Democratic Governance
Strengthening Parliaments and Democratic Institutions
Justice and Human Rights
Accountability and Transparency Frameworks
Capacity Development of Local Governments and Civil Society
Pacific Island countries face serious challenges in many areas of governance and this lies at the heart of their difficulties in improving the welfare of their people. Good governance is a prerequisite for sustainable development. It requires effective and efficient institutions at various levels, both in government and civil society, supported by well-designed legal frameworks. Governance institutions and frameworks should effectively put voice to the concerns of citizens, including disadvantaged groups, and hold governments accountable.
Democratic institutions are framed by national constitutions, which are complemented by legislation such as electoral frameworks, leadership codes and political party laws. A number of Pacific countries have already flagged their interest in reviewing their constitutional frameworks. Additionally, electoral reform is an area that many countries are considering, both in terms of promoting greater legislative stability, particularly in Melanesian countries where ‘crossing the floor’ to secure favour and resources causes frequent changes in governments, and in the context of promoting women in parliament. Although many Pacific countries have significantly advanced women’s political participation, women continue to be under-represented in their parliaments.
In the context of strengthening democratic institutions, Pacific legislatures in particular are a key entry-point. However, Pacific legislatures currently suffer from various constraints: weak functioning secretariats with too few qualified staff to support legislators in their legislative and committee work; limited access to critical information and expertise needed for law making and oversight; and inadequate systems and equipment. Many legislators have limited formal education, experience of the public sector, understanding of their roles or knowledge of the parliamentary and policy processes. Consequently, legislators are often marginalised in the policy development, oversight and implementation process and have not been effectively engaged as development partners. The smallness of most legislatures makes it difficult to sustain full parliamentary service functions, a difficulty compounded by limited specialist capacity within many countries, poor access to legal, training, information and research services, and limited financial resources. The Pacific Centre will support work to strengthen the capacity of national legislatures, as well as examining options for regional support to parliaments in terms of service delivery and skills-building in relation to development issues.
