Solomon Is.
Solomon Islands is contributing to the debate as a country emerging from conf...
Solomon Islands is contributing to the debate as a country emerging from conflict. While stamping out sexual violence from any conflict is our global responsibility, the primary responsibility, as rightly pointed out by the Secretary-General, rests with States. Solomon Islands continues to tackle the issue of sexual violence in the context of its gender-based violence national framework.
The Solomon Islands Police Force has a new look, thanks to special outreach e...
The Solomon Islands Police Force has a new look, thanks to special outreach efforts to women in terms of recruitment. Today, the acting head of our Police Force is a woman, a first for Solomon Islands. It is a small step, but an important one. Even more, it is fulfilling one of the six goals of UN-Women, that is,k strengthening the leadership of women in peace and security.
That also speaks of the rich experience that the women of my country have gai...
That also speaks of the rich experience that the women of my country have gained during the height of our ethnic conflict. They appealed for peace, as women in parts of the country suffered from sexual violence.
We just completed the fifty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status o...
We just completed the fifty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women last month, whose agreed conclusions speak of how violent the world has become. Seven out of 10 women suffer from gender violence. Sexual violence, unfortunately, has gone viral. Two out of three women in Solomon Islands suffer from gender-based violence. Solomon Islands has responded by establishing a specific policy on the elimination of gender violence as a subsidiary of our gender equality and women's development policy.
The elimination of gender-based violence is a shared responsibility. We are t...
The elimination of gender-based violence is a shared responsibility. We are tackling the issues, working with all stakeholders to address the issue of rape and sexual violence with a strong campaign to prevent it, protect victims and deal with perpetrators. Solomon Islands has institutionalized Government- wide structures to deal with the issue nationally, working with all the relevant stakeholders. We have in place a national steering committee to monitor the progress in the implementation of the policy, which reports to the national task force.
Let me conclude by highlighting one of the challenges facing our world today,...
Let me conclude by highlighting one of the challenges facing our world today, namely, climate change. Climate change cuts across all three pillars of the multilateral system and is serving to disempower women, especially as land is being swallowed up by the rise in sea-levels. To date, the Organization's response to disaster-risk management has been directed to sudden- onset events, rather than to the slow-onset events such as climate change. We hope to see a change of approach in that area. Finally, Solomon Islands would like to say that we join others in condemning sexual violence, wherever it may occur.