[Source: Fiji Government/Facebook]

Our collective agreements on gender equality are vital to bringing to light the vision of an equal, equitable, and inclusive Pacific.

This is the view of Minister for Women, Children, and Social Protection Lynda Tabuya at the second Pacific Islands Forum Women Leaders meeting in Suva.

PIFS Secretary General Henry Puna says forum members need to draw on their many years of hard work and experience to deal with this regional challenge.

He says the two-day meeting reignited the call to revitalize the Pacific Leaders Gender Equality Declaration adopted in 2012 ahead of the next PIFS Leaders Meeting in the Cook Islands in November.

“It is important that when leaders meet in Rarotonga, that they commit strongly to implementing the declaration.”

Palau Vice-President Jerrlyn Sengebau says the women leaders from 18 countries and territories called for collective leadership to address gender equality.

“We talked about how to do gender mainstreaming policies and ministries of government but most importantly how to define gender in the Pacific context.”

Puna will convey the outcomes and recommendations of this meeting to the next Forum Leaders meeting in the Cook Islands in November.