Supported by the UK International Development and Australian Aid and organised by the Pacific Women Mediators Network (PWMN), the inaugural colloquium aims to commemorate and uplift the legacy of the Pacific Islands Women-led peacebuilding initiatives, reaffirming the role of women in peace and security efforts.
It also aims to demonstrate the intersectionality of feminist perspectives and the Gender, Women, Peace and Security (WPS) in the Pacific Islands region. Additionally, the meeting also aims to reaffirm gender equality, women’s rights, and the inclusion of women’s voices and experiences in all aspects of peace and security work.
Enhancing visibility of Pacific Islands women-led and civil society led mediation and peacebuilding initiatives responding to priority issues including Climate Security and Climate Justice, Self Determination and Gender Equality are also part of the meeting.
The regional meeting that began on Tuesday 27 May 2025 also aims to connect national conversations with regional inter-governmental and global processes including the United Nations Peacebuilding Architecture Review (PBAR).
It is a cross – regional learning opportunity that will enable the founding members of PWMN and youth leaders, civil society allies, including faith and traditional leaders to identify ways to move beyond surface-level calls to implement WPS and towards realising the full vision of the Gender and WPS agenda in practice.
Speaking at the inaugural colloquium on Tuesday 27 May, British High Commissioner to Solomon Islands and Nauru, His Excellency Paul Turner said:
Women have been at the forefront of peace movements across the world. I saw this first hand when I was working on Northern Ireland and Bosnia in the 1990s. It was women who reached out across communities in these places, who refused to let walls of blood divide people and keep them in conflict. The UK Government remains steadfast in its support for this initiative as we strengthen the global network of women in peace building.
Held ahead of the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (Women, Peace and Security), and the 54th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting that will convene in Honiara in September 2025, it is expected Pacific Forum Leaders will adopt their Guidance Note on Women, Peace and Security and the Ocean of Peace Declaration.
The UK has a global commitment to UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. We are proud to support the ambitions of the Pacific Islands Forum in promoting this agenda and supporting its members to embed its ideals across the region, as well as grassroots networks and organisations working to protect and uplift women in the Pacific.
The UK has five Strategic Objectives for Women Peace and Security in its National Action Plan, which are as relevant in the Pacific as elsewhere in the world. They include:
- increasing women’s meaningful participation, leadership and representation in decision-making processes
- preventing gender-based violence, including conflict-related sexual violence, and supporting survivors to cope, recover and seek justice
- supporting the needs of women and girls in crises and ensuring they can participate and lead in responses
- increasing the accountability of security and justice actors to women and girls and ensuring they are responsive to their rights and needs
- ensuring we respond to the needs of women and girls as part of our approach to transnational threats
The colloquium concluded on Friday 30 May 2025.
