Pacific Centre

Democratic Governance

The Governance in the Pacific project aims to increase accountability and transparency as a means for enhanced and more inclusive economic and social development that leads to achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), by focusing its development initiatives on six core areas:

• More effective national legislatures;
• Increased commitment to right-based development and human rights;
• Strengthened democratic processes;
• Improved corporate, public sector and community responsibility to reduce corruption;
• Enhanced capacity for participatory local governance and decentralized development; and,
• Enhanced capacity for the achievement of increased regional cooperation and integration amongst Pacific Island Countries.

Human Rights Page

MDG achievement and Poverty Reduction

The Millennium Summit of September 2000 focussed and committed the world to addressing the many dimensions of human development, including halving by 2015 the proportion of people living in extreme poverty.  As part of this effort, developing countries are being urged to develop national poverty eradication strategies based on local needs and priorities.  UNDP advocates for these nationally owned solutions, helping to make them effective through ensuring a greater voice for the poor people, expanding access to productive assets and economic opportunities, and linking poverty programmes with countries’ international economic and financial policies using the framework of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The relevance and utility of the MDG framework in helping countries to reduce poverty and improve human development has been endorsed by Pacific Island leaders, their administrations, regional organizations and non-governmental agencies throughout the Pacific since the September 2000 Millennium Summit.   In 2003, Pacific Island Leaders noted that, if modified to better reflect Pacific island circumstances, the MDGs would be most useful in focusing and improving the integration of planning for sustainable development, and in monitoring progress.  Adapting the way in which the Goals are given shape – through specific targets and indicators – to more accurately reflect regional, national and sub-national circumstances can facilitate more meaningful and useful assessment of poverty reduction efforts as well as of development performance in general.

Support for MDG achievement

• Technical support to regional and national MDG report preparation, integration of MDGs in national development planning, budget and statistics collection mechanisms. For PICs that have prepared National MDG Reports assistance in determining the level and scope of investment necessary to achieve the MDGs by 2015 as a long-term planning, budgeting and donor coordination tool.
• At the regional level, support to integration of the MDGs in the monitoring framework of the Pacific Plan in collaboration with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat; strengthening of statistical capacities for MDG monitoring and reporting in collaboration with SPC and UNESCAP
• At both regional and national level target MDG advocacy efforts at political, government, CSOs and community levels to build the widest possible constituency for the MDGs.
• Recognising their watchdog role and strong community networks, the project will help build the capacity of CSOs to undertake independent research, monitor and report on progress on the MDGs and to highlight the human dimension of the MDGs as they impinge on the lives of citizens.

Poverty reduction through improved policy, strategy development, planning and investment

• Policy advice and technical assistance to PICs to better align current and proposed macro-economic policies, strategies, public investment plans and sectoral programmes to accelerate achievement of poverty reduction goals and targets.
• Technical assistance for the preparation of poverty reduction strategies or plans aligned to the MDGs and national priorities.

Policy advice and technical assistance for sustainable livelihoods development

• To create an enabling environment and build national capacities for rural livelihoods, micro, small and medium enterprises development.
• An innovative approach, following the UNDP Growing Sustainable Business principles, will be developed to facilitate private sector investment and partnerships in enterprises and services that benefit the poor.
• In addition to policy formulation and removal of regulatory barriers, technical assistance will be given to strengthening entrepreneurship through training and mentoring and to inculcate entrepreneurship at the school level.

Carefully researched and selected projects for alternative and value-added rural enterprises, self-employment creation models (like business incubators) and SME financing models will be piloted in several PICs. These pilot projects must have regional replicability and have clear linkages to policy. They will also act as working models for regional training and learning

Crisis Prevention and Recovery

The Crisis Prevention and Recovery Unit of the Pacific Sub Regional Centre, in collaboration with OCHA and SOPAC, will  be supporting capacity building for further developing and implementing early warning systems and contributing to disaster risk reduction.

Delivery of these services, both in terms of policy and resourcing, will be conducted in close conjunction with BCPR in New York and Geneva, and the use of knowledge networks will be crucial throughout for the purposes of sharing lessons and opportunities across countries and regions, practices and areas of expertise, and to identify competent human resources.

The Key focuses in this area includes :

• Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding
• Recovery
• Security Sector Reform & Transitional Justice
• Small Arms Reduction, Disarmament and Demobilization
• Disaster Reduction Reduction