The umbrella group for regional NGOs says a human face needs to be brought back into development.
A meeting in Nadi of civil society leaders found that threats to human rights, peace and security in some Pacific countries have affected the way civil society works.
The acting head of the Pacific Islands Association of Non-Governmental Organisations, Emele Duituturanga, says the drive to economic development, globally, has marginalised groups that are already not economically engaged.
"At the end of the day the idea is that the private sector will create wealth, and supposedly that wealth is going to then be translated into housing, safe drinking water, food. But we're not seeing that there's the direct connection between that creation of wealth, by a few and the majority of people who still don't have access to these basic needs."
Emele Duituturanga says civil society organisations will meet in Auckland before the Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting in September and before a worldwide meeting in South Korea in November.
