Fiji’s Attorney General, Graham Leung, reaffirmed the country’s commitment to strengthening its Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission while highlighting the significant challenge posed by the stringent process of amending the 2013 Constitution.
Leung’s comments, made during the 48th Session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva this week, were in response to calls for reform from several UPR participants, urging Fiji to enhance the independence and effectiveness of the commission, which is currently rated “B.”
Countries such as Bulgaria and Malaysia urged Fiji to enhance the mandate, independence, and pluralism of the Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission, while Australia echoed the call for full accreditation. Chile and Thailand recommended aligning the Commission’s status with the Paris Principles, and Georgia suggested that Fiji strive to achieve “A” status. Timor-Leste and Armenia highlighted the need for legislative reforms to ensure the Commission complies with international standards.
“A number of delegations have commented, and rightly so, on Fiji’s national human rights institution and the fact that its current status is ‘B’,” Leung told the UPR participants. “Let me assure the Member States that the Fiji Government is aware of the shortcomings and is working diligently towards regaining its ‘A’ accreditation.”
Leung went on to highlight the structural challenges tied to Fiji’s constitution, particularly the requirement for 75% parliamentary approval to amend the constitution, followed by 75% voter approval in a national referendum. These constitutional hurdles, he said, complicate the appointment process for commissioners and hinder necessary changes.
“One of the problems has been the appointment process for the commissioners of the Anti-Discrimination Commission,” Leung said. “That process is embedded in the constitution of Fiji. For anyone who knows anything about the constitution of Fiji, it requires 75% of the members of Parliament to amend the constitution and having passed that hurdle, it then requires 75% of the registered voters to endorse the parliamentary approval. In saying that, one of the hurdles to address the lack of independence in the appointment process is as a result of systemic structural issues in the constitution.”
Despite these challenges, Leung assured the UPR that the Fiji Government is implementing mechanisms to facilitate the Commission’s return to the top tier by the end of the year.
“The Fiji Government is currently working on regulations to strengthen the independence of the Commission and to facilitate the plurality and appointments process that will then be a basis for Fiji to be able to graduate to the top tier or the A accreditation process. We are working fully and earnestly towards this and the expectation is that by the end of this year, we will have achieved that goal.”
The “A” accreditation is granted to national human rights institutions that fully comply with the Paris Principles—international benchmarks requiring independence, pluralism, and adequate resourcing.
Leung also addressed funding issues, acknowledging that increased financial resources are necessary for the commission to carry out its mandate.
“Of course, the ability of the Fiji Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission to carry out its statutory mandate [depends on its] resources and capacity. The budget of the commission has steadily increased but we recognise that more financial resources need to be at the disposal of the commission in order for it to fulfil its statutory and legal mandate.”
The independence and effectiveness of the Commission was a key focus during the review, which is part of the UPR—a UN process that evaluates the human rights records of all member states every four to five years. Fiji’s participation in this session marks its fourth appearance (previously in 2010, 2014, and 2019) since the mechanism was established in 2008.
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