PINA

The Fijian Government has congratulated Fiji’s former Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office and former President of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Ambassador Nazhat Shameem Khan, who was sworn in as a new Deputy Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday at the Seat of the Court in The Hague, The Netherlands. In a historic moment...

Every country relies on imports of skilled labour and expertise however a lot of these countries have been facing pressures on particular sectors and areas where they have not been able to get those skills. According to New Zealand High Commission, Trade Commissioner, Pacific David Dewar, the dynamic has really been very present all around the world with borders being...

By Fatu Tauafiafi As resource owners of the world’s largest and most valuable tuna fisheries, Pacific members zoomed into the 18th annual Western Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC18) meeting in December 2021 with the principal objective to pass the tropical tuna measure (TTM). The TTM is the crown jewels of the WCPFC fisheries, as it establishes the mechanisms and fishing limits...

Gender equality is the single most important pathway to a sustainable Blue Pacific tomorrow. Our Forum Leaders have emphasized this over the years and the data tells us we rank high when it comes to gender-based violence and low when it comes to women in leadership, it’s clear we have work to do. That work has become increasingly urgent, especially...

By Tagaloa Cooper-Halo, Acting Director General and Director Climate Change Resilience Fakalofa lahi atu, Kia orana, Ran Annim, Lenwo, Kaselehlie, Mogethin, Ni Sa Bula Vinaka, Kam na Mauri, Iokwe, Ekamowir Omo, Bonjour, Faka’alofa lahi atu, Alii, Gude Tru, Talofa Lava, Halo Olketa, Taloha Ni, Malo ē Laumalie, Tālofa, Halo, Kia Ora and warm Pacific greetings! On International Women’s Day (IWD)...

Vanuatu's main island Efate, and its surrounding islands, are in lockdown after the country's first COVID-19 case was detected in the community. The outbreak first began in the country's quarantine facilities, and contact tracing is underway to uncover details of the community case. Vanuatu's Health Minister Silas Bule, who has been been transferred to the Ministry of Climate Change and has...

Russia has expressed regret over PNG’s position to support war-torn Ukraine at the United Nations General Assembly last week. Its ambassador to Indonesia, Lyudmila Vorovieba, who is accredited to PNG, said her country noted PNG’s position delivered by the Permanent Representative to the UN, Max Rai, and expressed hope that there might be a change of view in the future. Vorovieba...

By Kate Barclay, University of Technology Sydney in Sydney The assumption that the tuna fishing industry is a man’s world is not only misleading, but also damaging. In the coastal Indonesian city of Bitung, women who fish cannot formally register their occupation and miss out on government support provided to fishers. The assumption that the fishing industry is dominated by men, or...

The Council of the European Union(EU) has decided to partially suspend the visa waiver agreement with Vanuatu due to the risks posed by its investor citizenship schemes (‘golden passport’ schemes). The suspension concerns only citizens of Vanuatu holding ordinary passports issued since 25 May 2015, when these Vanuatu investment citizenship schemes entered into force. At the end of this process,...

The plan to have five regional seats reserved for women beginning in the general election this year has been shelved, a senior Papua New Guinea government official told a parliamentary committee last week. Ivan Pomaleu, the secretary to the Department of Prime Minister and National Executive Council, told the committee looking into gender-based violence, that Cabinet on 15 December last...