5th MEETING OF THE FORUM MINISTERIAL STANDING COMMITTEE ON THE REGIONAL ASSISTANCE MISSION TO SOLOMON ISLANDS
PRESS RELEASE
30th June 2011
CONSULTATION ON RAMSI REMAINS A PRIORITY
The 5th meeting of the Forum Ministerial Standing Committee on the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (FMSC) has concluded in Honiara with an agreement on the importance of careful consultation and communication between all parties on the process of reducing the operations of RAMSI.
The Hon. Peter Shanel Agovaka, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Relations of Solomon Islands; the Hon. Richard Marles MP, Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs of Australia; Senator the Hon. David Feeney, Parliamentary Secretary for Defence of Australia; H.E. Mr Peter Eafeare, Special Representative for Papua New Guinea; Mr Chris Seed, Deputy Secretary for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand attended the one-day meeting.
The meeting was also attended by Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Mr Tuiloma Neroni Slade, and the Triumvirate comprising the RAMSI Special Coordinator, Mr Nicholas Coppel; Solomon Islands Permanent Secretary for RAMSI, Mr Paul Tovua; and the Pacific Islands Forum Representative to Solomon Islands, Mr Sakiusa Rabuka. The meeting was chaired by the Hon. Marles.
The 5th FMSC discussed the implementation of the Solomon Islands Government-RAMSI Partnership Agreement, the RAMSI 2010 Annual Performance Report, RAMSI’s Transition and the Frequency of RAMSI Reports.
At today’s meeting the Ministers noted that RAMSI was reducing in size in line with the indicative timelines and milestones in the Partnership Framework.
The Ministers underscored the importance, as this process continued, of further careful consultation and communication among contributing countries, and above all within Solomon Islands. They also noted the critical importance of maintaining the regional character of RAMSI, including through ongoing participation by Pacific Island Countries police personnel with appropriate skills.
The 5th FMSC meeting recognized the achievements under the Partnership Agreement between the Solomon Islands and RAMSI to date, while acknowledging that considerable challenges remained. Particular achievements included contributions made to the orderly conduct of the 2010 national elections and the successful reconciliation process following the tragic death of a Solomon Islander in the course of law enforcement operation at Titinge, near Honiara last year.
Ministers acknowledged that while each RAMSI pillar had made significant progress since they last met in 2010, challenges remained, particularly relating to ongoing capacity building within the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force and the justice sector. The Ministers welcomed the joint commitment by SIG and RAMSI to address these challenges.
The Ministers agreed on the importance of providing timely reports on RAMSI activities to Forum member countries. They also agreed to align RAMSI reporting with that of the Independent Experts Team’s Annual Performance Report process, and that future written reports on RAMSI activities to Forum member countries should be produced on an annual, calendar-year basis.
ENDS.
For media enquiries, contact Mr Johnson Honimae, the Forum Secretariat’s Media Officer on phone 677 24007 or email: johnsonh@forumsec.org.fj
