CEDAW

There's been pressure by delegates who attended Tonga's last review in 2013 to sign the UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.

This will be Tonga's third time being examined since 2008. The kingdom will be represented by Solicitor General Sione Sisifa.

Angola, Slovakia and the United Arab Emirates are the countries on the panel that will carry out the review.

Tonga has been preparing to ratify the convention since 2015 but last year 'Akilisi Pohiva said the Government was stepping back from ratification after opponents protested that it could open the way for same-sex marriage and abortion.

Mr Pohiva said local women's groups would be asked to carry out public consultations again.

He said the subject had divided the nation.

"We made it clear that some of the clauses in regards to CEDAW are well taken by government and there are a few we do not think that they are appropriate," he said.

Matangi Tonga reports the Prime Minister Akilisi Pohiva told the Tongan parliament on Monday that the government would not ratify CEDAW.

Mr Pohiva has expressed concern over how the country has been divided over the issue of CEDAW, and said the government is stepping back from it to diffuse tensions in the community.

He says the government's approach to the contentious issue will be to introduce a Bill on Referendums to parliament, to make it possible for Tonga to hold a referendum on CEDAW.

MPs will have the opportunity to learn from the experiences from the Australian and New Zealand Parliaments. Sessions will also include the United Nations conventions that Tuvalu has ratified like the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), UN Convention against Corruption and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.