Her Excellency Ms Charlotte Darlow, High Commissioner of New Zealand to Fiji
Director of the Fiji Police Force Criminal Investigations Department, Acting Senior Superintendent of Police, Loraini Seru
Guest speakers
Female recruits of the Fiji Police Academy
Members of the Fiji Police Force
Esteemed guests
Colleagues

Bula vinaka and good afternoon to you all

It is an honour to stand before you today on behalf of the United Nations Development Programme to celebrate International Women’s Day.

This day is dedicated to honouring the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women around the world. At the same time, it is an opportunity to recognize the challenges that women continue to face in the Pacific and to recommit to working towards gender equality and women's empowerment.

The theme for International Women's Day 2023 centres on building resilience, and on furthering access to technology for gender equality. This theme resonates with the work of the United Nations Development Programme as we strive towards a more just, equal, and sustainable world. 

Women's leadership is essential to achieving this goal, as women bring unique perspectives and experiences that are often marginalized or overlooked.

We must recognize that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on women and girls, exacerbating existing inequalities and threatening progress towards gender equality. The pandemic highlighted the critical role that women play in our communities and economies, as well as the challenges they face in accessing healthcare, education, and economic opportunities.

UNDP is committed to supporting women's leadership and empowerment in all aspects of life here in Fiji, and across the Pacific. Through our programs, we work to address the root causes of gender inequality and promote women's rights and opportunities. We aim to ensure that women have equal access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunities, with the creation of enabling environment and policies that allow full participation in decision-making processes at all levels.

We also recognize that women's leadership is not limited to formal positions of power, but also includes the leadership roles that women play in their families, communities, and workplaces. We must empower women to lead in all aspects of their lives, whether they be selling their goods at the local market, they be entrepreneurs or political leaders.

Empowering women requires action at all levels, from local communities to national governments and international organizations. It requires us to challenge gender stereotypes and social norms that limit women's potential, to address systemic barriers that prevent women from accessing education, healthcare, and economic opportunities, and to support policies and programs that promote gender equality.

UNDP is committed to working with our partners to achieve gender equality and women's empowerment. 

Through our partnership with the Fiji Police Force – and with thanks to the support of the Government of New Zealand – one of our flagship projects is the Fiji Police Force Support Project. The project supports the Fiji Police Force to strengthen early access to justice in criminal proceedings and strengthen a victim-centered approach to investigations. The project prioritises a gender responsive and human rights-based approach to access to justice for vulnerable groups and promotes gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.

Over the past 12-months alone, the project has conducted consultations with over 400 women across Fiji’s remote islands, supported the provision of counselling services to survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, strengthened the work of Fiji Police’s Sexual Offences Unit, and supported the work of the Fiji Police Women’s Advisory Network, allowing women officers to meet to discuss and raise concerns, share feedback, and improve awareness as to the important role that they play within the force. 

We are delighted to support initiatives that promote women's leadership and empower women to achieve their full potential. Together, we can build a more just, equal, and sustainable world where women and girls can thrive.

I urge everyone to join us in celebrating International Women's Day and in supporting women's leadership and empowerment. Let us work together to build a more equal and just world, where every woman and girl has the opportunity to realize her full potential. 

Vinaka vakalevu, thank you, and happy International Women’s Day.