

The MPs from 11 countries around the Pacific are meeting to discuss human rights issues in the Pacific including violence against women, HIV, human rights and the law, human rights perspectives on climate change and human rights mechanisms.

This issue was raised previously in recommendations made by Pacific Island MPs at human rights consultations in Auckland in November 2007 and December 2008, as well as at a regional meeting of judges and magistrates in December 2007 in Brisbane.

The European, American, African and Arab regions have well-established regional human rights commissions with varying levels of authority to promote the concept of human rights and in some regions to adjudicate on human rights issues between countries and between citizens and countries.

In 2007 the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries agreed to set up an Asian regional human rights commission, a concept that had been under consideration for several years. This means that the Pacific will soon be the only region globally without one.

A regional human rights commission could facilitate rights specific to circumstances in the Pacific region while at the same time conforming to international human rights standards set out in UN human rights instruments.

The African Human Rights Charter significantly guarantees all 'peoples' the right to a 'general satisfactory environment favourable to their development'. The San Salvador Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights guarantees the right to a healthy environment and requires member states to 'promote the protection, preservation and improvement' of the environment. A similar mechanism in the Pacific would facilitate common Pacific human rights issues.

A Pacific regional human rights commission would complement current judicial systems as well as the development of harmonised human rights law between Pacific countries. It would also assist in the set-up of national commissions and complement their work.

Cook Islands MP Nandi Glassie expressed that some countries lack the resources and capacity to effectively run national human rights institutions. He asked:

'Would a regional human rights mechanism be the way for these nations to go?'

Given the small size of most Pacific countries, there would be greater likelihood of independence from government with a regional commission than with a national commission. A regional human rights commission would not exclude the establishment of national human rights institutions. In the Americas, the regional human rights commission played a major role in the consequent establishment of national human rights institutions in countries party to the Inter-American Human Rights Commission.

A regional commission would also assist Pacific countries in reporting to various UN bodies on its human rights accountability before the treaty bodies and the Universal Periodic Review. It would promote and protect human rights standards in the region. It could also promote the rights of Pacific Islanders as a group.

The meeting of regional MPs is organised and hosted by the Regional Rights Resource Team (RRRT) at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC). RRRT provides human rights training, technical support, and policy and advocacy services tailored specifically for the Pacific region. RRRT is an SPC programme under the Social Resources Division....PNS (ENDS)

For any further information please contact Imrana Jalal or Gwen Phillip at the Diana Plaza Hotel, Brisbane on (07) 3391 2911.

21 DECEMBER 2009 SUVA (SPC/RRRT)

'There are international and regional discussions already underway on addressing violence against women; it is time Pacific Island leaders take up the issue nationally. Domestic Violence is a real and serious national issue in Pacific countries. It is our challenge to deal with it.'

Kiribati Member of Parliament and former President Tito made this statement at the Pacific Regional Consultation for Members of Parliament hosted and organised by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) Regional Rights Resource Team (RRRT) in Brisbane, Australia, during a discussion on challenges and strategies for responding to the high rates of gender-based violence in Pacific countries.

MPs from 11 countries around the Pacific are attending the meeting to discuss human rights issues in the Pacific, including violence against women, HIV, human rights and the law, human rights perspectives on climate change and human rights mechanisms.

MP Tito stated that campaigns by women activists in Kiribati, SPC/RRRT's advocacy on gender equality issues and notification about the regional parliamentarians human rights consultation prompted him to act on his intentions to garner support from the Kiribati Parliament to take a stand against gender-based violence, with particular focus on domestic violence in Kiribati.

A motion he filed (Motion 20) calling for legislative measures to address domestic violence received bipartisan support in the Kiribati Parliament two weeks ago.

Although results of family health and safety studies in Kiribati and Solomon Islands show that rates of physical, sexual and psychological violence against women are amongst the highest in the world, there are inadequate laws and mechanisms to protect women from such violence.

Another former President of Kiribati and current MP, Ieremia Tabai, said,

Research also shows that where there are mechanisms to assist women in such situations, these do not adequately assist affected women given the limited resources allocated for such programmes. Seventy per cent of women who are subjected to intimate partner violence never tell anyone, and the few who talk about their experiences only do so when they are seriously injured or when they fear for their lives.

Papua New Guinea MP Malakai Tabar stated that a challenge that Pacific countries face is distorted and misconceived cultural and social norms that result in tolerance of violence against women.

MP Pierre Lauofo of Samoa said that education – through media accessible to all citizens – is crucial in stopping violence against women. ....PNS (ENDS)

For any further information please contact Imrana Jalal or Gwen Phillip at the Diana Plaza Hotel, Brisbane on (07) 3391 2911. RRRT is a programme within the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and provides training, technical support, policy and advocacy advice in human rights to promote social justice and good governance throughout the Pacific.

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.