Within this framework of mission, vision and goals, RRRT has five strategic objectives:
Objective 1 – Pacific Island Countries respond effectively to eliminate violence against women and children; and increase access to justice.
Objective 2 – Institutions strengthened to realise the elimination of all forms of discrimination.
Objective 3 - Increased observance of human rights and good governance standards by government.
Objective 4 - Increased capacity of civil society to monitor and advocate for human rights, and increased access to justice.
Objective 5 – Pacific Island Countries establish National Human Rights Institutions.
From 2016-20, our major areas of focus include the following human rights priorities in the region:
- Domestic violence
- Rule of law
- Access to justice
- Addressing gender discrimination
- Civil society strengthening
- Human rights mechanisms
- Supporting the reporting and implementation of International Conventions and the Universal Periodic Review process
- Support to vulnerable populations including persons with disability
With core support from the Australian Government and additional project support from the European Union (EU), Kingdom of the Netherlands, Pacific Leadership Programme (PLP) and the German Development Bank (GfW), RRRT currently addresses the above priorities through its projects. Through our core work, our team offers the following technical assistance and services:
- Training and education on focus areas of human rights
- Legal analysis of case law and customary law in matters concerning human rights in the Pacific
- Technical support in drafting human rights compliant legislation in key focus areas such as violence against women
- Technical support in international human rights treaty reporting and ratification
- Technical support in reporting to the UN Universal Periodic Review process
- Policy advice in matters concerning human rights
- Legislative lobbying and legal advocacy training
- Legal literacy, legislative drafting options, policy, and technical manual publications
- Support for institutional human rights mainstreaming programmes and objectives
We engage SPC member countries by:
- Supporting national policy and decision makers to meet their international human rights commitments;
- Supporting service providers, including civil servants, teachers, lawyers and law enforcement officers, to implement human rights standards according to their governments’ commitments;
- Supporting civil society, including non-governmental and faith-based organisations, to assist national governments in meeting their international human rights commitments;
- Partnering with organisations and agencies, such as the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, to examine the feasibility of national human rights institutions and a regional human rights mechanism in the Pacific.
RRRT is focused on building a culture of human rights in the region, and assisting nations to commit to, and observe, international human rights standards.
RRRT provides skills and assistance that enable Pacific states to actively participate in the international human rights order. This includes ratification of, and reporting on, international human rights treaties. RRRT has also been instrumental in assisting Pacific states in reporting before the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review process.
