• After years of campaigning against the Howard government's unwillingness to apologise, Australia's new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd stands up and says 'sorry' on behalf of the government for the injustices done to the 'stolen generations' of Aboriginals and their families, with resounding support from around the country. Click here to read the article by John Bond, secretary of the National Sorry Day Committee.    
• 29-10-2007: click here to dowload the latest edition of CCF's newsletter Tutaka (PDF, 543 kb). Among others, it includes news of the celebrations of the UN International Day of Peace in the Pacific, a day which is commemorated throughout the GPPAC network.

The GPPAC network in the Pacific is called Pacific People Building Peace (PPBP) and its regional secretariat is coordinated by the Citizens' Constitutional Forum (CCF). For more information on PPBP, please contact:

Jone Dakuvula, Regional Initiator (jdakuvula@ccf.org.fj) or

Marie-Pierre Hazera, Regional Coordinator (marie-pierre@ccf.org.fj)

Citizens' Constitutional Forum (CCF)

25 Berry Rd,

PO Box 12584,

Suva, Fiji Islands

Phone: (+679) 330 83 79

Fax: (+679) 330 83 80

E-mail: ccf@connect.com.fj

PPBP member organisations:

Agence Kanak de Développement (AKD), New Caledonia

Asian South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education (ASPBAE)

Bougainville Inter-Church Women's Forum (BICWF)

Customary Senate of New Caledonia

Ecumenical Centre for Research, Education and Advocacy (ECREA), Fiji

Elsham (West Papua)

femLINK-PACIFIC, Media Initiatives for Women, Fiji

Federation of Associations of Melanesian Women, New Caledonia

Fiji Council of Social Services

Friendly Islands Human Rights and Democracy Movement, Tonga

Hiti Tau, Tahiti

Initiatives of Change, Fiji

Leitana Nehan Women's Development Agency, Bougainville

Matuaileoo Environment Trust Inc (METI), Samoa

Melanesian NGO Centre for Leadership (MNCL), Papua New Guinea

New Zealand Council for International Development

Pacific Institute of Advanced Studies in Development and Governance (PIAS-DG), University of the South Pacific, Fiji

Pacific Island Network Institute of Community Ethnic Relations & Policy Alternatives (ICEPA), Australia

Pacific Islands Association of Non-Government Organisations (PIANGO), Fiji

Peace and Integrity Council, Solomon Islands

Peace Foundation Melanesia, Papua New Guinea

Peace Initiative SHP, Papua New Guinea

Solomon Islands Christian Association (SICA)

Solomon Islands National Council of Women (SINCW)

Vanuatu Association of Non-Governmental Associations (VANGO)

Women's Action for Change (WAC)

World Association for Christian Communication (WACC)

Partner agencies:

Pacific Island Forum Secretariat (PIFS)

United Nations Development Programme Pacific-Centre (UNDP-PC)

The GPPAC Pacific region is working under the name of Pacific People Building Peace (PPBP) and covers a vast territorial area, which includes Bougainville, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, West Papua, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Australia and New Zealand.

As with many community organisations throughout the world we in the Pacific are engaging with the question of genuine and sustainable engagement in national, regional and international processes for prevention of armed conflict and peacebuilding. We have already come together to produce our regional action agenda and on the eve of the conference in New York, this is a good time to reflect on our journey.

The Pacific GPPAC regional process has by no means been all smooth sailing. The NGO Coalition on Human Rights (Fiji) took on this project in 2003 after participation of representatives of CCF and ECREA at GPPAC's South East Asia Regional Workshop in Conflict Prevention and Peace Building in Manila Philippines in June 2002. The first Pacific GPPAC Regional NGOs Workshop took place in Suva in January 2004. Citizens' constitutional Forum as the Secretariat of NGOCHR (Fiji) took on the role as GPPAC Regional focal point and 2004 was also a lean year with donors not initially forthcoming. While some case studies were carried out in Fiji, there was little other Pacific GPPAC work.

In 2005 the momentum increased dramatically. After an appeal to NGOCHR members, Women's Action for Change (and ASPBAE regionally) agreed to work with CCF as consultation co-organisers. With funding from World Council of Churches, ASPBAE, European Centre for Conflict Prevention (ECCP), NZAid and Oxfam Australia the Pacific regional consultation process, though late and more limited than originally hoped, is now complete. There have been national consultations in Fiji (March 14-16, 2005), Vanuatu (March 30-31, 2005), Papua New Guinea (April 4-5, 2005), Solomon Islands (April 7-8, 2005) and finally Tonga (May 2005) where representatives from community organisations, government, academia, NGOs and INGOs worked toward their own national action agendas for effective peacebuilding.

Representatives from those national consultations were also present at a Pacific GPPAC regional consultation in Fiji (April 18-22, 2005) where they shared the results of their consultations and information on diverse peacebuilding work, challenges and successes. Present also were civil society representatives from Pacific countries that had not until then been involved in GPPAC. Representatives came from Tonga, Cook Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Bougainville, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, West Papua, Fiji and Australia came together for a week at the retreat-like Lagoon Resort, Pacific Harbour, Fiji.

One aspect of the regional consultation that many found useful was simple and accurate information about the draft Pacific Plan recently initiated by Pacific Forum leaders, UNDP peacebuilding initiatives in the region, the Millennium Development Goals, Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000), CEDAW and other international conventions. More specifically, we discussed their relevance and use in peacebuilding and prevention of armed conflict. We also put very strong questions and critique to guest speakers and so while many expressed concern about aspects of the development, implementation and monitoring of such initiatives, GPPAC allowed a safe space for civil society organisations and academics to discuss just how far we CAN use such information and expertise to support local work, build coalitions for change and have input at deeper and wider levels of engagement.

Other highlights from the regional consultation included a rich ‘Women and Peacebuilding' panel including youth representatives; powerful personal stories shared by an ex-combatant in a civil conflict, a presentation on the long-term work toward democracy in Tonga as well as the inevitable informal cross-cultural dialogue and networking.

The resultant regional action agenda therefore has a true Pacific flavour, is strong, uncompromising and above all practical. Key areas include national peacebuilding and land, ethnicity, religion, gender, politics, collaboration and capacity building as well as separate sections on regional and international action. Recommendations are variously targeted at CSOs, governments, NGOs, INGOs, the private sector and the UN. They are not designed merely to operate within a structured and finite process but provide us with a platform for ongoing work in prevention of armed conflict in the Pacific.

The GPPAC Regional Action Agenda for the Pacific was presented at a Regional Workshop of government Officials on Conflict Prevention and Peace Building organised by the Pacific Forum Secretariat and the UNDP on April 25-27, 2005. The GPPAC resolutions was very much appreciated and influenced the Workshop Statement and recommendations of the officials to the Pacific Political Leaders of forum Member States.

The Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (and Peacebuilding) has so far been a practical and concrete way to build links and coalitions, show solidarity, test networks and processes, gain knowledge and share our own work within a wider arena. It is definitely the Pacific regional peacebuilding community ‘building the road as we walk it' (Spence, 2002 ).