NEWSPAGE 18 October
2010

(Photo: 3 News)

(Photo: Samoa Government)

SAMOA: Parliamentary Updates
Source: Government Press Secretariat Press Release

Report on the 65th United Nations General Assembly

Cabinet has approved the report by the Hon. Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi and his delegation, of the 65th United Nations General Assembly and other small meetings, held in New York from the 19 - 27 September 2010.

Conferences:

* Conference on the Millennium Development Goals: Hon. Tuilaepa spoke and make known Samoa’s progress in trying to meet these Goals. He mentioned that these Goals are included in the Strategy for the Development of Samoa booklet. He also mentioned that Samoa is focusing on developing telecommunications information technology, since this area can help lift other areas like, Education, Health, Businesses and Tourism.

* Biodiversity conference: Hon. Prime Minister spoke on the importance of Biodiversity in the Pacific environment and human beings. This fact brings Samoa into working together with other Nations and International Organizations to create ways for people to realize the importance of Biodiversity and to use it wisely for today and the future.

65th United Nations General Assembly.

A statement by Hon. Tuilaepa was also presented at this meeting, where he talked about several issues like:

* Unite Nations reform,
* Opposing terrorists acts and weapons of mass destruction,
* Peacekeeping in the Middle East,
* Climate Change and effects on the environment.

In his statement he, thanked all Nations, International Organisations and everyone for helping Samoa when the Tsunami struck the country last year. He also thanked the United Nations granting Samoa three years before graduating from Least Developed Country status.


Ministers of Trade for ACP Countries and European Union Commissioner for Trade meets

Cabinet has approved the attendance by Hon. Hans Joachim Keil, Associate Minister for the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour and senior official of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Nella Tavita-Levy, of the 14th meeting for Trade Ministers of ACP Countries and the Meeting with the Trade Commissioner of the European Union, which will be held in Belgium on the 20th - 22nd October 2010.

The 14th meeting for Trade Ministers of ACP Countries will discuss trade issues between the African Caribbean and Pacific countries and Europe. This meeting will also prepare the Trade Ministers with their meeting with the Trade Commissioner of the European Union.

The second meeting will discuss trade issues between the ACP and the European Union. They will also look into other trade agreements with WTO and EPA.


5th meeting for the Pacific Nations and Japan

Cabinet has approved participation by a representative from Samoa of the 5th meeting of Pacific Nations and Japan, held on the 16th October 2010.

Japan and the Pacific Nations first met in 1997 and from there they agreed to hold meetings to discuss ways for Japan to help the Pacific countries. This is a very important meeting to the Pacific leaders since it discusses ways for the Government of Japan to bring in aids and help the Pacific Nations in developments.

The Hon. Minister of Natural Resource and Environment, Faumuina Tiatia Liuga will be representing Samoa at this meeting since the Prime Minister is unavailable. The Hon Prime Minister has been representing the country in the last four meetings.


Contracts awarded to Companies

Cabinet has approved awarding of contracts to successful candidates (Companies) for tar sealing of roads in some areas of Upolu and Savaii.

The Tender for the construction was advertised for bids and 9 applications were submitted for Upolu while 10 applications were submitted for Savaii. The applications were assessed by a Sub Committee according to requirements of the Tender.

The Contracts were awarded to Companies listed below.
 

Government of Samoa hosts lunch for players of the Commonwealth Games

Cabinet has decided to host a Special Lunch for the Samoan players of the Commonwealth Games which was held in India, in October 2010. This function celebrates Samoa’s highest achievement ever, since participating in the Commonwealth Games.

The Team Samoa won 3 gold medals in weightlifting. This is the first time for Samoa to win gold medal in the Commonwealth Games. Another Samoan player won a bronze medal in shot put.

The Function will be held at the Orators Hotel on the 19th October 2010 at 12:00pm. Attending will be his Highness the Head of State and the Masiofo, Council of Deputy and his good lady, Hon. Prime Minister, Cabinet members, Speaker of the House, Chief Justice and their good ladies, TAB Board members, members of SASNOC, Team Samoa and parents.

The Keynote address will be delivered by the Hon. Prime Minister, and also price money for gold medalists.
 

AUSTRALIA: Vanuatu Tourism Office launch brand campaign in Australia
Source: eTravel Blackboard

The Vanuatu Tourism Office will soft-launch its first ever dedicated global brand campaign in Australia, its largest market.

With new vibrant imagery, a colour palette of bold reds and oranges, and the catchy yet profound tagline ‘Discover what matters’ the campaign will differentiate Vanuatu from other South Pacific destinations.

Soft adventure is the central theme in the new campaign with a move away from traditional images of picture perfect white sandy beaches in favour of authentic imagery portraying Vanuatu’s diversity of product and local culture.

Vanuatu Tourism Office General Manager Annie Niatu says that it is significant that the industry in Vanuatu is taking the lead on promoting new experiences that are authentic and unique to Vanuatu.

“The Vanuatu Tourism Office and the industry in Vanuatu see the potential to attract Australian’s through nature-based, soft adventure activities and authentic cultural experiences,” Annie said.

“The Vanuatu Tourism Office is excited to lead such a strong brand campaign which appeals to Australian travellers.

“With over 65% of Vanuatu’s arrivals coming from Australia, this campaign is a significant promotional activity, geared specifically toward those aged between 25-35 and 50-65.”

Valued at AUD$540K, the brand campaign creative will be featured in magazines, weekend newspaper inserts, outdoor advertising and online advertising into 2011. A website ‘reskin’ completes the brand revamp injecting a fresh new look and feel for online visitors. The brand campaign will continue well into and beyond 2011 with an additional budget yet to be announced.

The Vanuatu Tourism Office has allocated an additional AUD$60K toward co-operative advertising in Australia with Air Vanuatu, Coral Seas, Specialist Holidays, Qantas Holidays and Flight Centre. This kicked off last weekend and will continue through to December 2010 and into 2011. Wotif has also launched a self-funded campaign to coincide with Vanuatu’s brand campaign.

To view the new look website, visit: http://www.vanuatu.travel/
 

(Photo: Pacific Media Centre)

PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Call for women’s rights in PNG getting louder than ever
Source: Pacific Scoop

Two women from Papua New Guinea flew half way around the world this year to attend a United Nations assembly in New York - to demand their government take responsibility for the ongoing violence faced by women. But with the country’s sole woman parliamentarian set to retire by 2012, many fear the situation will get worse.

As the two women walk up the wide concrete steps under the towering row of snapping multi-coloured flags, they carry a serious responsibility.

On that sunny day back in July, Tapora Isorua and Sarah Garap attended a meeting held by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.

This was the same day the Papua New Guinea government was due to report back on the progress it had made towards protecting the rights of its women.

But these women had seen no progress so they were forced to take to an international stage to urge their government put in place a solid policy and finally address the “staggering acts of family, community and sexual violence against women” in Papua New Guinea.

And with the confirmation at the end of last year that Dame Carol Kidu will retire from Parliament before the next national elections in 2012, they fear the situation will get worse.

Dame Carol is currently the only female holding a seat in the 109-strong Parliament.


Historic occasion

While this was a historic occasion for the women of Papua New Guinea, many supporters fear that it is not enough and more needs to be done to protect the rights of these women.

Living in the largest of the Pacific Island countries, 67 percent of women in Papua New Guinea are victims of domestic violence.

Other forms of abuse include gang rapes, child poverty, and incest as well as murder and torture following accusations of witchcraft.

According to reports, 50 women were killed last year following allegations of sorcery and witchcraft.

Amnesty International secretary-general Salil Shetty says the situation is made worse by the country’s traditionally negative view of women’s role in society.

Most violence against women goes unreported and is often ignored by police.

“What goes on behind closed doors is viewed as a private matter so police either choose to simply ignore cases, or worse still, in many cases they sexually assault women in their protection,” Shetty says.

“Violence is not seen against women in Papua New Guinea is not seen as an issue of gender equality or human rights.”


A call for change

Researcher and women’s support worker Mirriam Dogimab works in Papua New Guinea and believes more needs to be done to give the women of Papua New Guinea a voice.

There is strong support by local women’s groups to have a bill introduced to reserve a select number of seats for women in Parliament.

Dogimab says the lack of action by the present government to protect its women against violence and human rights issues needs to stop.

“I think that even though much needs to be done to address the issue, there is no significant change in the lives of the women of Papua New Guinea.

“More has to be done in terms of support and concern from the government on this issue. Support should be given to organisations and government organisations responsible to address these issues in the country,” she says.

Pacific Cooperation Foundation project manager Cathy Bolinga agrees the imbalance of power in Papua New Guinea’s society is contributing to the abuses being faced by women.

“Papua New Guinea societies are based on cultural norms and traditions and this has not changed much, despite modernisation. Therefore the gender power imbalance still plays a role in different issues being faced by women.


Selected seats

“However, in this contemporary time situations differ and we cannot only point to culture and tradition as being the only contributing factors,” she says.

National president of UNIFEM New Zealand Rae Julian agrees that a selected number of seats need to be available to women in Parliament in order to give the women of Papua New Guinea a voice.

Pressure is being put on the both the Papua New Guinea and other Pacific governments to introduce these seats by local and international women’s organisations and she says this is seen as the only way women will be able to get into these positions of power.

“There are often women who are quite prominent but they don’t get elected.

“So it is not that women aren’t standing, it’s that these women aren’t getting the support,” she says.

Oxfam’s programme manager for Papua New Guinea, Wendy Lee, believes the political situation for women in the country is “very poor” and has declined over the last twenty years.

Having lived in Papua New Guinea and continuing to travel to the country regularly, Lee says while awareness is growing about the problems facing these women, they are being made worse by the steady increase of poverty.


Human index

While there was an improvement in development after the country gained independence from Australia in 1975, Lee says conditions have been on the decline since 1990.

The country now sits at 148 out of 182 countries on the international human development index and she says the number of people in Papua New Guinea living below the national poverty line has increased 17 percent since 1996.

According to Human Rights Watch, Papua New Guinea has the highest incidence of HIV and AIDS in the Pacific.

Lee says most women are denied access to education and decent health services and action has to come from the government.

“There needs to be a real recognition that the development research being done all over the world shows the biggest single thing you can do to improve and lift people out of poverty and improve development outcomes is directing development at women.

“If you educate women; if you protect them from violence; if you ensure that they’ve got access to resources like land and credit then that has a huge impact on whole families,” she says.

Lee says there is hope for the future and it will be seen when the women of Papua New Guinea will take to the streets next month to voice their struggle as part of a 16 day international demonstration against violence to women.

The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence is an international campaign established by the first Women’s Global Leadership Institute in 1991.

Lee says the streets of Papua New Guinea will be full.

Photo Caption: Papua New Guinea’s Tapora Isorua: Fighting the politicians for women’s human rights.
 

(Photo: Oceania Football Confederation)

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Koloale coach in confident mood
Source: Oceania Football Confederation Press Release

Head coach Peter Eke has full faith in his Koloale players ahead of the Solomon Islands club's opening O-League encounter against Fiji champions Lautoka next weekend.

“I have 100 per cent confidence in my players,” he says.

“They know their roles in our game plan and it will be about everybody doing their job at game time.”

Eke's shopping list over the off-season included securing the signatures of a couple of top-class defenders and he got his wish in the form of Samson Takayama and George Suri.

He has also called upon the services of Felix Ray Jnr, who will be supporting Shadrack Ramoni as the second goalkeeper.

Locally, Koloale has been seen playing a tactical game that is quite unorthodox compared to other local clubs but this has been able to get them the results that they are looking for.

It is anticipated that a similar game plan will be used in their match against Lautoka.

Eke is confident that Koloale will get the job done despite their opponent's extensive recruitment drive and believes it is vital to get off to a good start.

“I think that it is important for us to win our opening match to get some positive momentum going and to bolster support among the local community and business houses for the club," he says.
 

(Photo: Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme)

WORLDWIDE: Pacific meets at CBD COP 10 in Nagoya
Source: Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme Press Release

The Pacific region is uniting at the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 10) for which the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) is providing a coordinating role through technical and communication expertise.

Under the theme “The Pacific Voyage”, the region intends to raise its profile at the international conference, showcasing nature conservation successes, highlighting common needs and speaking as one voice at the negotiations.

While the conference proper begins on Monday 18 October, preparations are already taking place. The majority of the 14 Pacific islands countries and territories that are parties to the CBD are already in Nagoya, attending meetings and preparatory briefings. A key preparatory event was the “Island Briefing” organised by the Global Island Partnership (GLISPA) and partners, held on Sunday 17 October for all island states attending the CBD COP 10.

“This meeting has helped to further elaborate on some of the key agenda items particularly those of relevance to island parties,” said Easter Galuvao, the Biodiversity Adviser for SPREP.

“It is an opportunity for us to meet together with other island parties not only to strengthen our networking but most importantly to identify areas where we as islands may share common views and positions ”

The strong Pacific delegation not only features those from the Pacific islands countries, but also nature conservation partners from the region, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community and SPREP.

With 2010 being the International Year of Biodiversity, this particular Conference of the Parties is a significant one as it is an opportunity for countries to report on their progress in meeting the 2010 target to halt the loss of biodiversity. This leads to the other significant item on the agenda, which is the formation of the next 10 year strategic plan to come into being after 2010.

“I am really happy that we have a bigger delegation to this COP meeting, not only so we can cover the substantive areas that we’ll be discussing in the agenda that are important to the Pacific, but also using the side events to communicate what the Pacific has been doing in terms of our persistence and achievements in biodiversity conservation,” said Ms. Galuvao.

“We can also highlight the areas where we are still vulnerable and the idea is also to use the opportunity to expand our partnership to support and help us to fully implement some of our priorities that we are not able to implement due to resource constraints.”

As part of preparations for the CBD COP 10, country representatives have committed to following different agenda items. Each morning the Pacific delegates will be meeting to update each other on how the negotiations are progressing and to seek advice and input for the day.

SPREP staff will be providing the necessary technical advice and support when needed by the Pacific delegates during the negotiations and will also help raise the profile of the Pacific region through The Pacific Voyage, a communications campaign involving several side events, promotional materials and exhibitions.

The CBD COP 10 is held from 18 - 29 October and is hosted by Nagoya Japan. There are 14 Pacific island countries attending - The Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

Photo Caption: Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme Biodiversity Adviser, Easter Galuvao.