The Programme aims to give effect to the desire of our Leaders and members for a secure and well-governed region.  The principal focus of the Programme is the promotion and development of an understanding of the strategic elements of regional security and political integrity in the region, and the use of this expertise to assist our members in appropriate national, subregional and regional responses to their key security and governance challenges.  The Programme does this through the provision of high quality, strategic policy advice, coordination and implementation of assistance to members on governance, political, legal and other security issues including law enforcement cooperation.

MANDATE

The Political and Security Programme is mandated primarily through the Leaders' and the Forum Regional Security Committee's (FRSC) decisions.  The Progamme is also directed when required by mandates from ad hoc meetings of Forum Foreign Affairs Ministers and relevant decisions of the Secretariat's governing body, the Forum Officials Committee (FOC).

  

The Pacific Plan identified security  and good governance as two of the four key goals of the Forum.  These require improved political and social conditions and the mechanisms for stability, safety and inclusive governance in the region.  The challenge is to develop and strengthen harmonised regional approaches whilst respecting the sovereignty of member countries.

Security and good governance are essential prerequisites to enable sustainable development and economic growth.  Human rights are also a good necessary foundation of the Leaders' four key priorities, particularly good governance.

The Pacific regional security environment is increasingly complex and diverse.  The region has to contend with increasing transnational organised crime and is also confronted by the global security challenge of terrorism.  Conflicts and crises threaten the stability of Pacific Island countries, and their underlying causes have been increasingly linked to broader human security concerns.  Governance challenges and limited legal and law enforcement capacity are additional hurdles.

The region has experienced an increase in transnational criminal activity.  Globalization, improved communications and information technologies, greater mobility of people, goods and services, and the emergence of the globalised economy has shifted criminal activity from its traditional domestic base.  Consequently the Pacific region has been targeted for the illegal movement of people and goods, illicit financial transactions, and as a base of operations for criminal organisations and entities.  Terrorist entities may also exploit the Pacific security environment to support terrorist activity in the wider international community.

The Pacific Region has seen instances of violent conflict, civil unrest, and political crises.  These have had serious consequences for internal stability and sustainable development in a number of Pacific Island Countries.  In addition, the impact of conflicts and crises can reverberate across the region.  There are overlaps between the issues that underlie conflicts and crises in the region and human security concerns, such as socio-economic disparities, land disputes and challenges to good governance.

Governance challenges include enhancing the transparency of political and economic processes, effective management of the region's natural resources, strengthening accountability and managing increasing demands on limited human and fiscal resources in public institutions, and the protection of human rights.  Acceptance of the concept of human rights and their applicability to the region remains a vexed issue for some governments.

There is a need and an opportunity for assistance at the regional level to support national institutions in both the law and justice sector and broader governance and accountability mechanisms.  There is also a regional role in working with security and governance institutions and officials to explore deeper cooperation and integration at the subregional and regional level that will assist in enduring effective sustainable governance.


PROGRAMME FOCUS

The Programme is managed by the Director, Political and Security.  The main focuses of the programme includes: 

• Legal matters, especially legal sector cooperation and the implementation of the legislative priorities of the Honiara Declaration on Law Enforcement Cooperation and the Nasonini Declaration on Regional Security, Auckland Declaration and Kalibobo Roadmap in accordance with the Pacific Plan. The programme provides legal drafting assistance to Forum Islands countries to help them implement the legislative priorities; 

• Monitoring of regional political developments in member countries, building capacity in conflict prevention and response, and conducting election observer missions to Forum Island Countries. Observer missions were deployed to Bouganville in 2005, Solomon Islands and Fiji general elections in 2006, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, Republic of Marshall Islands general elections in 2007,  and Nauru  general elections in 2008;

• Building capacity in conflict prevention in Members states and other CROP agencies, in partnership with the UNDP Pacific Centre. One important part of this work has been a focus on land-related conflict in the Pacific. Between 2006 and 2008, the Political and Security Programme worked together with the Sustainable Development Programme on the Land Management and Conflict Minimisation (LMCM) project. 

• Biketawa Declaration: signed in Biketawa, Kiribati in 2000, the Biketawa Declaration is a security framework building on a number of other frameworks dating back to the Honiara Declaration of 1994. There are several key features of the Biketawa Declaration that make it unique to the region. These include its commitment to upholding democratic processes and good governance, its recognition of indigenous rights and cultural values and the process for addressing crises in the region. The Biketawa Declaration has been invoked twice since its promulgation in 2000, in Solomon Islands (RAMSI) and in Nauru (PRAN). Three successful election observer missions in the region - Bougainville, Solomon Islands and Fiji - have also been undertaken under this framework. 

• Building the capacity of law enforcement agencies to combat transnational crime such as border management issues, data collection and anti-money laundering mentoring.

• Implementation of the Pacific Islands Regional Security Technical Cooperation Strategy. 

• Supporting the annual meeting of the Forum Leaders and other high level meetings involving Forum Leaders; 

• Supporting the Forum Regional Security Committee annual meeting, last held in June 2008, and implementing the recommendations of this meeting.