Renee Deschamps, Australian High Commission

Justice stakeholders of the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu

Ladies and Gentlemen

A very good morning to you all.

I am delighted to be here this morning to open this two-day Regional Rule of Law Conference. Thank you all for travelling from across the region to participate in this conference, which I have no doubt will result in fruitful dialogue focused on enhancing access to justice and the rule of law in your countries and the Pacific region.

This initiative is part of a broader programme in support of Pacific regionalism promoting the improvement of public goods based on strengthened south-south cooperation and integration across the region. The programme aims to collaboratively approach specific development challenges and enhances the sharing of knowledge and experience among Pacific Island Countries. The regional programme ensures that knowledge generated in the region addresses real issues and influences global strategies.

Over the next two days you will have an opportunity to discuss and validate the content and findings of the draft Regional Rule of Law Mapping. In addition, strategic discussions will create the perfect opportunity to identify areas that you feel require support. I urge you to share your experiences, challenges and responses to those challenges with your justice colleagues from the region. Such knowledge sharing creates the ideal environment in which to learn from each other and generate signature solutions both in individual countries and also regionally.

I have had an opportunity to review the draft Regional Mapping and I am most looking forward to reading the final version following your input after this conference. The Regional Mapping will serve as a most useful guide to anyone working in the justice sector in the Pacific region.

Access to justice in the Pacific Region is a clear priority on the road to realizing the Sustainable Development Goals, and in particular SDG 16. Through SDG 16, the global community has identified peaceful and inclusive societies; access to justice for all; and effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels, as key priorities. Further, Outcome 5 of the United Nations Pacific Strategy 2018-2022, sets the jointly-agreed goal of seeing people and communities in the Pacific contributing to, and benefitting from, inclusive, informed, and transparent decision-making processes; accountable and responsive institutions; and improved access to justice. This involves support to governments, justice and security sector institutions, and civil society with a view to strengthening the rule of law and access to justice. This also includes improving the effective delivery of justice outcomes and services, enhancing legal aid mechanisms, supporting the development of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, and improving service provision in remote areas.

In line with the pledge to leave no one behind, a concerted effort is necessary to identify and lift those who are furthest behind first. Thus, the most vulnerable people are to be targeted, which, in the Pacific context, may include women, youth and other vulnerable groups. Priority issues for these groups include accessible government and legal services at all times and in all areas.

I am delighted to see strong representation from the Fiji justice sector, who will share their experiences with you as they develop and continue to implement innovative initiatives in Fiji, addressing such priority issues.

One such initiative is that of the REACH project, which brings critical central government services to populations in remote and rural areas. The approach to delivering services has been successful in Fiji and is now in the early stages of being rolled out in Samoa and Tonga. A key feature of a successful regional scale up of a project such as REACH is the appropriate contextualization to the needs of individual countries. The importance of this feature cannot be over emphasized, and when you are deliberating over the next two days, I urge you to visualize and imagine how implementation of initiatives would be realized in your country. The value of your insight in this regard is immeasurable.

I would like to extend my gratitude to the Director of the Fiji Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission, the Acting Director of the Legal Aid Commission, the Assistant Commissioner of the Fiji Police Force and the Director of the Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation for taking the time to be here and I look forward to their continued successful partnership with UNDP in Fiji.

I must express my gratitude to the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for supporting this conference and the development of the Regional Mapping, which is a culmination of a desk review, in-country in-depth interviews and validation through this regional conference. I would also like to express our sincere thanks to you for your support to broader Pacific regional cooperation.

To the participants, I wish you fruitful discussions and I hope you enjoy your stay in Fiji.

Vinaka