Select Page
To read the full report click here.

1.  About  the  PPA  

The  Pacific  Platform  for  Action  for  Gender  Equality  and  Women’s  Human  Rights  (PPA):

  • provides  a  roadmap  for  accelerating  achievement  of  gender  equality  and  enhancing  the  well-­‐being  of  women   and  girls;
  • supports  action  on  national,  regional  and  international  gender  equality  commitments  made  by  Pacific  Island   countries  and  territories  (PICTs),  particularly  under  the  Pacific  Leaders’  Gender  Equality  Declaration  and  the   Sustainable  Development  Goals  (SDGs);
  • guides  PICTs,  regional  agencies  and  development  partners  in  prioritising  strategic  approaches  to  achieve  gender   equality;

All  Pacific  Island  governments  and  administrations,  civil  society  organisations,  CROP1  agencies  and  development  partners  supporting  initiatives  in  the  Pacific  Islands  region  are  encouraged  to  use  the  PPA  to  guide  their  policies and actions.  Successful  implementation  of  this  Platform  also  relies  on  robust  and  active  engagement  with  civil  society  organisations  (CSOs),  faith-­‐based  organisations  (FBOs)  and  the  private  sector.  The  Platform  will  benefit  all  partners   by  providing  an  instrument  to  support  their  advocacy  and  to  encourage  governments  to  fulfil  their  obligations.

2.  Problem  

Progress  to  achieving  gender  equality  in  the  region  has  been  slowed  by  structural  and  underlying  social,  cultural   and  economic  barriers,  such  as:

  • harmful  social  norms  and  exclusionary  practices
  • Gender  equality  is  not  acknowledged  as  priority  in  legal  and  policy  frameworks
  •  limited  resourcing  for  addressing  gender  inequality  issues
  • Limited  capacity  within  governments  for  gender-­‐responsive  policies  and  programmes
  • Weak  leadership  and  political  will  for  addressing  gender  equality.

3.  Context  

In  the  past  20  years,  PICTs  have  made  commitments  to  achieving  gender  equality  and  have  acknowledged  how   critical  it  is  to  sustainable  development.  The  Pacific  Leaders  Gender  Equality  Declaration  (PLGED),2  which  was   endorsed  by  Pacific  Islands  Forum  Leaders  in  2012,  is  particularly  important.  This  high-­‐level  declaration  sets  out   specific  policy  actions  to  progress  gender  equality  ‘in  the  areas  of  gender-­‐responsive  government  programmes  and   policies;  decision-­‐making;  economic  empowerment;  ending  violence  against  women;  and  health  and  education’.

Recognising  the  legacy  of  the  Pacific  Platform  for  Action  and  the  Revised  Pacific  Platform  for  Action,  the  new  Pacific   Platform  for  Action  for  Gender  Equality  and  Women’s  Human  Rights  is  presented  as  an  extension  of  the  RPPA  rather   than  as  a  new  instrument.  The  new  PPA  aligns  with  international  and  regional  commitments  on  gender  equality   made  by  PICTs,  especially  the  PLGED.  It  is  designed  to  accelerate  progress  on  these  commitments,  which  share  a   core  set  of  priority  areas.