Workshop on Atrocity Prevention and Responsibility to Protect underway in Honiara

A two-day seminar on Atrocity Prevention and Responsibility to Protect (R2P) opened in Honiara yesterday, marking the first national-level collaboration between the Asia Pacific Centre of the University of Queensland, the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Secretariat, and the Solomon Islands Government.

The seminar provides a platform for more than 25 officials across the Solomon Islands Government to build collective understanding, share insights, and begin contextualizing the forthcoming R2P Framework for Action for the Solomon Islands.

It also provided an opportunity to hear from officials on pressing challenges and to identify pathways to strengthen national resilience.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Police, National Security and Correctional Services, Karen Galokale said this collaboration is a testament to regional cooperation and the shared commitment to promoting peace, stability, and human dignity across the Melanesian sub-region.

She highlighted that the seminar aligns closely with the National Security Strategy 2025 framework that places people’s safety and well-being at the center of the country’s national security vision.

“It recognizes that security today is no longer confined to traditional state-centric threats only. But it includes the non-traditional threats to human security, the impact of climate change, the scourge of gender-based violence, the dangers of hate speech and division, and so forth,” Ms Galokale said.

She further highlighted that the principles of the R2P, which is to prevent, respond, and rebuild resonates with the Solomon Islands’ national security priorities.

“As public officials and leaders, we carry the immense responsibility to safeguard our communities from atrocity and to ensure that early warning signs are not only recognized but acted upon. Prevention is always better than cure — and that starts with awareness, understanding, and coordinated action,” Ms Galokale emphasized.

The Permanent Secretary acknowledged the efforts of the APR2P Centre, the MSG Secretariat, and facilitators for making the seminar possible, which highlighted the importance placed on atrocity prevention and regional peacebuilding.

In 2022, the Asia Pacific Centre for the R2P at the University of Queensland and the MSG Secretariat signed a Letter of Intent committing to work together on relevant aspects of regional security and atrocity prevention principles including the R2P.

The Letter of Intent identified potential areas of cooperation including training support for MSG officials and workshops for MSG members on sub-regional issues and thematic issues of common concern such as human security, gender-based violence, climate change, and hate speech.

Following two successful sub-regional consultations, it was agreed that pursuing national-level consultation be considered by the organizations. It is on this basis that both the MSG Secretariat and the APCR2P agreed to hold this first national consultation on R2P.

The objective of this inaugural Solomon Islands Workshop on Atrocity Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect is to socialize the principles of atrocity prevention and R2P among government officials and civil society groups in the country in connection with MSG priorities.

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GCU statement