Solomon Islands

The Solomon Islands is a Melanesian archipelago in the southwest Pacific Ocean comprising two volcanic chains of six major islands, and many hundreds of outer islands and atolls. A former British Protectorate, the Solomon Islands achieved independence in 1978. The country is the third largest in the Pacific in both size and population. The national capital Honiara is on the biggest island, Guadalcanal.

The Solomon Islands is one of the poorest countries in the region with a low level of human development.¹⁵⁴ None of the eight MDGs were achieved and poverty is increasing. In addition to the vulnerabilities faced by its neighbours, hardship in the Solomon Islands is compounded by the legacy of civil conflict, known as “The Tensions” (1998-2003), which pushed the country to the brink of collapse. From 2003-2013, the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) operated in the country with a mandate to restore law and order, rebuild the government, stabilise national finances, and restart the economy.

The population of 611,000 is young, dispersed, and multi-lingual. The majority (80.3 per cent) live in rural areas and maintain subsistence livelihoods in villages of only a few hundred people. The lack of opportunities to earn cash income is resulting in rural-urban drift at a rate of 4.7 per cent per annum. Rapid urbanisation is creating informal settlements and burdening local resources and infrastructure. Given the country’s history of civil unrest, migration patterns have serious implications for social cohesion.¹⁵⁵

The economic performance of the Solomon Islands has lagged behind other Pacific countries and is based on a few primary commodities with very little diversification or enhanced productive capacity.¹⁵⁶ The private sector is small with potential for development in mining, agriculture, fisheries, and tourism. ODA made up 30 per cent of gross national income in 2013. Youth unemployment is a major problem as young people lack the education and experience to find paid work. Twenty per cent of young people in Honiara are unemployed and in rural areas this rises to 50 per cent.¹⁵⁷

Children make up half of the total population and adversity for children and youth is common. Eighty-four per cent report witnessing violence in their community, which is known to have lifelong impacts.¹⁵⁸ Nineteen per cent of infants are not receiving adequate daily nutrition and a third of children are stunted. More children are entering the sex trade and sexual abuse of children is common.¹⁵⁹

Significant gender inequalities exist in all spheres. There is low participation of women in electoral processes and there is cultural resistance to women’s leadership.¹⁶⁰ Female enrolment in secondary and tertiary education is low and rural women have poor access to health and family planning. Customary law has constitutional status in the Solomon Islands and may be applied even in instances where customs have a discriminatory effect.¹⁶¹ Sixty-four per cent of women report experiencing intimate partner violence. Some progress was made toward MDG 5 (Improve Maternal Health), but maternal deaths are still high with around 23 deaths per year.¹⁶²

Environmental sustainability is weak, particularly in the logging industry, which has been surrounded by allegations of illegality, abuse, and lack of environmental controls.¹⁶³ Mitigating the impacts of climate change and natural disasters is an ongoing challenge for the Solomon Islands. In recent years the islands have been affected by prolonged droughts, flooding, king tides, earthquakes, and a tsunami causing damage, lost productivity, and loss of life, with wide reaching costs for communities.

Treaty Ratifications: ICESCR, ICERD, CEDAW, CRC, OP-CEDAW, AIESCM, CCEOPGDBS, CADE, CADE Protocol, CCPWCNH, ICADS

Resident and Non-resident Agencies: FAO, IFAD, ILO, IOM, OHCHR, UNAIDS, UNCDF, UNDP, UN Environment, UNESCAP, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNESCO, UN-Habitat, UNISDR, UNOCHA, UN Women, WFP, WHO, WMO

Coordination: Solomon Islands Joint Presence Office

National Development Strategy 2016-2035 “Improving the Social and Economic Livelihoods of all Solomon Islands”

• ¹⁵⁴UNDP Human Development Index 2015.
• ¹⁵⁵Population and Development Profiles: Pacific Island Countries, UNFPA 2014.
• ¹⁵⁶Productive Capacity and Trade in the Solomon Islands, Daniel Gay, UN DESA, June 2016.
• ¹⁵⁷World Bank 2012
• ¹⁵⁸Adverse Childhood Experience Study, Honiara 2015.
• ¹⁵⁹Report on the Pacific Conference on Ending Violence Against Children, UNICEF May 2
• ¹⁶⁰UN Women 2016
• ¹⁶¹ibid
• ¹⁶²Solomon Islands Maternal and Perinatal Country Profile, WHO, 2015.
• ¹⁶³Productive Capacity and Trade in the Solomon Islands, Daniel Gay, UN DESA, June 2016.