12 Feb 2010

Calls for new framework to support security sector governance in the Pacific

2:12 pm on 12 February 2010

There is a need for a new strategic framework in the Pacific, to complement reforms already underway in the police, military and other security agencies in the region.

A new report, Enhancing Security Sector Governance in the Pacific Region, is a joint UNDP Pacific Centre and Pacific Islands Forum publication.

The report, released this week, aims to complement the existing reform and capacity building efforts of thepolice, military, and customs and immigration agencies, and should enhance the legitimacy by these agencies.

It's the result of research conducted in Solomon Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Tonga and Vanuatu during late 2008 and early 2009.

The report's primary focus is on security institutions, recognising the special responsibility they have in society to support human rights and to protect the general population from harm.

It seeks to make people, communities and countries more secure by emphasising that security institutions are accountable to citizens, chiefly through Parliament and regular elections but also through media scrutiny and public consultation and debate.