1. COOK ISLANDS
2. FIJI
3. NAURU
4. NEW ZEALAND
5. AUSTRALIA
AREA OF CONCERN
Media
ACTIONS TAKEN
A. BY GOVERNMENT
Adoption of the National Policy on Women that commits the government to ensure women's advancement so that women can realize their full potentials as contributors to and beneficiaries of the development process at all levels. The Policy calls for the identification of priority issues for national prioritization and action, to wit: economic empowerment, social development, natural resources, mechanisms for the advancement of women and leadership and decision making.
1. Economic empowerment
- formulation and promotion of fair and equal pricing policies with the participation of women vendors and producers
- review of all women's group's constitution in order to integrate, disseminate, and promote the principles of 'au vaine' into their operations
-encourage the establishment of revolving fund schemes in at least three island women's associations and to work for funds for these and technical assistance.
2. Social development
- formulation of relevant programs to deal with health-related issues like teen-age pregnancy, STDs, child and sexual abuse, through information dessimination, discussion groups, formalization of sex education in the secondary school curriculum, increased support for community health education, recognition of Maori medicine, and health profiling
- lobbying the Ministry of Education for the development of life skills curriculum that is appropriate to the Cook Island environment; promotion of community education for women, and advocacy for increased participation of women in political development.
3. Natural resources
- conduct of environmental awareness workshops in line with national environmental strategies and relevant issues at all levels.
4. Mechanisms to promote the advancement of women
- staff training in designing and analysis of data for the integration of a gender pespective
- regular time use study to quantify full contribution of men and women to the economy, both in the formal and informal sector
- improvement of data collection methods and concepts for the measurement of women's participation in the economy
- identification, review and amendment to laws and acts of the country to promote women's rights
- support for on-going efforts to translate Maori essential parts of the Women's Convention for dissemination to all interested community groups.
COMMITMENTS
1. Allocation of additional resources to develop small enterprises and self employment opportunities for women.
2. Encouragement of financial institutions to review their lending policies to improve women's access to credit.
3. Increase in women's participation in committees, counsel and boards by 30% to 50% by 1999.
4. Assignment of 50% participation in training, appointments and promotions at all levels of government.
5. Promotion of the elimination of domestic violence, rape, secual harassment and child abuse.
ACTIONS TAKEN
A. BY GOVERNMENT
1. Poverty alleviation
- continuation of the Women's Social and Economic Development Programme (WOSED) focused on micro-enterprise development, the New Zealand Small Loans Scheme which provides loans for poor urban and rural women, the Small Business Equity Scheme, and cooperatives development.
2. Violence against women
- adoption of 'no drop" policy by the Fiji Police Department on all reported cases of domestic violence
- setting up of Sexual Offences Unit in several police divisions.
- review of Public Orders by the Public Service Commission to look at issue of sexual harassment.
3. Women in power and decision-making
- increase in number of women serving in Boards, Committees, Councils and Commissions from 9.7% in 1993 to 13.3% in 1996.
4. Institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women
- Department of Women and Culture, which provides a policy analysis role from a WID and gender perspective, became a part of the Ministry of Information
- recognition of the Fiji National Council of Women and the Soqosoqo Vakamarama as 2 major national NGO coordinating mechanisms for women.
- announcement of government intention to ratify ILO Convention No. 100 (Equal Renumeration) and No. 111 on Discrimination.
- government acceded with reservations to the UN CEDAW.
B. BY NGOs
1. Citizenship rights campaign by the Women's Coalition for Women's Citizenshsip Rights which brought about recommendations on reforms adopted by the Constitutional Review Commission.
WORK PLAN FOR THE NATIONAL MACHINERY FOR WOMEN
Focus and Implementation
1. Education and training for women
2. Women and health
3. Violence against women
4. Human rights for women
5. Women and environment
6. Women and media
7. Women and culture
8. Women in decision-making
9. Women in agriculture and fisheries
National Plans of Action in specific sectors
1. Mainstreaming of gender perspective
2. Women's unrenumerated work
3. Gender pay gap
4. Data collection about women's lives
5. Maori women and girls
6. Women and decision-making
ACTIONS TAKEN
A. BY GOVERNMENT
1. Approval and funding for a very comprehensive time-use survey which will start in 1998.
2. Approval and funding for a Women's Consultative Council which is broader than the National Council of Women and leading to the appointment of a Commissioner who will be able to address any issue she chooses and who can put questions to and report to Parliament directly.