SUVA, Fiji -- The first Women, Peace & Security (WPS) National Action Plan (NAP) Orientation Workshop facilitated by the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) Office of Women, Peace & Security is underway in Suva, Fiji from 16 – 23 September 2022.

At the request of the Fiji Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Women, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Office of Women, Peace & Security (WPS) is delivering a workshop to introduce a for a whole-of society approach to developing a WPS National Action Plan guided by UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 principles and gender perspective. Building on a substantive body of current Fijian actions, the workshop aims to establish a Fiji WPS NAP that employs a systematic, collaborative and inclusive approach to good governance. This initiative will be crucial in transforming gender perspectives into policies, programs, and resourcing.

Informed by significant statistical products and investments by Fiji’s government ministries and civil society organizations, the WPS workshop adds a series of best-practice consultations to unite existing efforts. The consultations are presented in two phases:

• Phase I: Training modules and discussions establishing a draft charter for organizational committee elements to have the authority to coordinate, established processes for design, approval and resourcing. The Coordinating Committee consists of Fijian government officials and civil society organization representatives.
• Phase II: Representation expands to include local civil society organizations and ministry-level planners. These discussions and training modules focus on identifying opportunities to apply gender perspectives to government programs and services informed by assessments of current practices and a gender analysis.

This multi-phase workshop will establish working groups, monitoring and evaluation techniques, and narrative products, followed by budget and cost control training.

The workshop will culminate with the Coordinating Committee presenting Senior officials all of the workshop products to include a draft charter for Committee structure and function, a NAP framework and the next steps for resourcing.