For some, COVID-19 led to new opportunities, such as a new career paths as it did for Ms Gemma Nelson from Samoa. The young Pacific Islands woman has played a key role supporting Pacific Islands delegations in the United Nations system at a global level having lived in New York for the past four years.
Gemma is currently attending the INC5 for a Plastics Treaty in Busan, Korea supporting Vanuatu as Chair of the Pacific Small Islands Developing States who are leading Pacific coordination. The Fifth International Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding agreement on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, is now underway and ends on 1 December with the expectation of a treaty text to take forward.
Outside of this role, Gemma is an Advisor to the Permanent Mission of Tuvalu at the UN Headquarters in New York, providing policy advice on climate change, sustainable development and support for UN engagement. Gemma is also an adviser for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative which is endorsed by 14 countries, including 12 Pacific Islands.
Working in this space for the past four years came about unplanned, an impact of COVID-19 closing global borders. Gemma moved to the US to wait until borders opened again – like many others, what she thought would be a three week wait ended up being three years.
“This was all by accident, after working with the Samoa Attorney General’s Office for just over five years I wanted to expand my skill set overseas, so spent a year in the United Kingdom. When it was time to go home, COVID happened and the borders were closed” shared Ms Nelson.
“I moved to the United States thinking it would be for a short time until the borders opened but it took three years, and I had to pick up work. I was a babysitter, waitress, then worked in the New Zealand Mission as a junior adviser before finding opportunities to support our Pacific Islands missions in the UN system.”
Leveraging her experience with the public service of Samoa in the Office of the Attorney General, Gemma pitched her diverse set of skills and experience as well as having the cultural sensitivity to work with different stakeholders, officials and community members.
With this skill set, Gemma has worked with the Permanent Missions of Samoa, Palau and now Vanuatu to support them during their terms as PSIDS Chair.
“Having a transferable skill set, it allows you to be a little bit of a chameleon, to pitch yourself as such, and to fit different moulds,” said Ms Nelson.
“I think that maybe one of the things I find most helpful in my life is to never lock myself in a specific mould, and always continue to be dynamic and to grow into different spaces and to never limit myself.”
Gemma has since supported Pacific Islands delegations within the INC process for a new Plastics Treaty, as well as during the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction negotiations and the UN International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion resolution in respect to Climate Change led by Vanuatu. A lawyer by profession she entered the workforce in Samoa as a prosecutor, then a state solicitor for international and commercial law.
One of the biggest challenges she has seen working in this space is the lack of funding available to support Pacific Islands groups in the multilateral space.
“Like all of us we want to do the job, we have the passion to do the work but at the end of the day we need to eat. The lack of support and resourcing in this space has really impacted the way we can engage. With more funding support, we get exposure for young professionals which expands our countries’ capacity to engage in negotiations which is important,” said Gemma.
Crediting her ability to have a fluid lifestyle, seeking work opportunities where possible in the UN system to help our Pacific Missions, to the strong family support she has. Gemma was raised with a supportive family system – even while living far from home in Samoa. She explains her mum and brother have encouraged her to undertake the roles she has and encourages young Pacific islanders to explore new opportunities out there across the world.
“My biggest lesson is that being the smartest person in the room may not be what is needed to get the job done. If you need to be the note taker or the coffee runner, or even if you just need to sit there and provide moral support for a person or delegation then you do that,” advised Gemma.
“Sometimes that form of support is so much more useful than writing a 500-page report, or a five-page memo. Be humble, don’t look down your nose at any job – all jobs are good jobs, just make a good impression on the people you work with as you never know where that may lead to. You just need to be what your constituency needs; at the end of the day you must be there for the people.”
Should her experience and career path be something that any of our young Pacific Islands people would be interested in, she encourages our Pacific Islands people to reach out and contact her.
“I’ve never thought of myself as like an end all be all. I want to be the doorway or the pathway for other people to follow. And if you do have any interest in this kind of space, I'm very happy to talk and see how we can get you through,” said Gemma.
We wish you all the best on your journey ahead Gemma and look forward to seeing the impact you make on the global stage!
The fifth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment is taking place in Busan, Republic of Korea, from 25 November to 1 December 2024.
The Pacific Islands are represented by the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu through the support of the Government of Australia and the United Nations.
They are supported by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme, working with partners the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner, The Pacific Community, Forum Fisheries Agency, Environmental Investigation Agency, Centre for International Environmental Law, University of Wollongong, WWF and Massey University.
For more information, visit: https://www.unep.org/inc-plastic-pollution/session-5