An all-male Pacific peace mission to New Caledonia excludes women’s voices in the crisis

Since early August, the Pacific Islands Forum has sought permission to send a leader’s delegation to New Caledonia to “address the ongoing tensions” that have shaken the territory since May this year. After repeated delays, the PIF visit commenced for four days from 27 October and involved four of the region’s statesmen: Forum Chair, Hu’akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni, the Prime Minister of Tonga; Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown; Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka; and Solomon Islands Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter-Shanel Agovaka.

While the visit is significant, the all-male composition of the PIF mission may constrain how dialogue occurs and the engagements occurring with interlocutors on the ground. Since the earliest days of the crisis in May, women’s perspectives have been obscured as has the value of commitments to diversity and inclusion and the importance of broad-based consultation as critical to conflict mediation.

There is a need for more diverse perspectives on the crisis than those that are learnt from a narrow, male-dominated political elite.

On the question of gender inclusion in conflict environments, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) formulated in 2000 provides clear guidance as to how the effects of conflict and peace negotiations should be managed. This resolution requires all UN member states to foreground gender concerns in their efforts to mediate conflict and build peace and to also support the participation of women in these processes.