[1] The declaration takes its name from the Kiribati islet of Biketawa, where the Forum Leaders met in a retreat to discuss, agree and adopt measures for collective security.
[4] Since its adoption it has been invoked a number of times, leading to regional peacekeeping and stabilization operations in:[5] The Declaration also provided the basis for the Forum's 2009 decision to suspend Fiji after it had failed to hold elections in the wake of the 2006 Fijian coup d'état.
[12] Forum members and NGOs have unsuccessfully sought to invoke the declaration over torture in Fiji,[13] the 2011 Fiji-Tonga territorial dispute,[14] the Nauru government's 2014 crackdown on opposition,[15] and the 2016 Nauruan parliamentary election.
[17] In July 2021 Forum Secretary-General Henry Puna reminded Samoa's caretaker government of the Declaration in a statement on the 2021 Samoan constitutional crisis.
[25] The Biketawa Declaration on collective security committed Pacific Islands Forum members to eight values, including good governance, liberty of the individual, democratic processes, indigenous rights and cultural values, traditions and customs, and recognising the importance and urgency of equitable economic, social and cultural development to satisfy the basic needs and aspirations of the peoples of the Forum.