2003/2004 Annual Report
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
I PACIFIC ISLANDS FORUM SECREfARIAT 2003-2004 ANNUAL REPORT Excelling together for the people of the Pacific Motto - Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat ",,'.'oKl i,Jtlf,i ~. J'U~ , Paci fi c Islands Fo rum S e ': r e lt a ri ~ 1 2003/200 4 A nn u a • u \. I • u ~ A Review of the Forum, and its Secretariat, was carried out by an Eminent Persons Group in late 2003, in line with a decision by Pacific Islands Forum Leaders at their meeting in Auckland, New Zealand in August, 2003. The Eminent Persons, who also met with former Forum SeGretary General, Noel Levi, CBE (third from left) during their extensive consultations were (L·R): Bob Cotton, . Dr Lang; Kavaliku, M aiava lula; Toma, Sir Julius Chan and Teburoro Tito. o L I Pacific Islands Forum Secreta ri at 200 3/20 04 Ann u a l R e p o rt EX ECU TI VE S U MMARY The Pacific Way to a Pacific Plan A generation ago, seven Pacific Leaders Biketawa Declaration that, for the first acted on their vision for a more sec ure time, gave Foru m members a number future for the people of th e Pacific, of guiding principles and measures to by esta blishing th e Pacific Islands take in the event of a crisis affecting the Forum in August 1971. Th ei r aim was region . These initiati ves underscore th e to cooperate regionally on com mon leve l of cooperation and consultation concern s, thereby maki ng th e most of that is required as we face up to new what was often very li ttle in te rm s of challenges. reso urces. Th is yea r, we joined you in Forum Lead ers envisage that th e mou rning the last of the original Forum deve lopment of the Pacific Plan w il l co-founders, the late Ratu Sir Kami sese be a dynami c process, ex tend i ng M ara, who left us in April. over an as yet un specified number of A great leader of the region, Ratu Mara was a strong yea rs. Th e wo rk will initiall y seek to in crease cooperati on advocate of th e Pacific Way, a philosophy tha t guided the at sectoral levels and encourage more effec ti ve worki ng reg ion's approach to political, economic and socia l issues. relationships among regional organ isations. A framework for Days before Ratu Mara died, a new generation of Pacific th e development ofthe Plan w ill be presented to th e Lead ers Islands Forum Lea ders met in a Special Lea ders retreat in at their meeting. in Apia in August 2004. Au ckland, New Zea land to give the Forum a refres hed The Eminent Perso ns Group Report, on w hi ch th e Leaders mandate and a new vision. The Lea ders focused on fo ur key decisions are based, noted that there is considerable scope areas - economic growth , sustainabl e development, good for enhanced cooperation and a more co mprehensive governance and secu ri ty ~ and ca ll ed for stru ctured measures regional approach to shared security interests and suggested to address them. a number of areas for greater shared"effort and the pooling In effect, th e Pacific Way has fo und new express ion in a of resource s. Pacific Plan. There is much work to be done to justify the faith Some of th is already exists, such as is evident in the work placed in us by our founders and the ci tizens of the Forum. of th e Council of Regional O rga nisations in the Pacific Thi s is, of course, a very exci tin g time to be worki ng (CROP), of whi ch the Forum Secretariat is a member. Other with th e Forum fam ily, and it is, for me, a ve ry welcome opportuniti es for pooling of resources wi ll require innovative coincidence that I began my term as Secretary General just approaches, and a great deal of thinking outside the box. as the Forum was exa mining its sense of mission. Leaders Regional cooperation w ill be as strong and vibrant as have cl ea rl y placed a continuing high va lue on the Forum and members want it to be. Apart from the opportunities before on its releva nce to their national and regional interests, and us, there are clea rl y a number of daunting challenges, quite much effort has been invested in see ing that the Pacific Plan, a few of them not of our making. And the most complex however it evolves, becomes a positive force in th eir li ves. chall enges, whether they are in gove rn ance or economi c For th is to happen, it is essential that we justify th e support reform, are the ones we need to se riously tackle before the shown to us by our members and strategic partners. There is a si tuation, as ca n so metimes happen, gets out of hand. very simple issue that must guide our work - are we making a The tem ptation to change nothi ng does not mean th at positive difference in the lives of our communiti es? Rega rdless nothing w il l change. Internally, factors such as population of the policies and programmes we come up w ith, if we do growth wi ll guarantee more press ure on ou r sc hools, not act in the best interests of our own peopl e, then we are roads and hosp itals. Externall y, the process we know as wastin g yo ur ti me and your money. globali sation is here to stay and none of us are immune from In my first Report to Leaders, I wish to acknowledge the its impacts. Trying to make the best use of it, in a way that work of my predecessor, Noel Levi of Papua New Guinea, who converts the process into a positive force for the benefit of did much to maintain the Forum 's focus on the core iss ues of the people of the region is, th e only way to go. national and regional development. During his steward ship, For reasons which w ill be known to all of you the region the Forum pu shed through a wide range of regional in itiatives, has come under particular scru tiny of late and, whether we among them, th e PAC ER economic cooperation and PICTA agree or not, it has done so, for many of the wro ng rea so ns. free trade agreements. Leaders also adopted the landmark Th ere has been scrutiny of the Forum itse lf and of its abil ity Pacific Islan ds Forum Secretariat 2003/2004 Annual R e port to respond effective ly to challenges fa cing th e region and, to ass ist a fell ow member in cri sis. There remain s much to beyond that, its ability to ensure, as best it may, that th e proper do in Solomon Islands and we look forward to playing an groundwork is laid for susta ined prosperity and stability in ongoing role in this important work. the reg ion. At annual Forums since the mid-1990s, Forum member Leaders have also recognised that theirVision for the Pac ific states have co mmitted themselves to more effective ca nnot be achieved by Governments alone, but ca n on ly be governance. Specific undertaki ngs have been made to ensure attained on a platform of broader partnersh ips. Thi s principle th at th e management of mem ber co untri es' resourc es is more invites wider consu ltation on Forum issues, including work in g open, transpare nt, accountabl e, equ itable and respons ive to with non-member stakeholders such as our development peop le's needs. partn ers, the media and civil society. We saw exa mples of Th e 1997 Forum Economic Ministers Meeting (FEMM) wider engagement at this yea r's Forum Eco nomi c Ministers Prin ciples ofAcco untability provided guidelines for the proper Meeting in Rotorua\ New Zea land, where represe ntati ves management of public funds. The Biketawa Declaration from the private sector provided usefu l insights into the links highlights th e "Commitment to good governance which is between policy on paper, an d practice on the ground. At the th e exercise of authority (lea ders hip) and interacti ons in a Forum Regional Security Committee meeting in Nadi, Fi ji, mann er that is open, transpa rent, acco untable, parti cipatory, invited spea kers provided a fres h perspective on th e issue of consu ltative and decisive but fai r and equitabl e." Last yea r, governance in deve loping countri es. Thi s approach to ou r Forum Leaders adopted Principles of Good Leadership, wh ich work will, I hope, give our work a much broader relevance take into account both tradi tional Pacific va lues and the to the community. It is essentia l that other major partners Forum Leaders' co mmitment to the principles contai ned in - non-state actors, community groups an d other policymakers the Biketawa Declaration. The Secretariat is also supporting - share our sense of the intimate co nn ection between legislative reform in member countries through the annual key iss ues such as governan ce, economi c developm en t, Forum Presiding Officers Conference.