Statement on behalf H.E. Mr Gary Quinlan, Permanent Representative of Australia on behalf of the Pacific Islands Forum to the United Nations Economic and Social Council regarding the Special Policy Dialogue on Women in Special Situations. As delivered on 30 June 2010.
(as delivered)
I have the honour to make this statement on behalf of the Pacific Islands Forum.
The Pacific region is diverse – in land forms, human and physical resources, customary ways and the degree and nature of transition to new social, political and economic systems. Many Pacific countries are small island developing states. A number have emerged from recent civil conflicts. Disasters, such as the deadly 2009 earthquake and tsunami experienced by Samoa, Solomon Islands and Tonga, have also been damaging for people and their environments. Whole Pacific nations are threatened by climate change. Pacific women and their families, largely in rural areas, are disproportionally affected.
Pacific Islands Forum members recognise that the Beijing Platform for Action, outcome of the Twenty Third Special Session of the General Assembly and the Millennium Development Goals are linked. We acknowledge that gender equality and empowerment of women are crucial to achieving all of the MDGs. We reaffirm our commitment to address women’s participation in decision-making as well as women’s economic and social empowerment.
On governance, in the Pacific there is a strong need to improve on women in decision-making at all levels including gender representation in parliaments. Pacific leaders are committed to improving this. While women are often disproportionally affected by crises and challenges we recognise that economic and social resilience to crisis, as well as national capacity to respond, is improved by increased participation of women in all levels of decision-making. During the Commission on the Status of Women in March, Australia hosted an event together with Pacific Ministers from Samoa and New Zealand and senior officials from Solomon Islands and Tuvalu to raise awareness of this issue. Several governments – including Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Federated States of Micronesia – are considering temporary quotas to increase the number of women in Parliament. We would be interested in other options for increasing women’s participation in decision-making in both national and local governance structures.
On economic empowerment, women represent the majority of subsistence farmers in semi-subsistence Pacific economies. Women in some Pacific Islands continue to face challenges accessing savings and credit mechanisms. More remains to be done for women in poverty in the Pacific. This includes targeting microfinance projects towards the many women living in urban poverty. Access to housing and property as well as land tenure also pose challenges. We would be interested to hear examples of best practice microfinance and microcredit mechanisms.
On social empowerment, significant gains have been made on gender equality in education and health in the Pacific. The draft 2010 Pacific MDG tracking report identifies that eight countries in the Pacific are on track to achieve gender parity in access to education. Samoa has launched a free primary education scheme. Tonga and Palau have achieved gender parity in access to education and health services. But some Pacific countries continue to experience some of the highest per capita rates of maternal mortality and morbidity in the world. We would value insights on steps other small island developing states have taken to address maternal and child health.