Pacific Scoop:
Report – By PMC news desk

The United Nations regional human rights chief has hailed 2011 as a “significant year” for Pacific achievements with all outstanding national reviews being completed.

” It has been an excellent stocktaking exercise for the region and will now act as an important baseline from which to evaluate future progress over the next four years,” said Matilda Bogner, Regional Representative of OHCHR’s Pacific Office in  Suva.

Saturday 10 December marked International Human Rights Day. Read more »

Oil being pumped off the stricken container ship Rena, grounded on the Astrolabe reef in the Bay of Plenty. Photo: Maritime NZ

WITH the Rena still precariously balanced on New Zealand’s Astrolabe Reef – an environmental catastrophe that has hit the Bay of Plenty coastline – it doesn’t take much imagination to envisage the sort of damage that could be done to fragile Pacific ecosystems in the wake of a similar disaster. Special report by Kim Austin for Pacific Scoop.

Although there has been much talk about the problem of unexploded ordnance (UXO) in the Pacific over recent months, anti-landmine campaigners are worried the New Zealand government may be looking to downgrade its aid commitment to the region.

This, combined with pressure from the US government on the handful of Pacific nations yet to sign the Mine Ban Treaty, is causing concern for NGOs working in the Pacific.

At the recent Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting in Auckland, a talk was given about the UXO problem that still plagues vast areas of the Pacific, especially in the North West. Read more »

Indonesian repression in West Papua. Cartoon: © Malcolm Evans / PJR

Pacific Scoop:
Report – By PMC news desk

The killing and abduction of journalists in Indonesian-occupied West Papua has been highlighted in a special new report on Pacific media freedom over the past year by Pacific Journalism Review.

“By far the most serious case of media freedom violations in the Pacific is in West Papua—far from international scrutiny,” says the journal in an editorial.

The 39-page report on the state of media freedom in the Pacific in 2011 notes that in August, in particular, “sustained repression has also hit the news media and journalists”. Read more »

Wreck diving among sunken World War II battleships has become a fashionable holiday pastime in the Pacific. But the flip side is the danger many of these hulks pose. Photo: National Geographic

APART from risking life and limb when digging a new taro patch, derelict weapons hamper economic development. Tourism cannot be properly developed until areas have been declared safe.

Pacific Scoop:
Report – By Kim Austin

World War II may have ended more than 60 years ago, but for those living in the Pacific “theatre of war” the legacy of death and devastation remains.

When fighting finally ceased in 1945, foreign military forces packed up and returned to their respective homelands, leaving a swath of destruction in their wake.

They also left piles of unexploded ordnance (UXO), which still plague the region today. Read more »

Flashback to Nuku'alofa 2006 ... Pacific-wide fear of rioting, fuelled by jobless youth. Photo: SMH

THE 42nd Pacific Islands Forum came and went, but Pacific youth advocates are pleading with leaders to wake up to the increasing number of young people involved in crime and violence in the Pacific.

Pacific Scoop:
Report – By Christopher Chang

At 3:30pm on 16 November 2006, the first stone was thrown in Nuku’alofa, Tonga. Within three hours, rioters had tipped over cars and looted shops.

The Pacifica Royale hotel and ANZ Bank crackled under the blaze of fire. Eight people were killed.

The rioters were of all ages, but most were young males. It is a situation that Pacific youth advocates are still fearful of, five years on. Read more »

Kiribati children greet UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at Eita Maneaba, Tarawa, during his visit to climate change problem areas last month. Photo: Naoki Takyo / UNICEF Pacific

CLIMATE change adaptation strategies in the Pacific are expected to have a big impact on  agriculture and food security, such as in the Solomon Islands, as communities seek to become more resilient.

Pacific Scoop:
Report – By Henry Yamo

Displacement, loss of land, culture and identity is a looming and alarming problem encountered by Pacific people on islands that are most affected by global warming and climate change

This is the trend troubling most Pacific island states, especially Papua New Guinea, Kiribati, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.

While coordinated efforts in partnership with governments, donor and implementing agencies have been progressing well, more concerted efforts are essential as the impact worsens each day for island people. Read more »

Fiji Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe 'Frank' Bainimarama. Photo: Scoop

Pacific Scoop:
Report – By Alex Perrottet of Pacific Media Watch

In a clear display of Melanesian unity leading up to the Pacific Islands Forum, 11 Pacific nations have gathered to attend the Engaging Fiji meeting in Nadi.

Similar to last year’s meeting at Natadola before the PIF meeting in Vanuatu, Fiji has not only garnered support for its aims but leaders appear to have  agreed on a united front before attending the wider Pacific meeting in Auckland next week.

Fiji’s status is likely to be a point of discussion for the region’s leaders in Auckland, however it remains suspended from the Forum with its only representatives being the rugby players who will receive the focus of attention when the Rugby World Cup kicks off at the end of the week. Read more »

NZ Prime Minister John Key’s chairmanship of the Pacific Islands Forum ... under a cloud over criticism of the forum’s accountability and NZ’s development aid policies. Photo: Alexander Winkler/PMC

“If the the forum’s leaders had implemented half the commitments they had made, the Pacific Islands would be the best run countries on earth. Alas, in general, neither is true and the commitments are rarely kept.”  – Dr Roman Grynberg

Pacific Scoop:
Report – By Alexander Winkler

While New Zealand Prime Minister John Key was talking up the importance of the Pacific Islands Forum this week, an article by a former executive criticising the organisation’s procedures and demanding more accountability from the leaders has caused ripples ahead of next month’s summit in Auckland.

The publication of an article by the forum’s former director of economic governance, Dr Roman Grynberg,  in the latest edition of Fiji-based  Islands Business magazine, has challenged the views of Key in a speech at Auckland University yesterday.

In an address about the Pacific Plan, Key emphasised the importance of sustainable economic development in the Pacific. Read more »

NZ Prime Minister John Key speaking at Auckland University's Fale Pasifika yesterday. Photo: Henry Yamo/PMC

Pacific Scoop:
Report – By Henry Yamo

Leadership in development, donor coordination and sustainable economic activities in the Pacific are poised to top the agenda at the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) meeting in Auckland next month.

This was highlighted by New Zealand Prime Minister John Key during his pre-forum 40th anniversary PIF leaders lecture series speech hosted by Auckland University yesterday.

Key said New Zealand would be hosting the 42nd PIF meeting against the backdrop of one of the biggest events in this part of the globe – the Rugby World Cup. Read more »

Pacific seasonal labour ... critically important for New Zealand to prepare for migration. Photo: Devzone

Pacific Scoop:
Report – By Taberannang Korauaba

New Zealand needs to plan quickly for the future before population growth problems in neighbouring countries get out of hand, says a leading Pacific demographer.

The Pro-Vice Chancellor Research of AUT University, Professor Richard Bedford, said the problems stemming from population growth were becoming serious in Kiribati and the Solomon Islands.

“In Kiribati, of the 100,000 population, 50 percent live in urban Tarawa while in Solomon Islands of its 500, 000 population, 20 percent live in urban areas,’ Dr Bedford said. Read more »