Amnesty meeting with Solomon Islands delegation and Prime Minister Danny Phillips

Amnesty’s Solomon’s Island’s report generated some brave and thought provoking questions on how the Solomon’s Island’s plans to address discrimination, sexual and gender based violence, female political participation and issues surrounding the informal settlements including water and sanitation, during a meeting between the Solomon Islands (SI) community and SI Prime Minister Danny Phillips on September 7.

It also provided an opportunity to discuss the policies and future direction of the Government’s plans and for AI staff members Amanda Brydon and Sarah Penning to meet with Prime Minister Phillips and the Solomon Islands delegation. The Solomon Islands Prime Minister acknowledged that the informal settlements are a complex issue.  He discussed how the conflict had pushed squatter settlements on to the borders of the city in Honiara and that there are places to bring people back to the city and also build institutions and public infrastructure on the out edges of the city so communities have improved access to education and health care.

The Prime Minister also discussed the initiative to bring women into parliament through special measures to reserve five seats for women at the next election in 2014. In addressing SGBV the Prime Minister acknowledged that it is a pervasive issue and that education is a key part of the solution to address this issue.