PINA

Pacific Article 19 watchdog, the Pacific Freedom Forum (PFF) has expressed ‘grave concerns’ over free expression and the rights of GBV survivors following the 23 November 2024 arrest and charging of a journalist under the Papua New Guinea’s Cybercrime Act. Media specialist and GBV activist Hennah Joku was arrested, charged with two counts of breaching the National Cybercrimes Act, detained...

The Western Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) has embraced innovative communication tools to enhance its operations, underlining the importance of effective information-sharing in managing the world’s largest tuna fishery. WCPFC Executive Director Rhea Moss-Christian highlighted the transformative role of technology showcasing how artificial intelligence (AI) has been utilised to expand outreach during a recent address at FFA’s WCPFC Communications Training...

Tuna industry body International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) is urging delegates at the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission’s(WCPFC) annual meeting in Fiji to improve their control over fisheries by strengthening vessel oversight and improving tuna conservation measures for long-term sustainability. ISSF stresses the need to adopt electronic monitoring standards, and better manage transshipment to improve data collection and prevent...

Fiji’s former prime minister and police chief appeared in public with a businessman tied to China’s Communist Party even after being briefed that he was suspected of playing a senior role in local organised crime, according to confidential documents and police sources. Fijian police sources and an internal briefing obtained by OCCRP show that as early as 2020 law enforcement...

The motion of vote of no confidence in Prime Minister James Marape filed Wednesday by the Papua New Guinea Opposition was rejected by the Private Business Committee. The motion moved by Abau MP Sir Puka Temu and seconded by Wabag MP Dr Lino Tom naming Enga Provincial Member Sir Peter Ipatas was rejected under Standing Orders 165 of the National...

The 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Baku Azerbaijan ended with a new finance goal to help countries protect their people and economies against climate change but Pacific countries are calling for more. After two weeks of intensive negotiations and several years of preparatory work, and in a process that requires...

Pacific Islands have called for a global target to reduce plastic polymers by 40 per cent by 2040 compared to 2025 levels. Now at the Plastic Treaty talks in Busan Korea, the business-as-usual scenario for plastics production has prompted the call for urgent action. According to a report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), it is projected...

Delegates from Pacific countries have travelled far and wide this week to attend the fifth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC-5). Busan is the final scheduled round of negotiations since 2022 when the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2) unanimously approved a resolution to end plastic pollution, setting...

What will it take for negotiators and delegates at the fifth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to come up with an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, at the end of the week? In Busan Korea, some 80 delegates from Pacific countries are here to advocate their key asks during the final scheduled round of negotiations...

Following the sensational, record-breaking Olympic Games competitions, the wait is over for rugby sevens fans as HSBC SVNS 2025 kicks off with the Emirates Dubai 7s on 30 November – 1 December. With interest and excitement in rugby sevens on a high following the Olympics, the many millions of fans who watched the Games can expect to see Olympic medallists...