ABG Launches New Gender Equality and Civil Society Partnerships Policies
- ruthanya
- Jul 1, 2024
- 2 min read
Last week, the ABG officially launched the Gender Equality, Women's Empowerment, Peace and Security Policy as well as the Civil Society Partnerships Policy at the House of Representatives in Buka.
Civil Society Partnerships Policy (2023 - 2027)
The Civil Society Partnerships Policy was developed to help coordinate efforts between the ABG and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and to align their focus with Bougainville's longer term strategic plans. CSO, as defined by the policy, include Community Based Organizations (CBOs), Faith Based Organizations (FBOs), Non Government Organizations (NGOs) and International Non Government Organizations (INGOs).
Consultation to develop the policy began in 2021 across Bougainville and identified a number of key concerns including:
"limited information-sharing, poor coordination, and ad hoc engagement in service
delivery activities. These concerns have led to poorly targeted development activities, duplication in the design and implementation of programs, failure of programs to align with ABG planning/ policy frameworks, and problems with civil society accountability and their ability to transparently manage programs for outcomes."
The policy places the Department of Community Development (DCD) as a "one-stop-shop" to facilitate the collaboration between the government and CSOs and the DCD has committed to hiring a specialized Civil Society Coordinator to oversee the implementation of the policy.
The policy includes six Policy Directives:
A legal framework facilitates better civil society coordination
DCD operates as a “one-stop-shop” for civil society partners to facilitate collaboration with government
ABG-Civil Society coordination mechanisms are operational at multiple levels of government
Local Civil Society Fund is operational to sustainably fund civil society support for service delivery
ABG supports capacity building opportunities for civil society partners
ABG raises awareness amongst communities of the role of civil society in Bougainville’s democracy and development
Gender Equality, Women's Empowerment, Peace and Security Policy (2023 - 2027)
This policy is an updated iteration of original Bougainville Gender Equality, Women Empowerment, Peace, and Security Policy that was launched in 2013. The stated vision of the policy is to "build a society in which women and men are able to realize their full potential and to participate as equal partners in creating a just, peaceful and prosperous society for all”. To achieve this, the policy has three primary goals:
Transform all levels of government in Bougainville by mainstreaming and integrating issues of women's empowerment and gender equality, including the establishment of the Office for Gender Equality;
Achieve equality for women as decision-makers, participants and beneficiaries in the political, civil, social, economic and cultural spheres of life; and
Prioritize the needs of women in the political transition and ongoing peace processes.
The policy calls for the establishing the Office for Gender Equality which will be positioned directly under the Office of the Chief Secretary. However, this part of the policy was, worryingly, not approved last week.
The policy once again highlights Bougainville Women's Federation (BWF) and states that a key Policy Directive is BWF operating "effectively as the the representative organization for Bougainville women".
Under the three main goals are 13 Policy Directives, each with their own budget:
POLICY DIRECTIVES | BUDGET (KINA) 2023 - 2027 |
1) Office of Gender Equality established, funded and staffed to coordinate implementation of this Policy and lead efforts to promote GEWEPS across Bougainville | 1,890,000 |
2) Departmental Heads & Gender Focal Points effectively mainstream GEWEPS across all ABG Departments | 2,010,000 |
3) Bougainville Women’s Federation operates effectively as the representative organisation for Bougainville women | 800,000 |
4) Ministers & Members of House of Representatives supported to promote GEWEPS in laws, policies and budget | 500,000 |
5) Community Governments have the knowledge and skills to promote GEWEPS | 590,000 |
6) Women’s leadership strengthened at all levels of decision-making | 645,000 |
7) Women’s Peace and Security is safeguarded | 495,000 |
8) Responses to Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and Sorcery Accusation Related Violence (SARV) strengthened across Bougainville | 2,095,000 |
9) Empowering men to advocate for and support GEWEPS | 230,000 |
10) Education and health outcomes improved for women and girls | 470,000 |
11) Women’s economic empowerment and entrepreneurship strengthened | 110,000 |
12) Women living with disabilities empowered to live their best lives | 100,000 |
13) Women’s security and engagement mainstreamed into Bougainville natural resource management, climate change and national disaster responses | 525,000 |
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