Pacific Islands Forum Summit

Mr Chair, Heads of Government, Secretary-General Slade, fellow observers and guests, distinguished delegates:

Thank you for the opportunity to address you today. This summit remains fixed in my diary – it is always an honour as well as a priority to attend, to hear your views and to share observations. I benefitted enormously at Niue and Cairns, and will no doubt do so in Port Vila.

Mr Chair, small states’ concerns and needs are the central, powerful heart of the Commonwealth Secretariat’s work. They are also the central, powerful argument of the Marlborough House Statement on Reform of International Institutions of 2008, drafted by leaders at a mini-summit of leaders, where we were honoured by the participation of Prime Minister Sevele, and then agreed by all Commonwealth leaders representing more than one third of the people on this planet and one quarter of the governments. The principles of that Statement have since been advanced relentlessly in a variety of ways.

Just last week, we convened our first ever Small States Global Biennial Conference. It promoted understanding and sharing of experience and best practices in responding to small states’ unique challenges, especially at this time of economic vulnerability when resilience is sorely tested. The results will be conveyed to you so that wisdom from around the world is shared. I can say even now, though, that our gathering in London, with welcome participation from this region, built explicitly on the ‘Pacific Conference on the Human Face of the Global Economic Crisis’ held here in Vanuatu in February.

And there were areas identified in that Pacific conference where the Commonwealth can strengthen its partnership with you. Of particular relevance are addressing institutional and capacity constraints; enterprise development including through microfinance; gender equality and empowerment of women; efficiency and effectiveness in public expenditure and management; social protection programmes that better target the vulnerable; income creation and promotion of the private sector and informal economy; improvement of the legal and regulatory enabling environment for the private sector; legal empowerment of the poor; improving data collection to improve evidence-based policy planning and monitoring; low-carbon development for building greater self-reliance and resilience; and, information and communication technologies to transform social services such as health and education, improving accessibility and reducing long term costs.

In terms of advocacy, we are already strong in advancing global recognition of the unique situation of small island developing states, and will continue.

I am pleased to report progress since I addressed this gathering last year. The Commonwealth Pacific Governance Facility has now begun work from its base in Honiara in four areas: reinforcing democratic institutions and culture; strengthening anti-corruption institutions; improving public access to information; and promoting better land management. The Facility is our Commonwealth contribution to implementing the Pacific Plan. It has brought us to the region as a more active and visible presence, and as a partner with fresh resources.

Another practical step forward available to this region and its governments is the opening of a Commonwealth Small States Office in Geneva. This is modelled on our office in New York, in which several of you have diplomatic missions as our tenants. In Geneva, we will add value to the obvious cost savings and networking benefits by also locating trade and human rights experts. We are exploring how this might also be a joint initiative with La Francophonie, to increase the numbers of those whom we host and to increase the economies of scale.

I encourage the Forum Secretariat and your governments to consider establishing, or relocating, your presences in Geneva at the Commonwealth office. We have identified a building, with room to grow as new tenants arrive, and we are working towards the doors being open at the end of this year. Multilateralism is fundamental to the way in which small states pursue their foreign policy goals, and this is an opportunity to reduce the cost of existing activity or to establish a presence in Geneva – a global hub for multilateral activity such as in trade, private investment, human rights, health and labour, with potential as a basis for low-cost diplomatic accreditation elsewhere in Europe.

I have met recently with both new European Vice-President Ashton and Development Commissioner Piebalgs. We are committed to the Commonwealth and European Commission working together in partnership with the Pacific on new programmes of assistance in the governance area.

Mr Chair, it is by being here that one develops the necessary understanding of Pacific perspectives and needs. Frankly, I think leaders would feel that the Commonwealth offers great potential but that its face is not as visible here as it might be. We intend to address that. I am working towards a schedule of more regular visits by senior Commonwealth staff, so that awareness of this region’s needs is enhanced, and converted from discussion in your capitals into more action on the ground at the national level.

The Commonwealth Youth Programme Centre in Honiara is our most tangible presence. With the addition of the Pacific Governance Facility, we have taken a step to expand that Centre into a hub of practical and wide-ranging Commonwealth engagement in the region. This trend can be expected to continue.

On climate change, Copenhagen was a disappointment. But our Commonwealth leaders made a powerful intervention on behalf of small states at the Trinidad and Tobago CHOGM through its declaration on climate change and endorsement of a ‘Fast Start’ fund of US $10 billion for small and vulnerable states. One positive outcome was USD $19 billion subsequently being pledged at Copenhagen to assist developing countries. Unfortunately, only $2 billion have been deposited into dedicated funds, and only $700m disbursed. We are acutely aware of the difficulties faced in accessing and managing the many funding streams and opportunities available. For this reason we are also convening a Climate Change Financing conference this October, to establish concrete means of addressing the blockages to these funds. This also will be an innovative first conference of its kind.

Two months ago, I met with Prime Minister Harper of Canada, in his capacity as Chair and host of the G8 and G20 summits. He had invited me to brief him, along with the Secretary-General of La Francophonie, on the concerns and priorities of our members. We focused on climate change, maternal health, and financing for development – including small states’ liquidity.

The outcome of our discussions was encouraging, but we need to continue and to intensify the dialogue with the G20. We hope to regularise briefings of future Chairs, so that they know clearly the priorities of small states and others not represented at their G20 table. We are pursuing this with the support of the five Commonwealth members in the G20, including of course Australia.

Mr Chair, our values – and our practical commitment to them – remain our lifeblood. At the Heads of Government Meeting last November, our leaders including many present here today, adopted the Affirmation of Commonwealth Values and Principles. This sets a new benchmark, going beyond earlier statements such as the Harare Declaration in order to reinforce our adherence to democracy, development, human rights and the rule of law. The Commonwealth bar has been raised.

Commonwealth Heads also decided to establish an Eminent Persons Group. All organisations need to review and refresh themselves from time to time. This Group is examining how our networks can be strengthened, our impact sharpened, and our profile raised. It includes Sir Ieremia Tabai from Kiribati and the Honourable Michael Kirby from Australia. The Pacific is ably represented in charting the Commonwealth’s future direction, and the Group will consult extensively.

Meanwhile, the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group – or ‘CMAG’ – is also reviewing its remit as the custodian of Commonwealth political values. One third of CMAG’s membership currently comprises Forum members: Vanuatu, New Zealand and Australia. The Pacific has a strong voice in charting the direction of this Commonwealth entity too.

Fiji has been a major Commonwealth preoccupation since the military overthrow – now almost four years ago. We continue to be deeply concerned about developments there, and engaged in seeking ways forward in line with our values and with our partners. We are committed to working closely with the Forum to assist the speedy return of Fiji to constitutional rule, democracy and the rule of law, and to resuming its full membership.

Mr Chair, I look forward to hearing how leaders feel the Commonwealth can further support their governments and people.

Thank you.