The USP EU-funded SUPA Project holds its first-ever human rights and gender workshop at the National Level in Labasa
17 May 2022
The University of the South Pacific (USP), through the Pacific Center for Environment and Sustainable Development (PaCE-SD), held a two-day Human Rights and Gender Workshop in Labasa from the 12 to the 13 of May, 2022.
The workshop, which is funded by the European Union through the Global Climate Change Alliance Plus Scaling up Pacific Adaptation (GCCA+ SUPA) project, aimed to increase awareness and capacity regarding the importance of the Peoples Centered Approach (PCA) as a key consideration when developing, reviewing, and/or revising development plans, including the mainstreaming of climate and disaster resilience into local development plans.
Given the region’s increasing threats from climate change and natural disasters, it is critical that stakeholders involved in implementing local development plans understand their critical role as duty bearers. This includes ensuring that gender considerations and the needs of women, as well as other vulnerable and marginalized groups, such as People with Special Needs, are incorporated into all development initiatives.
In giving her remarks, Ms. Teresia Powell, Project Coordinator for the USP SUPA project said “Participants will be introduced to concepts related to human rights, duty bearers and rights holders, gender and social inclusion, equality and equity, and a People-Centered Approach to development over the course of two days. The workshop will produced several key outcomes, including a list of duty bearers and rights holders associated with climate change and disaster risk management in the Northern Division, an understanding of how human rights relate to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), and the application of the PLANET principles when implementing a People-Centered Approach.”
The two-day training was attended by 31 participants from government ministries in the Northern Division. Including the Ministry of Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management (MRMDDM), the iTaukei Affairs Board, and the Ministry of Waterways.
The EU GCCA+ SUPA Project is being implemented in partnership with the SPC, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), and the University of the South Pacific.