UNIFEM WOMEN, WAR AND PEACE WEB PORTAL: SOLOMON ISLANDS

2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2000

2006

RAMSi failed us!
May 22, 2006 -(Scoop Independent News) Whether the Solomons was a failed state or not, there is no doubt that in the hour of our greatest need, the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) failed us.

femTALK 1325 REPORT on the SOLOMON ISLANDS SITUATION
April 23, 2006 (FemLINK PACIFIC) When Serah Dyer and Josephine Teakeni flew out of Honiara on Tuesday 18 April, on their way to a regional workshop, their capital city was witnessing the initial stirrings of what in a few hours erupted into a full blown riot. Hours later in Brisbane they tried in vain to contact their family and friends in Honiara. When news finally reached them it was that Chinatown was burning.

2005

Still A Distant Dream - Gender Barriers Remain For Pacific Women
April 2005 -(Pacific Magazine) In towns and cities across the Pacific Islands on March 8th communities celebrated International Women's Day. Yet that same week in Papua New Guinea the alleged rapist of a seven-year old girl was released on bail.

2004

Solomon Island: Women in Fear as Rapists Go Unchecked
November 8, 2004 –(Amnesty International) "Kidnapping, murder, rape and torture have gone unchecked. Police are unable or unwilling to investigate many of these crimes. There are too many examples of criminals evading arrest, charges or detention, protected by corrupt politicians, officials, police or prison guards."

Women Speak Out in Solomon Islands
September 2004 -(Amnesty International) "I was 14 years old then. One of the policemen came one night around 10pm, pointed a gun at me and ordered me to follow him to see the other men... The Commander..., he pointed his gun at me and raped me. I suffered pain and bleeding."

FRESH VIOLENCE BREAKS OUT
August 30, 2004 - (Pacnews) Chiefs in Solomon Islands' Guadalcanal Province have reported fresh violence outbreaks in the area, with at least one person suffering serious injuries.

MERI RIGHTS: WE MUST MOBILIZE!
July 20, 2004 - (Post Courrier) Yesterday, I received an e-mail message sent by the Media Council Secretariat who circulated a release by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. The media statement called on members of the Catholic Church and the wider society to fight against guns and lawlessness in this country. One part of the press release states: “We must remind our own police officers that they are enforcers of the law and do not have the right to break the law themselves.”

WOMEN IN SOLOMON ISLANDS SUPPORT PEACE PROCESS
June 16, 2004 - (PacNews) Solomon Islands' Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs Ethel Sigimanu says the inequalities faced by women in Solomon Islands must not be isolated under the current peace process.

FEMALE OFFICER TO REPLACE RAMSI COMMANDER
June 10, 2004 – (SIBC/PINA) One of Australia's most senior female police officers will take over as Commander of the Participating Police Force in Solomon Islands next month.

WOMEN ARE REGION'S PEACEMAKERS, BUT EXCLUDED FROM LEADERSHIP
March 9, 2004 – (The Sydney Morning Herald) In the South Pacific, it is often women who suffer the most during and after the conflict, writes Elsina Wainwright.


2003

GUADASCANAL AND MALTA WOMEN RECONCILE
September 16, 2003 – (PFnet NEWS/SIBC – Malaita) A reconciliation ceremony has been held between a group of women from Guadalcanal and women of the Takwa Catholic Parish in the Lau/Mbaelelea Constituency in North Malaita.

SOLOMONS WOMEN ASKED TO SPREAD GUN-AMNESTY MESSAGE
August 8, 2003 – (Join Together online) The leader of a task force sent to restore order in the Solomon Islands is calling on the nation's women to urge men to surrender their weapons, the Australian Broadcasting Network reported Aug. 7.

SOLOMON ISLANDS CHURCH “CLOSER” TO ORDINARY WOMEN
February 4, 2003 – (PACIFIC NEWS) The head of the Solomon Islands' Anglican Church of Melanesia, Archbishop Sir Ellison Pogo, says the church is getting closer to finalizing the ordination of women as priests.

2002

WOMEN CONCERNED AT EXTENT OF VIOLENCE (AUDIO)
December 10, 2002 – (ABC) A Solomon Islands women's leader says the country's ethnic tension is so intense, traditional Melanesian ways of resolving conflict may not be sufficient to end the war. Women's approaches to resolving crisis were discussed today at a conference in Canberra looking at conflict and peacemaking in the Pacific. Graeme Dobell was at the conference.

2000

PEACEMAKING IN SOLOMON ISLANDS: THE EXPERIENCE OF THE GUADACANAL WOMEN FOR PEACE MOVEMENT
November 2000 - Guadalcanal is the largest of the nine provinces that make up Solomon Islands. It was famous at one stage in history because of the bloody battle fought there between the Americans and the Japanese during World War II. The province represents 19 per cent of Solomon Island’s total land mass and 19 per cent of its total population of 400,000 plus (excluding the population of Honiara city).

WOMEN OF SOLOMON ISLANDS APPEAL TO GUNMEN FOR PEACE
June 16, 2000 – (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – Radio interview) While the Solomon Island's economy gradually grinds to a halt, nobody at the political level seems to have any answers to the country's debilitating ethnic war…

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