Address at GPPAC Pacific Regional Steering Group
As always I am happy to be associated, even in a small way, with the work of FemLINKPACIFIC and the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict or GPPAC for short. So thank you Sharon and Veena for your kind invitation to speak today.
I understand that in this Meeting we have both gender focal points from the 1325 network from Fiji, Solomon Islands, Bougainville and Tonga as well steering group members from Tonga, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Fiji. It is also good to see Jenny Ligo here from Vanuatu and as such seeing a broadening of regional support for 1325 and the global partnership.
As most of you are aware, the Global Partnership was established in 2003 and came about following the publication of a 2001 report on the Prevention of Armed Conflict by the then UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan. In that report he promoted the need for an international conference of civil society organizations working in the field of conflict prevention, which led to the formation of GPPAC. The partnerships key roles are (i) to strengthen civil society networks for peace and security by linking local, national, regional and global levels of action; (ii) to ensure effective engagement with governments, the UN system and regional organizations; and (iii) to carry out projects within the five main programme areas of:
· Awareness raising
· Interaction and advocacy
· Network building
· Knowledge generation and sharing
· Early warning and early response
While I know that the Pacific chapter of GPPAC faced some difficulties in building a strong network after the events in 2006 in Fiji, your participation here this week sends a strong message that civil society organizations are active, working in partnership and willing to progress work in the key programme areas of GPPAC. Through FemLINKPACIFIC and your own individual efforts I know that you have and will continue to breath new life into the network and the ways civil society advocates for conflict prevention in the region.
Although the Pacific maybe one of the most peaceful regions in the world and other countries have much to learn about why this is so, there do remain challenges for the Pacific. One of them is weak and unstable governments, giving rise to political instability and conflict. Another is the violence that women are exposed to both in the home and in the community.
Civil society organizations like your own have very important roles to play in ensuring that the insecurity and threats faced by ordinary people in communities are brought to the attention of governments and decision makers, which include senior UN representatives - and that pressure is put on them to do something about it. It is no longer enough for governments to ensure the security of their states – governments need to ensure that people are also free from fear and free from want – a human security approach recognizes this.
Civil society organizations are already engaged in advocating about a range of issues that impinge on people and communities in the region; with a stronger integrated regional approach to human security, they can be an important partner to the state, regional and international development agencies in ensuring safer and secure communities. Their potential will be enhanced by the recognition of the work that they are currently doing, treating them as equal partners and making resources available to them.
The loudest voices in the Pacific - that speak about human security and the everyday threats faced by communities – come from your organizations. And coming together in a regional network, with a regional action plan, is a tremendously powerful initiative.
In this regard I am advised that the theme for this meeting is “Making Peace the News” which clearly emphasizes the public outreach of GPPAC as well the role played by FemLINKPACIFIC as the media focal point. It also highlights efforts within the network to communicate a culture of peace through a range of media initiatives such as community radio and media, the GPPAC peace portal and media networks in the region.
It also suggests to me that you are focusing on conflict prevention instead of addressing situations where armed violence already exists and this links to one of the key pillars of 1325 that addresses how civil society advocates for a transformed security sector that embraces human rights and its contribution to development.
A point made by the UNDP Administrator just this week to senior colleagues in UNDP resonates well with this when she said:
‘We live in heightened awareness that while we need development for peace to take root, we also need peace and security for development to get traction.’
At the regional level Pacific island forum leaders have been discussing security issues for the last 20 years and this has resulted in a number of specifically security-related agreements. They include the Honiara, Aitutaki, Biketwawa and Naisonini Declarations.
Alongside these discussions, there has been some increased awareness of security issues within government, civil society and the media. A call has been made for a ”comprehensive, integrated and collaborative” approach; however, there is no specific mention of civil society as critical partners in this endeavor. The potential of ordinary people, including women, appears to not have been recognized sufficiently.
While there have been some positive steps, with civil society meeting with PIFS about security issues twice yearly, over the past two years, it is imperative that Forum island governments collectively recognize the role CSOs have played in protecting and promoting Pacific communities from security threats. CSOs must be accepted as partners in the work of governments and at the regional level, CSO representatives should be effectively represented in regional fora where decisions are made about human security matters.
I understand that over the next three days you will have training on mapping outcomes to enhance understandings on how you can collaborate and bring about collective change/conflict transformation in the region in order to prevent violence and build long term peace. UNDP sees this as an extremely important network, which is why we are very happy to provide a UNDP facilitator to hopefully contribute to the successful outcomes of this workshop. I wish you all the best in your deliberations.
Remarks made by Mr Garry Wiseman, Manager UNDP Pacific Centre, at the GPPAC Pacific Regional Steering Meeting, June 29, 2011
Archives
