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Opening remarks by Mereseini Rakuita, Principal Strategic Lead – Women & Girls, Pacific Community (SPC) at the Gender & Social Inclusion (GESI) in Pacific Fisheries Symposium

FFA Conference Center, Honiara, Solomon Islands

Hon. Minister Mona Ainu’u, Minister for Natural Resources of the Government of Niue

Hon. Minister Vainetutai Rose Toki-Brown, Cook Islands Minister for Internal Affairs, Health, Agriculture and Superannuation; and Chair of the Forum Women Leaders Meeting

Dr Manu Tupou-Roosen, Director General of the FFA and Host of this Symposium

Thank you for the kind invitation to SPC to partner with you and to be here today.

We are one Pacific people sharing one Ocean that connects us. Connecting our dreams. Connecting our destinies. Our challenges are the same. Our aspirations are shared ones. The rich tapestry of cultures and traditions that clothe us and the strength and resilience of Pacific people provide us with a unique pathway to unlocking sustainable economies within the Blue Pacific Continent. 

When we talk about sustainable economies we speak over and above the language of GDPs. We speak about sustainability in a true Pacific sense. One that recognises our pacific way of knowing and doing and is anchored in our rich cultures and traditions. One that is respectful, collaborative, inclusive and finds great value in our diverse worldviews. One that recognises the strength in the sum of our collective parts knowing that we share a common vision “for a resilient Pacific Region of peace, harmony, security, social inclusion, and prosperity, that ensures all Pacific peoples can lead free, healthy and productive lives.

That vision, ladies and gentlemen, is the vision of our leaders under the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent. Gender equality and social inclusion are central to realising the vision of our Pacific Leaders.

Like the rest of the world, our Blue Pacific Continent is facing major developmental challenges that are transnational in nature and which demand innovative, transformative and multi-faceted solutions.  Solutions that sit on strong platforms of meaningful and trusted partnerships like the one we see here today. SPC through PEUMP and the Pacific Women Lead programme supported by Australia is honoured to be able to partner with FFA in this initiative. 

It is encouraging to see Pacific Island Countries and Territories, CROP agencies, non-state actors, development partners and Pacific communities together in one room talking about key issues that can pave the way for a more socially inclusive Pacific fisheries sector in the years ahead…aiming to integrate and mainstream gender equality and social inclusion in this sector that is so critical to us as pacific peoples.

Ladies and gentlemen, this regional Talanoa focused on GESI in Pacific Fisheries is the first of its kind for our Pacific region. I am excited and hopeful about the catalytic impact that this symposium should bring to the fisheries sector.  We have invested in and advocated for gender equality in a silo for far too long.  We have been treating gender equality as a women’s rights issue only.  It is more than that.  Gender equality is about national development; it is about human rights; it is about sustainable economies and peaceful societies; it is about recognising that half of our Pacific population are women and girls and as such their voices, interests, concerns, aspirations and leadership are needed if we are to unleash our full potential as a region. We simply cannot attain our collective Vision for the region if we leave half of our population behind. Gender equality and social inclusion belongs in every sector of our economies. 

We are having this symposium at a critical junction of our regional journey for gender equality.  This year marks the 30th year of the Beijing Platform for Action. As a region we should be proud that our Pacific Platform for Action on the Advancement of Women and Gender Equality (PPA) predated the Beijing Platform for Action. Last year our leaders endorsed the revitalised Pacific Leaders Gender Equality Declaration and, in a few months, we head into the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women and the 8th Meeting of Pacific Women Ministers. We have seen remarkable progress on women’s rights on many fronts in recent decades. But these gains are far from consistent. It has been a long journey and yet this is our first regional conversation on GESI in the fisheries sector. 

At this junction, this journey calls on Pacific leadership to be intentional in our intervention for true inclusivity. It requires us to be innovative in our responses to the gaps that we see in the sector for we cannot keep doing business as usual and expect a different result. We must take risks, create new partnerships and be unwavering in our commitment to bring about substantive gender equality and social inclusion in the fisheries sector. 

I look forward to listening to the wealth of expertise in the room and to collaborating with you all in finding solutions to a more gender-responsive and socially inclusive fisheries sector.