Emele Duituturaga, Regional NGO Coordinator, Fiji

Bula vinaka and Greetings from Port Vila, Vanuatu, where PIANGO (Pacific Islands Association of Non-Government Organizations) partnered with Greenpeace and VANGO (Vanuatu Association of Non- Governmental Organizations) to organize a “Human Rights/Climate Justice” workshop onboard the Greenpeace ship, Rainbow Warrior II. Coinciding with World Oceans Day, the workshop focused on the increased ocean acidification that is leading to more disastrous climate change impacts such as the Category 5 Cyclone Pam that hit Vanuatu on 13th March. Rainbow Warrior II has been in Vanuatu in the past month providing much needed transportation and distribution of supplies to the other Islands.

The Human Rights/Climate Justice workshop allowed community representatives to share their experiences and best practices with each other and also with victims of typhoon Haiyan that struck the Philippines in 2013. PIANGO brought community representatives from the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Kiribati to share their stories of the effects of the recent TC Pam on their communities and families.

In a symbolic act of solidarity, a newly formed coalition of these impacted communities signed the People’s Declaration for Climate Justice to make clear their intent to pursue climate justice, especially in the months leading to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris in November 2015. The Declaration was presented to Vanuatu’s President, H.E Baldwin Lonsdale and PIANGO will present it at the World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) Pacific consultation in Auckland, 30 June-2 July.

Emele Duituturaga / Executive Director, PIANGO
NGO/DPI Regional Coordinator in Fiji