Pacific Islands Forum tells UN about critical role of the Convention of the Law of the Sea, US set to engage more with Pacific leaders, CNMI college offers free tuition to US citizens
Pacific Islands Forum says Law of the Sea vital to defence against climate change
Speaking on behalf of the Forum, Tuvalu's permanent UN representative, Samuelu Laloniu, said with climate change the single greatest threat to the Blue Pacific region, the 2021 Forum Leaders' declaration upholds the supremacy of the Convention of the Law of the Sea.
Tuvalu's High Commissioner-designate to New Zealand, Samuelu Laloniu Photo: RNZI / Jamie Tahana
Laloniu said the Forum called on states to join it in adopting similar regional and national practices.
Laloniu said as guardians of the largest part of the Ocean "we are proud and strong defenders" of the Law of the Sea as the legal order for the world's oceans and seas.
He recalled negotiations and the adoption of the Law of the Sea as one of the most comprehensive and successful environmental diplomatic efforts of the 20th Century.
US to engage more meaningfully with Pacific leaders
The US plans to step up diplomatic engagement with Pacific Island countries, including inviting Pacific leaders to the White House later this year.
The move comes amid rising concerns over the security implications of China's expanding presence in the region, underlined by the security pact China signed with Solomon Islands last month.
White House Indo-Pacific adviser Kurt Campbell says the United States intends to ramp up diplomatic ties with Pacific countries that had not seen ambassadors or engagement for decades.
He said the Biden administration would also work with US AID and the new US International Development Finance Corporation to fund projects in the region, as well as restore the Peace Corps to much of the area.
Vanuatu union demands reinstatement of suspended teachers
The Vanuatu Teachers' Union has called on the Vanuatu Teaching Service Commission to reinstate 22 of its members suspended on half pay.
The teachers are under suspension for their alleged participation in a call for a national strike which was then cancelled.
The Daily Post quotes union leaders, Industrial Officer George Firiam and Treasurer Loreen Baniuri, as saying the industrial suspension has introduced fear among about 1,000 members who believe in their Union as laying the foundation of their future on retirement.
The Vanuatu Teachers' Union was set up by the Vanuatu Labour Union after the former United Moderate Party led Government, led by then Prime Minister Maxime Carlot Korman, terminated hundreds of registered teachers following a nationwide strike by public servants which brought the Government to its knees in 1991.
Marianas to offer US citizens free college tuition
The Northern Marianas College will offer students, who are US citizens, free tuition from this autumn.
Free tuition at CNMI college for US citizens Photo: Mark Rabago
The college President Galvin Deleon Guerrero said it would cover the cost of tuition and mandatory fees not covered by other grants.
Dr Guerrero said the college will be the first in the Pacific to roll out a programme that will guarantee the opportunity of obtaining a college degree for anyone in the Northern Marianas.
The College will also roll out a new set of "wraparound services" to provide students with the academic, social, and technical support needed throughout the course of their college career.
This includes implementing a cohort-based learning system with the incoming freshmen class and providing mentorship to students by both their peers and college employees.
World Heritage status workshop running in Marquesas islands
A collaborative workshop hopes to bring the Marquesas islands closer to a UNESCO World Heritage status.
The workshop, run by Tahiti Expert Events, is an opportunity for locals to inform and discuss practical solutions on how to protect the sites if they are recognised.
The workshop is travelling through the southern Marquesas islands of Hiva Ota, Tahuata, and Fatu Hiva.
"Going to these workshops is an opportunity for us to respond to the populations questions and hear their opinion, to protect them, to preserve them for a better transmission," said Tahiaee Teikikaine of Tahiti Expert Events.
The workshops will continue until next Wednesday (May 10).
From June 20-30 a similar workshop will take place in the north of the Marquesas Islands.
Four years ago, Taputapuatea marae on Raiatea was given World Heritage status.