Secondly, while primary responsibility in this area lies with States, I would...

Secondly, while primary responsibility in this area lies with States, I would like to underscore that in 2003, at the invitation of the Government of the Solomon Islands, a regional assistance mission, as provided for under Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations, and led by Australia and strongly supported by New Zealand and all the Pacific small island developing States, was deployed to the Solomon Islands. The mission, which included military, police and civilian components, undertook peacekeeping, peacebuilding and peacemaking initiatives. One of its roles was to strengthen the country's security apparatus and address gaps in the system, including regional support for strengthening the rule of law, such as institutional training of police and corrections officers and building court infrastructure and police stations all over the country. That support has enabled the Solomon Islands to conduct a strong campaign aimed at protecting victims and dealing with perpetrators of gender violence, while working with all the relevant stakeholders. We have a policy in place and are now holding consultations on a draft bill on gender violence that we hope will address our high rates of gender violence.