I would like to share with you an article by CIVICUS’ Civil Society Watch Programme Manager, Clare Doube - specifically, her reflections on the Pacific Islands Forum which met in Fiji on 24-25 October. Clare’s article discusses the striking contrast between the Pacific Plan adopted in October 2005, which emphasised the importance of achieving its goal of enhancing and stimulating economic growth, sustainable development, good governance and security for Pacific countries through regionalism. The 2006 Forum’s communiqué failed to make any mention of civil society’s role in the region. The only challenge that the Pacific Islands leadership should address would be to draw greater attention to the importance of encouraging participatory approaches with civil society.
In Solidarity,
Kumi Naidoo
Civil society and the challenge of Regional Integration in the Pacific
By Clare Doube, CIVICUS Civil Society Watch Programme Manager
From kava, to rugby, to beautiful beaches, to songs and dances like the haka and beyond, with its scattered selection of small islands, different cultures and histories, diverse languages and peoples the Pacific region is a vibrant and complex part of the world. And yet, aside from debates over global warming and rising sea levels, or tension between ethnic groups or the government and military (as is raising its head in Fiji again at the moment) these islands remain largely a mystery to the rest of the world.
The Pacific region has an estimated 25,000 islands dotted around the Ocean, many of them uninhabited. The region is divided into three distinct areas: Melanesia (inlcuding Vanuatu, Fiji, the French overseas territory of New Caledonia and the largest Pacific Island, New Guinea, which is divided into the nation of Papua New Guinea and the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya); Micronesia (including Guam, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia); and Polynesia (including the Hawaiian Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalua, the Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Easter Island and New Zealand). Australia is also often considered part of the Pacific region.
The region includes some of the most diverse countries on the globe, such as Papua New Guinea, with over 850 indigenous languages in a population of just under 6 million; and some with the smallest populations imaginable for independent states, such as Tuvalu with 10,000 people and Nauru with 14,000. This diversity, small populations and complexity make for challenges in terms of cohesive and people-centred governance across the region.
The Pacific has 10 regional organisations, which come together under the Council of Regional Organisations in the Pacific (CROP) to increase cohesion. The most powerful of these, particularly in terms of political and economic policies, is the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF). It comprises 16 states: Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. French Polynesia and New Caledonia are Associate members; and Timor Leste and Tokelau have been Observers, with Wallis and Futuna, the United Nations, Commonwealth and Asian Development Bank also invited in 2006 to become Observers.
The Pacific Islands Forum meets once a year. Its latest meeting was held in Fiji on 24-25 October when the following Communiqué was released: www.forumsec.org/_resources/main/files/Final%20Forum%20Communique,%20Fiji,%202006.pdf). It is in looking at this document, as well as other supporting documents and the processes at the PIF and its Secretariat, that we can see how the regional body prioritises civil society. After all, while it is governments that are represented in the PIF, it is only with the input of legitimate civil society as well, that it can be truly seen as a representative regional body.
Disappointingly, in this year’s seven page communiqué, there is not even a single mention of civil society. In the Annex to the communiqué, which outlines Leaders’ commitments to advancing the Pacific Plan over the next year, the only passing mention is that “greater attention be given to encouraging participatory democracy”, which one would hope would include input from civil society.
Such disregard for the contribution to be made by civil society in the region comes despite the fact that the Pacific Plan (adopted in October 2005 as a living document to guide the region in achieving its goal of enhancing and stimulating “economic growth, sustainable development, good governance and security for Pacific countries through regionalism”) specifically recognizes the value of civil society. The Plan includes a commitment to “promote and protect… civil society”; a recognition that the Plan depends on support from civil society in order to be successful; a commitment to strengthening relations with civil society and a commitment to consultative decision making that would include civil society. One practical suggestion in the Plan was an annual process whereby non-state actors such as civil society groups would be provided with “a platform for wider debate and feedback to the Leaders through the Secretary General.”
There has certainly been progress made in implementing aspects of the Pacific Plan, but there is still room for improvement, as shown by the apparent disregard for civil society as reflected in the 2006 Forum Communiqué. Some measures that could be taken include:
- Inclusion of accredited civil society groups (national and regional) as observers at the PIF annual meeting, as part of the recent expansion of observers. It would be hoped that opportunity would be given to them for inclusion in discussions, where appropriate;
- Establishing in-country networks that include representatives of government, civil society and the private sector to monitor and assist with implementation of the Pacific Plan;
- Practical initiatives that would facilitate more genuine civil society participation, such as a disclosure policy for the PIF and Secretariat, so that are all are aware of decisions and actions by the Forum; and
- Such simple gestures as uploading relevant civil society documents (for example, the statement of the pre-PIF Pacific Regional Civil Society Forum Meeting) onto the official PIF website.
It is hoped that the commendable decision to appoint a Non-State Actors Liaison Officer at the Forum Secretariat will assist in ensuring that the experience of civil society actors in the region is incorporated into Pacific processes. Statements such as those that came out of the pre-PIF regional civil society meeting (available at: www.oxfam.org.nz/imgs/whatwedo/mtf/nadi%20cso%20communique%202006.pdf) will be a valuable resource to this position with practical suggestions of action to be taken at the regional and national level.
It is clearly time for such action to be taken to ensure greater civil society participation - even Don McKinnon, the Secretary General of the Commonwealth, an Inter-Governmental Organisation not known for its ground-breaking approach to civil society involvement, stated that Pacific leaders needed to involve civil society organisations more in their decision making. Noting that the minimal involvement of such groups in the PIF hadn’t changed, he stated: “For political leaders today, if you’ve got things you’ve got to initiate in your own countries, use civil society. Get them on side first. If you get them onside, you’ll achieve your objectives.” Let us hope that Pacific leaders heed this recognition of the power of the people and ensure not only civil society input into achieving government objectives, but also in setting these objectives and monitoring their implementation.
Warmest regards,
Clare Doube
Below you will find all previous columns published within e-CIVICUS editions.
