Can the Pacific Island Countries Lead the Way on Merging the WPS Agenda and Climate Security? - Introduction Contents

For the WPS agenda and climate Women and Climate Security in security to be mainstreamed successfully in the Pacific, core inequalities pervasive in the Cook Islands the daily lives of women and girls in the region need to be urgently addressed. [...] The women of this region were actively involved in brokering peace and effective security during the civil war, and later in reconciliation.5 In part because of these experiences, the Pacific region developed the first regional WPS action plan in the Asia-Pacific, the Pacific Women, Peace and Security Regional Action Plan 2012-2015. [...] A review of scholarship on climate change and security in the Pacific found that very little consider gender, and those that do were identified as “adding women”, rather than any critical analyses of the ways gender and intersectionality are impacted by climate change.42 Women and Climate Security in the Cook Islands The Cook Islands, located in the South Pacific between Samoa and French Polynesia. [...] The highest political body in the region has made the commitment to including women and girls in climate security and processes for peace and security in the 2050 Strategy Implementation Plan and Revitalised Pacific Leaders Gender Equality Declaration. [...] The National Security Committee includes the Police Commissioner, the Solicitor-General, the Director of National Security, the Principal Immigration Officer and the Comptroller of Customs, only the Principal Immigration Officer is female.