A brief history

The South Pacific Forum is the political grouping of inde pendent states which began with a meeting in Wellington, New Zealand, in 1971 with its .seven found ing members - Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Nauru, Western Samoa, Tonga and Cook Islands.

It has since been joined by Niue, Papua New Guinea, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Marshall Islands, Vanuatu and Palau.

The Forum stemmed from a common desire by leaders to develop a collective response on a wide range of regional issues, including trade, economic development, civil aviation, telecom munications, energy and political and security matters, with environmental issues featuring strongly in recent years.

The move to develop such a forum started in the late 1960 s and early part of the 70s as more and more Pacific Island states gained independence. It was clear that as each country became independent, it would face enormous challenges, some of which would be better handled through a regional approach. The development debate in each Island nation was similar and revolved around the economy, tourism and foreign aid.

Although there were, at the time, several overseas organisa tions, such as the United Nations and a host of social, sporting, cultural and religious groups with a regional mission. South Pacific nations felt enough was not being done.

The foreign organisations often encountered conflicts between regional interests and those of individual countries. An avenue through which the wider interest of the region could be promoted at a political level was lacking.

At the time, the South Pacific Commission was the main regional body in existence. But it included powers like Britain, France and the United States. The SPC was devised originally in 1947 and placed emphasis on economic and social welfare.

The control of the SPC budget was in the hands of the foreign

superpowers and since the constitution excluded discussion of political matters. Pacific Island leaders became impatient about not being able to voice their feelings. This saw moves to set up the Forum and hold its first meeting at which participants expressed deep regret that French nuclear testing in French Polynesia continued despite the Partial Ban Treaty and repeated protests by a number of member countries and Pacific Island nations. The Forum asked New Zealand to convey to the French government that the tests be the last.

It was at the Forum that Pacific leaders felt that their voices could be heard on the international scene and it was decided to hold annual meetings.

The Forum was defined as representing decolonisation in the region and a place to discuss the changing expectations which leaders would have of their neighbouring nations. After 1977, the Forum became more involved in the international scene.

The Forum has the mandate to tackle development problems faced by member countries and, over the years, the mandate has been extended to cover politics, hence the introduction of the post-Forum Dialogue in 1989. This provides an opportunity for frank discussions with metropolitan powers with an interest in the region. Dialogue partners are Canada, People’s Republic of China, the European Union (EU), Japan, Britain, South Korea and the United States.

At the first Forum meeting it was decided to set up a Secretariat. The Secretariat was set up in 1972. This was initial ly a trade bureau and its role was to co-ordinate and facilitate consultation on trade and economic matters so that leaders from member countries could respond collectively on issues of con cern. Later, the Secretariat became the South Pacific Bureau for Economic Co-operation (SPEC).

But at the 19th Forum in Tonga in 1988 it was decided to rename the organisation. Hence the adoption of the current title - the South Pacific Forum Secretariat. The chief executive of the secretariat is the secretary-general who is appointed by the heads of governments every three years. ■