The seventeenth meeting of the States Parties of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) was held at UN Headquarters, New York on 29^th June 2018. The agenda, inter alia, included the election of nine (9) members for the Committee on the Rights of the Child (Committee) to replace those who will complete their terms on 28 February 2019.

The sixty second session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW62) was held from the 12^th – 23^rd March 2018. The priority theme for CSW62 was “Challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls.”

Vanuatu’s Ambassador to the United Nations His Excellency Mr Odo Tevi delivered a statement on behalf of the Pacific Islands Forum states with Permanent Missions to the United Nations. The occasion was the general debate of the 2018 ECOSOC Operational Activities for Development Segment held on the 1 March 2018 at the United Nations Headquarters.

Ambassador Ali’ioaiga Feturi Elisaia delivered Samoa’s national statement at the first regular session 2018 of the Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) on Monday 22^nd January 2018. Ambassador took the floor during the UNDP segment following the statement by the UNDP Administrator, Mr. Achim Steiner. He acknowledged the vital work UNDP carries out in supporting developing countries in achieving the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals.