Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER)
PACER is an agreement between Australia, New Zealand and 14 Pacific Island Nations. It was endorsed at the meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum in Nauru in 2001.
PACER provided for an initial trade agreement between Pacific Island nations and promised to initiate negotiations for a free trade agreement with Australia and New Zealand by 2011, unless triggered earlier. The signing of interim agreements between the European Union, Fiji and Papua New Guinea has triggered these new PACER negotiations.
In June 2007, the Pacific trade ministers meeting in Port Vila began discussions on moving to a more comprehensive free trade agreement, which has been dubbed "PACER-Plus".
Across the Pacific there are concerns about what the impacts of a PACER agreement will have on the communities.
The Nathans Associates report commissioned by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat concluded that Fiji, PNG, Samoa, and Vanuatu stand to lose up to US$10 million from tariff cuts on Australian and New Zealand imports. The International Monetary Fund has concluded that developing countries that implement Value Added Taxes only collect 30% of the revenue previously received through tariffs. This loss of government revenue undermines the ability of governments to fund essential services and infrastructure, particularly for island nations like those in the Pacific.
The communities in the Pacific however are prepared to challenge the PACER agenda to demand that their concerns are not ignored and that their development is decided by them. In the lead up to the 2009 Forum Trade Ministers Meeting, 32 organisations signed onto a statement outlining their concerns about PACER.
For more information and to view AFTINET submissions see our PACER resources, or follow the links at the bottom of this page to organisations working on the issue of trade in the Pacific Islands.
To view Media Coverage of the Campaign follow this link.
PACER-Plus - Australia must support an Independent Trade Adviser and Pacific Island Sovereignty.
September 2011 - The Office of Chief Trade Adviser funding issue hots up.
12th September 2011:
Will Australia and New Zealand really allow sovereignty to Pacific Countries on Trade Decisions
AFTINET and AID/WATCH released a joint media statement on 12th September calling on the Australian government to reflect on the outcomes of the Pacific Island Leaders meeting and honour the sovereignty of the Pacific Island Countries. For a copy of the media release follow this link.
2nd September 2011:
NGOs tell Australia to Respect Island Country Sovereignty – Australia Risks its Reputation in the Pacific
The Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG) and AFTINET released a joint media statement on 2nd September calling on the Australian government to respect the sovereignty of the Pacific Island Countries. For a copy of the media release follow this link.
30th August 2011 - 1st September 2011:
ABC Pacbeat Interviews on funding of the Office of Chief Trade Adviser.
The funding saga surrounding the Office of Chief Trade Adviser (OCTA) drags on, with a battle raging on ABC's PACBeat. It culminated with the OCTA claiming Australia was attempting to undermine the sovereignty of the Pacific Island Countries.
Greens slam Australia's handling of Pacific Chief Trade Advisor office - August 30, 2011:
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/pacbeat/stories/201108/s3305952.htm
Aust rejects Greens' claims on Pacific trade funding - August 31, 2011: http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/pacbeat/stories/201108/s3306347.htm
Pac Trade Advisor says funding offer challenges Pacific sovereignty - September 1, 2011: http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/pacbeat/stories/201109/s3307353.htm
May 2011:
The recent Pacific Island Forum Trade Ministers Meeting, held in Tonga on 18th & 19th May 2011, failed to resolve the issue of funding for the Office of Chief Trade Advisor (OCTA). The issue was deferred until the Pacific Island Fourm Leaders Meeting in Auckland in September, timed for the Rugby World Cup.
AFTINET and Aid/Watch have issued a call for both Australia and New Zealand to fund the OCTA with no strings attached. Follow this link to download the media release.
The call for no strings attached funding has recieved some media attention already with reports on Radio New Zealand, ABC Radio National's Pacbeat program and PACNEWS.Previously:
Reports
from the recent Pacific Island Trade Officials meeting in Palau in April 2011 indicated that Australia was again criticised by Pacific
Island trade officials and non-government groups for failure to support
the capacity for the Pacific Island countries to participate in
negotiations for a free trade agreement, known as PACER-Plus.
AFTINET
has called on the Australian government to publicly commit to ongoing
funding of the OCTA under arrangements reached by the Pacific Island
Countries to ensure its independence.
Pacific Trade Winds Consultations - Suva, Fiji 18th-20th November 2010.
PANG and the organisers of the Pacific Consultation “Navigating Pacific Trade Winds” 18th-20th November 2010 arranged AFTINET’s attendance at the consultations.
On behalf of AFTINET the Trade Justice Campaigner, Harvey Purse, addressed two sessions. The first session was about the current state of play in the Australian political context and the second being on health/medicines. I also attended a media conference at the request of the organisers, along with Nick Braxton from New Zealand and Maureen Penjueli (PANG) and John Salong from Vanwinds.
The consultations were held at Novotel, Lami Bay in Suva. There was wide representation from the Pacific Island Countries, with Australia and New Zealand also represented. Representatives were made up of Civil Society groups (including Churches, Unions, Umbrella organisations, Women’s organisations, representatives of the Pacific Diaspora, Organic & other Farming groups, as well as Development groups), Academics and Community Based Business enterprises.
The first day of the consultations focused on the current politics and negotiations of PACER-Plus and started looking at alternates to it. Briefing sessions were held on the current political situation in the Pacific Island Countries and perspectives of the diaspora, the current political situation in Australia, the current position of the negotiations. There was also a traditional Talanoa discussion on what a Pacific view of alternates might be, and a further session about Ensuring Food Sovereignty outlining the threats form PACER Plus and citing examples of traditional approaches.
The first day set the scene for day two which focused on further key issues for the Pacific Island Countries. These included sessions on Land, Maintaining a Healthy Pacific, Pacific Livelihoods and finished with a power mapping session in preparation for the final day which was dedicated to strategic planning.
Day two also saw a media conference held which was attended by PANG, Oxfam New Zealand, AFTINET and VANWOODS. Media coverage was good with the conference receiving coverage in the Fiji press over three days and Fiji TV News on the day of the media conference. These stories are feed into other press throughout the Pacific and Fiji TV News goes out to most Pacific Island Countries.
The final day of strategic planning drew heavily on days one and two. Group work was the order of the day with examinations to identify research gaps, how to inject the Pacific Island Countries traditional economy into the debate, how to protect community economies and existing micro solutions along with potential alternates coming out of the experience of communities in the Pacific Island Countries. Also examined was the identity of key players and how they might be moved to become involved or move away from their existing positions.
The final session of the day looked more closely at actions and activities that could be done over the next few months and longer term. This included ideas on how to activate the Pacific Diaspora in Australia and New Zealand, research that needed to be undertaken, papers that needed to be completed on the existing solutions playing out such as micro-financing and community enterprises, further work on Pacific alternatives based on traditional economy, information on Australian and New Zealand companies with an interest, key dates in all countries and in the progress of the negotiations. The session also examined the capacity to undertake the work that was needed.
A number of presentations were made at the recently conducted Pacific Trade Winds Consultations in Suva - Fiji. They are available for download from our website by following the link to our PACER-Plus resources Page.
Human rights and trade in the Pacific: A paper on designing a Human Rights Impact Assessment for PACER-Plus
IWDA is working with researchers from La Trobe University and the University of Melbourne to undertake a collaborative and innovative desk-research project to identify the appropriateness and potential structure of a gendered Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) for the PACER-Plus trade agreement. This research paper will build the Australian and Pacific Island NGO sector’s knowledge of intersections between human rights and trade, develop appropriate and ‘Pacific specific’ methodologies for undertaking a HRIA, and provide a basis for sector-wide advocacy to strengthen the delivery of AusAID’s Aid for Trade program, and coherence between AusAID’s sustainable development objectives and trade negotiation processes.
Background
At the 2009 Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting, held in Cairns, Australia, Pacific leaders agreed to begin negotiations for a regional trade agreement between the Pacific island countries and Australia and New Zealand. The Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER) Plus negotiations are likely to result in a binding international agreement that will affect Pacific economies and societies for decades to come.
While trade agreements like PACER-Plus are generally designed to increase cross border trade and contribute to economic growth, it is well known that obligations contained in trade agreements can have implications for the ability of governments to realise, protect and fulfil a range of universal human rights, including for example the right to health and the right to food. Negative impacts in these domains are likely to be disproportionately borne by women – especially in their traditional role of primary caregivers. IWDA highlighted the gender dimensions of trade agreements and called for gender analysis to be a core part of progressing Pacific trade negotiations in a fact sheet on gender and trade. This formed the basis of IWDA’s submission to a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade inquiry on the PACER-Plus agreement. You can read Claire Rowland’s thoughts on the discussion of the issues at the Economic Opportunities for Pacific Women in Business here. Participants were clear that giving women a voice on trade, and analysing and addressing potential gender impacts are not optional extras.
Currently there is a lack of coherence between international trade law on the one hand (as embodied by bilateral and multilateral trade agreements) and international human rights law on the other. Trade negotiators are often unaware of the obligations to which human rights give rise to, or feel that the nature of those obligations is vague and unclear[1]. However we do know that Australia and New Zealand have obligations to ensure that any new free trade agreements that they sign with other parties do not adversely affect the realisation of human rights in those countries[2].
In recent years, there have been growing calls worldwide for Human Rights Impact Assessments (HRIAs) to be undertaken in relation to new trade agreements, with the goal of improving trade governance and ensuring that human rights are protected (see for example: Harrison 2008, 3D 2009). In 2009, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, both released reports that highlighted the potential for free trade agreements to adversely affect human rights. Furthermore, the United Nations Office of the High Commission for Human Rights – Representative for the Pacific, Matilda Bogner, has expressed a keen interest in seeing a Human Rights Impact Assessment undertaken in relation to the PACER-Plus negotiations[3].
This small research project will be a ‘scoping study’ regarding a Human Rights Impact Assessment for PACER-Plus and will assess a number of key questions, including:
- How might a HRIA contribute to the design of a new trade agreement between Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific island countries, and what precedence worldwide is there for undertaking a HRIA in relation to trade agreements?
- What are the key areas in which PACER-Plus has the potential to impact on the realisation of human rights, and what are priority issues of concern?
- Who would be the best agency to undertake a HRIA for PACER-Plus (the UN?, national governments?, the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat? a regional advisory group?)
- When should a HRIA be undertaken? (Upon the completion of negotiations? Before negotiating proposals are made?)
- What would be the best methodology for undertaking a HRIA, and how might the findings of such an assessment be incorporated into the PACER-Plus negotiations?
These questions will be addressed through desk research, including an extensive literature survey, and brief telephone and email interviews with key actors and agencies in the Pacific. These will include staff the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, the Office of the Chief Trade Advisor (in Port Vila), the UN Office of High Commission for Human Rights – Representative for the Pacific, and a number of Pacific NGOs, church groups and trade unions – including the Pacific Network on Globalisation, Oxfam Australia and Oxfam New Zealand, Fiji Women’s Rights Movement, the Pacific Conference of Churches, the South Pacific and Oceanic Council of Trade Unions and others.
Communicating findings.
The researchers will present the findings at public forums, including a half-day forum in Melbourne and in Sydney. The forums will serve a dual purpose of sharing findings and providing space for interested ACFID members and researchers to develop further cross-organisational linkages, advocacy positions and research agendas.
Desired impact
This project will forge research links between IWDA, La Trobe University, and the University of Melbourne, bringing together development experience and research expertise from the region, and providing opportunities for early career researchers to build on their experience and skills with the support of more experienced researchers.
The scoping study will provide a platform for further research in relation to human rights and trade in the Pacific island countries. Specifically, it is hoped that this project will provide the basis for a more comprehensive Human Rights Impact Assessment to be undertaken for PACER-Plus. This research project complements ongoing advocacy work by both ACFID members (including the International Women’s Development Agency (IWDA), Oxfam Australia, Uniting World and the ACFID Secretariat itself) and partner organisations in the Pacific – calling for PACER-Plus to focus on the goals of sustainable development and poverty reduction.
IWDA will contribute to engendering the research project, support partner agencies in the Pacific to engage in the research process, and use the project outcomes in PACER-Plus advocacy work. The Health Cluster of the La Trobe Institute for Human Security was a co-organiser of a workshop on PACER Plus and Health (Melbourne, April 12-13), along with the Public Health Association of Australia and the People’s Health Movement. Speakers raised concerns about possible negative impacts of PACER Plus on health, nutrition and gender equity in the Pacific.
Claire Rowland, IWDA’s Pacific research coordinator, will be involved in designing the research paper and reviewing it as it is developed. The project will benefit from the oversight of external experts including Warwick University (UK) Professor of Law James Harrison, who has written extensively on using Human Rights Impact Assessments to improve free trade agreements (see for example Harrison 2009, Harrison 2008); and Sanya Reid-Smith, who works in Geneva as a legal adviser for the Third World Network, and has previously campaigned for a Human Rights Impact Assessment for the Thai-US Free Trade Agreement.
Personnel
David Legge is an associate professor in the School of Public Health at La Trobe University where he teaches international health policy. His research interests include health policy in China, globalisation and health and global health governance. David is active in the People’s Health Movement, a global network of advocacy and community-based health organisations. In this capacity he is the global coordinator of the International People’s Health University which runs a program of short courses for health activists in developing countries.
Claire Rowland worked as IWDA’s Fiji Program Manager for two years and is now focused on a number of IWDA’s research activities, as a co-investigator on ADRA funded research projects with the Institute for Sustainable Futures (University of Technology, Sydney) and the University of Western Sydney, Fiji National University and Macquarie University. She is also a resource person for an ARC-funded research project with the Australian National University, Assessing Development.
Wesley Morgan is an independent consultant currently undertaking a Masters by Research at Melbourne University, exploring options for a ‘pro-development’ trade agreement between members of the Pacific Islands Forum. He lived in Suva, Fiji – and worked on Pacific trade policy – from 2006 to 2009.
Roshni Sami headed the Suva-based Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG) from 2006 to 2008.
Download Human rights and trade in the Pacific: A scoping study on designing a Human Rights Impact Assessment for PACER-Plus
[1] For discussion see 3D. 2009. Human rights impact assessments: A pertinent tool for informing and improving trade governance? 3D – Trade, Human Rights, Equitable Economy, Geneva. See: http://www.3dthree.org/pdf_3D/3D_WTOPF2009_panelHRIAsummary.pdf
[2] To take the right to health as a specific example, under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which Australia and New Zealand ratified in 1975 and 1978 respectively, State parties are obliged to take steps (individually or through international assistance and cooperation) towards the full realization of Covenant rights (article 2(1), as interpreted by CESCR General Comment No. 3 (1990)). In relation to the right to health, this includes the obligation to respect the right to health in other countries, to give due attention to the right to health in international agreements and to take steps to ensure those agreements do not adversely impact on the right to health (article 12, as interpreted by CESCR General Comment No. 14 (2000)). See: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/11session/A.HRC.11.12_en.pdf
[3] In discussion with proposed the proposed researchers.
Trade and Health Forum Update - Outcomes and Reports available
In Melbourne and Sydney this year the People Health Movement has conducted forums on PACER-Plus and the impact of trade on health. The following link is to the reports and outcomes of both forums on "Health and Trade in the Pacific: PACER-Plus - should we be worried?" from the People's Health Movement website.
The website contains other reports related to the Health implications of PACER-Plus.
http://phmoz.org/wiki/index.php?title=People%27s_Health_Movement_Australia
UPDATE: August 2010 - PACER-Plus - Call to Suspend Talks
Pacific civil society has called for the PACER-Plus talks to be suspended pending promised national consultations being undertaken; funding and adequate staffing for the office of the Chief Trade Advisor; an easing of the impacts and an evaluation of the of the global financial crisis; alternative trade options are examined; there is a guarantee to exclude comprehensive services and investment chapters; there is a delinking of the labour mobility program; adequate funding and training is provided for capacity building of local trade officials and key stakeholders; a human rights and gender analysis is undertaken and there is active involvement from civil society as promised by the leaders. Follow this link for a copy of the Pacific Statement.
AFTINET, along with many civil society organisations in Australia and New Zealand have supported this call from the Pacific to suspend the talks. Follow this link for a copy of the statement.
For more information and to view AFTINET submissions see our PACER resources, or see the following organisations working on the issue of trade in the Pacific Islands.
