The Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum says women in the region still face adverse challenges despite national and regional commitments to address gender inequality.
Tuiloma Neroni Slade says International Women's Day this year marks a critical time for women's rights and gender equality in the Pacific region.
He says the Pacific continues to lag behind the rest of the world in terms of political representation while three Pacific countries are yet to ratify CEDAW.
He says in addition to this, emerging issues such as climate change and natural disasters have become national and regional priorities, where gender issues have not been given the attention they deserve.
