SAMOA: Pacific women, youth to benefit from partnerships | Division for Inclusive Social Development (DISD)

Women and youth must be seen as partners in development and involved, not just included, in decision-making, according to discussions at the United Nations conference on small island developing states which wraps up Thursday in Samoa.

“Girls are getting education and employment opportunities in the Pacific, but they also face harassment within school and work environments, as well as other social issues like domestic violence,” Tahere Si'isi'ialafia's Baha'I, 24, told UN Women in the capital Apia.

There are 91,000 Samoan women. According to official figures, the population of around 180,000 also includes 49,500 young people between the ages of 15 and 24.

“Youth representatives are often included in the preparatory stages of high-level conferences; however, when the outcome documents are released there is often little mention of youth concerns,” Ms. Baha'I said, such as youth employment or training opportunities.

At the four-day Third International Conference on Small Island and Developing States (SIDS), one of the six multi-stakeholder partnership dialogues focuses on women and youth, as well as social development and health, including family planning and non-communicable diseases.

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