GOVERNMENT officials, Members of Parliament, civil society and accountability institutions representatives and security personnel meet in Honiara today to determine priorities and support required to enhance security sector governance here.
The Planning session will be held at Forum Fisheries Agency conference.
Minister of Police and National Security, James Tora will open the session.
Security institutions, such as the police, customs, corrections & military have a special responsibility in society to support human rights and to protect the population from harm.
Security sector governance (SSG) is a means of providing effective and responsive security services to the people, and ensuring security institutions’ are accountable to the law.
It seeks to make people, communities and countries more secure by emphasising that security institutions are accountable to citizens, chiefly through Parliament and regular elections but also through media scrutiny and public consultation and debate.
The Solomon Islands Strategic Planning Session on Security Sector Governance is hosted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Pacific Centre in partnership with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS).
“Promoting security institutions which are transparent, accountable and fully aware of their roles and responsibilities is one of the key security challenges in the Pacific region,” said UNDP's Senior Regional Crisis Prevention and Recovery Advisor, Jean-Luc Stalon.
“The Pacific is not alone in facing such challenges, similar challenges relating to security sector governance are faced in other parts of the world.
“The strategic planning session builds on scoping missions and discussions with key stakeholders in Solomon Islands.
“It is also a direct outcome of the Regional Security Sector Governance held in Nuku’alofa, Tonga in 2009.”
Since the conference, which identified national needs and opportunities, the UNDP and PIFS presented a joint paper to the Forum Regional Security Committee (FRSC).
The FRSC endorsed the development of regional and national policies and programming assistance to strengthen security sector governance in the Pacific region.
PIFS Director – Political Governance and Security, Rick Nimmo said that he recognised that assistance from PIFS and UNDP needs to be sufficiently tailored to the needs, priorities and circumstances of Forum Member Countries and has to take into account existing support provided by bilateral partners.
Strategic Planning sessions relating to security sector governance has already taken place in Vaunatu and Papua New Guinea. Another such session is scheduled for Tonga in the coming months.
The intended outcome of the strategic planning sessions are to agree a set of activities that UNDP and PIFS can jointly support through technical assistance, policy advice and capacity building to enhance security sector governance in these countries.
Meanwhile, a first of a kind report on security sector governance in the Pacific will be launched in Honiara today by Speaker of Parliament, Sir Peter Kenilorea.
“Enhancing Security Sector Governance in the Pacific Region: A Strategic Framework” is a joint UNDP Pacific Centre and PIFS report.
The report focuses on the need for a new strategic framework in the Pacific, which will complement existing reform and capacity building efforts of police, military, and customs and immigration agencies and will result in greater accountability and legitimacy of security institutions.
It was developed based on background research and interviews conducted in Solomon Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Tonga and Vanuatu during late 2008 and early 2009.
The report can be accessed from www.undppc.org.fj.
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