Targeted support for elderly, the unemployed, and those with disabilities have helped bring down poverty levels in Kiribati by up to 70%, Kiribati Women, Youth and Social Welfare Minister Ruth Cross Kwansing has told the annual global report card meeting on the state of the world’s women.
Kwansing and other Pacific Ministers are in New York for the annual UN Commission on the Status of Women, or CSW. This year the commission is themed around the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action, endorsed in 1995 by global delegations as the promise of equality for the world’s women.
Speaking of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action as “a pivotal moment in our global journey toward achieving gender equality,” the Minister noted her own entry to politics and appointment “as evidence and intent, of our progress as a nation.”
With a national review refining social protection, justice, education, and policy reforms helping to drive activities and projects for impact, the focus on progressing gender equality through ending poverty is top of mind for Kiribati.
Kwansing reported how behavioural change initiatives are fostering positive shifts, enhancing a national response and operating protocols system called SafeNet which provides survivors with a dedicated and meaningful support system.
“Our determination is clear in the government manifesto, and we are actively addressing emerging threats like technology-facilitated violence, prioritising prevention, economic empowerment, and legal protection for women and girls,” she told the CSW69 plenary session this week.
Climate change threads through many of the Pacific statements and Kiribati is no different. Describing the climate challenges as “insurmountable”, Minister Kwansing said Kiribati’s response has been to place “women at the heart of our disaster management and adaptation strategies.
Gender is integrated into disaster management strategies, such as the revised Kiribati Joint Implementation Plan for Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management and the gender-responsive South Tarawa Drought Management Plan.”
Within her own ministry, a program partnership supported by UN Women is underway, recognising that “women are at the forefront of building community resilience.”
The work of gender and the development agenda across the nation continues with support from development partners, with progress in vital sectors — legal, police, and judiciary, said Kwansing. “However, significant gaps persist. Women still face economic barriers and gender-based violence. Policy mainstreaming is slow, and harmful cultural norms impede full equality. Climate change further exacerbates these issues, impacting women’s economic opportunities, health, and education.”
Education, economic empowerment, and strong NGO partnerships, will drive Kiribati’s journey towards inclusion, the Minister said, noting the majority of senior positions in the public service are now held by women.
Outside of the UN session, Minister Kwansing said her first CSW “has been a huge learning curve— to actually be part of this conversation. It’s been exciting to see how we have done so much work in Kiribati and report how we have integrated gender into our policy frameworks, and to hear how the rest of the world is doing.”
The CSW69 session will end on Mar 21 with an action plan document to help progress a political declaration adopted earlier this week.
