Pacific leaders and partners at CSW70 spotlight regional treaty reporting initiatives, highlighting Fiji and Samoa examples to strengthen participation in UN human rights processes and bring treaty bodies closer to Pacific communities.
Pacific delegates and development partners gathered on the sidelines of the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) in New York for a side event highlighting efforts to bring United Nations human rights treaty processes closer to Pacific communities.
The event, titled “Innovating Treaty Reporting: Bringing the UN Treaty Bodies Closer to Home,” was co-hosted by the Government of Solomon Islands, the Pacific Community (SPC) and the Pacific Islands Forum.
Participants showcased the region’s pioneering experience in hosting regional treaty body engagements. Two examples highlighted were the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) technical session hosted by Fiji in April 2025 and the landmark Committee on the Rights of the Child session held in Samoa in 2020.
Speakers from Fiji, Solomon Islands, Palau and Tuvalu, along with the Vice Chair of the CEDAW Committee, reflected on how regional dialogues can strengthen participation in international human rights processes.
They said holding treaty body engagements within the region helps deepen cultural understanding and brings global human rights mechanisms closer to the communities they are meant to serve.
The side event was facilitated by Christine Arab, Regional Director for Asia-Pacific at UN Women.
