5 September 2024, Apia Samoa – The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) has thrown its support behind the ‘Thursday in Black’ campaign, to raise awareness to end Gender Based Violence.
During the second day of the Fourth SPREP Executive Board Meeting (EBM) underway at the Secretariat’s headquarters at Vailima Samoa, SPREP staff were encouraged to wear black to show support and solidarity for global efforts to end gender-based violence.
The strong showing of SPREP staff wearing black during the Fourth EBM was noted. It supports the work spearheaded by the Secretariat’s Gender Equity, Inclusion and Mainstreaming (GEIM) group, encouraging staff to wear black every Thursday.
“Gender-based violence is a very sad but a real problem in our communities,” said Deputy Director General, Ms Easter Chu Shing, who is also SPREP’s Gender Champion. “We know that globally, one in three women experience physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime, according to the World Health Organization.
“Here at SPREP, we support all efforts made globally, regionally and locally to end gender based violence. We all have a responsibility to speak out against violence, to ensure that women and men, boys and girls, are safe from violence of any form in homes, schools, work, streets and in all places in our societies.”
SPREP promotes gender, equity and social inclusion at all levels of the organisation. The integration of gender and human rights is one of the six pillars that guides the work of SPREP, enhancing the Secretariat’s ability for effective delivery of services to members, as identified in its 2017 – 2026 Strategic Plan.
“The Secretariat is committed to ensure gender equality and social inclusion are achieved through its programmes, projects, governance and operations,” added Ms Chu Shing. “As per our environmental and social standards, human rights is a vital principle when developing and designing projects. There are specific GEDSI requirements of donors and partner institutions which are considered and integrated into project design and implementation.”
Ms Chu Shing added that SPREP actively engages with international and regional partners to support the integration of GEDSI issues across its services.
Thursdays in Black encourages everyone, men and women, to wear black every Thursday. The campaign grew out of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Decade of Churches in Solidarity with Women (1988-1998), in which the stories of rape as a weapon of war, gender injustice, abuse, violence, and many tragedies that grow outward from such violence became all the more visible.
SPREP’s GEIM group comprises of staff members from the various programmes and departments within the Secretariat, as well as members of the Senior Leadership Team, including the Deputy Director General, and Director of Human Resources with full support of the Director General, Mr Sefanaia Nawadra.
Gender and social inclusion refers to giving equal access, opportunities and removing the barriers of discrimination towards women and other marginalised and vulnerable members of the community.
The fourth SPREP Executive Board Meeting is held in Apia, Samoa, from 4-6 September 2024.
The meeting is being held via a blended platform, with participants joining virtually and those in Samoa joining face-to-face from the Pacific Climate Change Centre at the SPREP Campus in Vailima.
SPREP’s Executive Board includes the Troika of past, present and future chairpersons of the SPREP Meeting, and representatives of Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, Metropolitan, and French speaking Member countries of SPREP.
The 21 Pacific Island Member countries and territories of SPREP are: American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Wallis and Futuna. The five Metropolitan members of SPREP are: Australia, France, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States of America.
In our efforts to fulfil our vision of ‘a resilient Pacific environment, sustaining our livelihoods and natural heritage in harmony with our cultures’, SPREP is extremely grateful to our valued Members, development partners, donors, our CROP family, and stakeholders. For more information on the fourth SPREP Executive Board Meeting, please contact: [email protected]