Outcome FIJ_D_1.2

By 2027, the operational, normative and collaborative potential of the UNCT Cooperation Frameworks to contribute to greater gender equality is fully optimised by UN Women’s interventions.

This result is on track. The United Nations in the Pacific has demonstrated commitment to rolling out a comprehensive assessment of the United Nations System-wide Action Plan (UNCT-SWAP) Gender Equality Scorecard for a second time in less than 5 years. This commitment demonstrates willingness to being able to more concretely understand areas that need further joint action to progress gender mainstreaming and advance gender equality and women’s empowerment. The assessment will be undertaken across all three sub-regional United Nations Multi-Country Offices (MCOs) in the Pacific Framework in a separate but coordinated manner as they come under one Pacific regional UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (2023-2027). The Gender Equality Scorecard assessment will be led by the team leads of the United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Offices for each MCO, with technical support provided by UN Women and the Pacific UN Gender Theme Group, which UN Women Co-Chairs, alongside UNFPA, and provides executive secretariat support (full-time Gender Group Coordinator). The Gender Group Coordinator and the team leads of the United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office are developing a Scorecard assessment strategy that will ensure a coordinated rollout, given that several Scorecard indicators are regional (such as Indicator 1.2 on UNSDCF Outcomes) but some will now have a subregional focus (such as 3.1 and 3.2 on stakeholder engagement). This approach will highlight differences across each MCO where one may be exceeding minimum requirements, another MCO may only be approaching, and thus will lead to a more tailored action plan for each MCO. The last comprehensive UNCT-SWAP Gender Equality Scorecard assessment took place in the Pacific in 2020. At that time, the United Nations system in the Pacific worked on the basis of multi-country engagement led by two United Nations Resident Coordinators and a Joint United Nations country team linked across two MCOs as the regional hubs, with agencies operating regionally out of Fiji and Samoa. There was a Regional United Nations Pacific Strategy that presented a coordinated approach to support the 14 Pacific Island Countries and Territories. Thus, the Scorecard assessment in 2020 was an assessment of gender mainstreaming of the United Nations joint processes across all 14 countries to the extent as possible. Since that time, a third MCO has been established in the Pacific in the Federated States of Micronesia, and there is a more complex UNSDCF management structure that includes some regional and some subregional interagency groups. Annual reporting on the Gender Scorecard has become increasingly difficult to measure in a way that accurately reflected the context of each MCO. With the proposed approach and resulting tailored action plans for each MCO, the Gender Theme Group will be better placed to respond to the gender mainstreaming needs at the country and sub-regional level.

By 2027, the operational, normative and collaborative potential of the UNCT Cooperation Frameworks to contribute to greater gender equality is fully optimised by UN Women’s interventions.

In 2025, United Nations country teams across the Pacific strengthened the integration of gender equality within Cooperation Framework planning, monitoring and coordination systems. This resulted in clearer institutional accountability for gender commitments across the region. Although the Cooperation Framework does not contain a standalone gender equality pillar, gender considerations are now embedded across its planning, monitoring and coordination architecture. This reflects the ongoing shift from individual agency-led initiatives toward a more system-wide approach to implementing gender commitments. This strengthening began with adjustments to the governance mechanisms that oversee implementation. Gender integration is now incorporated within the core bodies responsible for strategic planning and results review. The Strategic Programme and Results Group replaced the former Programme Management Team and assumed consolidated responsibility for oversight. Country Coordination Teams were formalised to guide country-level implementation across the four results areas of People, Planet, Prosperity and Peace. Together, these structures provide predictable institutional platforms through which gender guidance, monitoring standards and reporting requirements are applied across participating agencies. UN Women volunteered to serve as Co-Chair of the Strategic Programme and Results Group, positioning gender integration within central oversight discussions. With these governance arrangements in place, gender analysis became more consistently incorporated into routine planning and reporting cycles. Joint training on the Gender Equality Marker, facilitated by UN Women and UNFPA, strengthened the application of coding standards and narrative requirements in programme documentation. Improvements in system-wide accountability were reflected in the United Nations System-Wide Action Plan Gender Equality Scorecard results. The Fiji Multi-Country Office exceeded minimum requirements on engagement with National Women’s Machineries and civil society. Coordination performance of the Gender Theme Group also strengthened across the Fiji, Micronesia and Samoa Multi-Country Offices under the relevant performance indicator. UN Women provided technical support for implementation and reporting under the Gender Equality Scorecard. These results demonstrate that gender-responsive coordination standards are being applied in practice. Operational improvements also reinforced normative alignment. Gender equality obligations under international human rights treaties are now more systematically reflected in Cooperation Framework planning instruments. Technical contributions to five Common Country Analyses and revisions to Country Implementation Plans ensured that gender analysis informed central strategic documents. Coordination between the Gender Theme Group, co-chaired by UN Women and UNFPA, and the Human Rights Theme Group supported preparation for the Pacific Technical Cooperation Session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. Joint briefing materials for Resident Coordinators and consolidated mapping of Concluding Observations connected treaty recommendations to country-level planning and reporting processes. Building on this strengthened alignment, gender-responsive planning tools, treaty reporting processes and monitoring mechanisms are increasingly used in tandem rather than in parallel. Governments retain responsibility for implementing treaty commitments, and United Nations country teams incorporate those recommendations into development planning and oversight processes. The proposed Country Gender Equality Profiles, developed by UN Women, further support this alignment by translating global normative commitments into a regional evidence base aligned with Member States’ obligations. UN Women provided technical analysis, coordination and facilitation to support coherence between international standards and regional implementation. This integration strengthens the institutional systems that underpin coordinated implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and enhances the capacity of oversight and accountability structures to uphold transparency and responsiveness. Building on strengthened operational and normative systems, collaborative potential expanded through more inclusive and strategically aligned coordination platforms. The Gender Theme Group and the Pacific Gender Coordination Group, both co-chaired by UN Women and supported through executive secretariat functions, provided consistent spaces for joint decision-making, agenda-setting and information exchange. Coordination between the Gender Theme Group and the Human Rights Theme Group for the Pacific Technical Cooperation Session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women demonstrated a deliberate approach to cross-group alignment, linking normative commitments with programme implementation discussions. Regional coordination platforms incorporated direct input from feminist civil society actors through the Pacific Gender Technical Working Group (PGTWG) into the formulation of priorities on sexual and reproductive health and rights, socio-economic and ecological justice, Women, Peace and Security, sexual orientation and gender identity and expression, sex characteristics, and disability inclusion. The priorities and recommendations emerging from the PGTWG were subsequently elevated into the Gender Theme Group and the Pacific Gender Coordination Group, where they informed inter-agency agenda-setting and regional coordination priorities, including preparations for the Pacific Technical Cooperation Session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. This integration reflects a shift from consultative engagement of civil society toward structured influence within formal coordination mechanisms. At the national level, coordination mechanisms created structured entry points for multiple stakeholders to contribute to consultations on gender equality and gender-based violence policy reform in the Cook Islands and on gender-responsive disaster risk management in Samoa. This expansion of participation demonstrates that collaborative platforms extend beyond United Nations internal coordination to inform national policy processes. The introduction of shared calendars and messaging platforms further improved day-to-day collaboration and follow-through between formal meetings, embedding coordination as an ongoing working practice. Collectively, these developments show that Cooperation Framework systems in the Pacific are operating with greater coherence, capability and inclusivity. Operational governance structures link gender to planning and monitoring processes. Normative alignment connects regional coordination to treaty obligations. Collaborative platforms broaden participation, strengthen shared accountability and redistribute influence within coordination systems. UN Women provided technical leadership, convening support and quality assurance, while decision-making authority and implementation responsibility remain with Resident Coordinators, United Nations country teams and national governments. These institutional adjustments strengthen the transparency and accountability architecture underpinning gender-responsive governance across the region.

By 2027, the operational, normative and collaborative potential of the UNCT Cooperation Frameworks to contribute to greater gender equality is fully optimised by UN Women’s interventions.

The 2024 United Nations Country Team System-wide Action Plan (UNCT-SWAP) Gender Equality Scorecard assessment played a pivotal role in strengthening system-wide accountability, gender-responsive governance, and operational effectiveness across the Fiji, Samoa, and Micronesia Multi-Country Offices (MCOs). By fully leveraging the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF), the assessment process translated institutional commitments into proposed concrete actions, ensuring gender equality is integrated into planning, budgeting, and programming across the UN system in the Pacific. The most significant result was the development of tailored action plans for each MCO, which directly address identified weaknesses in gender integration, leadership accountability, and financing for gender equality initiatives. These action plans mark a systemic shift towards institutionalized gender mainstreaming, setting the foundation for future improvements in governance, operations, and interagency collaboration. The Scorecard assessment revealed both progress and persistent gaps in gender mainstreaming. With 56 per cent of ratings meeting or exceeding UN-SWAP standards, the Fiji MCO met or exceeded standards in 9 out of 15 indicators, while Samoa and Micronesia MCOs each met 8 out of 15 indicators. However, significant gaps were identified in gender-responsive budgeting, engagement with National Gender Machineries, and integration of sex-disaggregated data into decision-making processes. These gaps directly shaped the design of the tailored action plans, which propose targeted interventions for system-wide improvements. The assessment’s two-phased approach, conducted between May and November 2024, provided a nuanced and inclusive evaluation, enabling a strategic, multi-country response tailored to the operational contexts of each MCO. The action plans, while yet to be ratified and implemented, set a clear direction for future systemic changes. "The Fiji MCO has proposed quality assurance mechanisms to strengthen gender mainstreaming in both joint programmes and financial tracking through the GEM. In Samoa, where engagement with women’s organizations was stronger, the action plan proposes strengthening protocols to ensure the National Gender Machinery and GEWE CSOs routinely engage in UNSDCF processes. Meanwhile, in Micronesia, where institutional engagement with civil society was weaker, the action plan focuses on strengthening collaboration mechanisms with National Gender Machineries and expanding capacity-building support for civil society organizations. Across all three MCOs, gender-responsive procurement policies are being explored. UN Women plays a critical role in ensuring these outcomes are institutionalized and actionable. As the co-lead of the Gender Theme Group, UN Women spearheaded the development and execution of the assessment, ensuring that it was aligned with updated 2023 technical guidance and UNSDCF priorities. Beyond managing the consultant and facilitating workshops, UN Women provided direct technical expertise in refining gender indicators, supported interagency knowledge-sharing through virtual consultations, and ensured cross-agency alignment in gender-responsive programming. By leveraging its coordination mandate, UN Women worked closely with Resident Coordinator’s Offices to manage the assessment across the three MCOs, ensuring effective evidence-gathering, standardized indicator scoring, and cross-regional consistency in gender reporting. The UNCTs in the Pacific have now established a strong foundation for optimizing the UNSDCF’s potential in advancing gender equality, operationalizing commitments into measurable institutional change once action plans are implemented. The 2024 comprehensive assessment and subsequent action plans set the groundwork for stronger gender accountability across the Pacific, ensuring that gender equality remains a fundamental pillar of UN operations and decision-making processes in the region.