A grant agreement amounting to £1.8 million has been signed by the Pacific Community (SPC) and the UK Government to help improve the capacity of nine Pacific Commonwealth countries deliver on their human rights. The money released from the “18-20 Commonwealth Fund” is earmarked for projects in Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu and will be spread over the two years the UK is Chair in the Office of the Commonwealth.
The “Pacific Commonwealth Equality Project” will be implemented by the SPC’s Regional Rights Resource Team (RRRT) in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, the UK Equality and Human Rights Commission, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, and national human rights institutions across the Commonwealth.
The British High Commissioner to Fiji and Head of the South Pacific Network, Melanie Hopkins said, “Women, young people, persons with disabilities, and other minority groups will all benefit and this new funding offers valuable support to the recipient Pacific Commonwealth countries as they strive to strengthen their national human rights institutions. This is a strong outcome of the Commonwealth Leaders aspirations from CHOGM 2018 and I am delighted the UK Government is partnering with SPC for this important work for our Pacific countries.”
The Project partnership has three core components: to support emerging national human rights institutions through cross-Pacific and cross-Commonwealth learning and exchange; provide technical support to Pacific states to develop National Human Rights Action plans to meet their human rights and gender equality commitments; and create platforms for Members of Parliament and civil society leaders across the Pacific to champion and advance human rights.
