Fiji Human Rights Commission

Fiji Human Rights Commission

The Fiji Human Rights Commission is an independent statutory body which was established under the 1997 Constitution of the Republic of the Fiji Islands. Its role is to protect and promote human rights for the people of Fiji and to help build and strengthen a culture of human rights in Fiji.

The mandate of the Commission is to educate the general public about human rights and to make recommendations to the government about matters affecting human rights. The Commission protects Human Rights mainly through the complaints and legal divisions. It assists the public on complaints of allegations of breaches of human rights, Its job is to receive complaints, classify it, investigate these complaints and to resolve these complaints by conciliation and to refer unresolved complaints to the Commission's legal division for court action, and to refer complaints to the necessary ministry or department if the complaint is not within the Commission's jurisdiction. The interim Prime minister Frank Bainimarama has issued an assurance that his government is committed to upholding the law and protecting human rights as in the constitution. [http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=55532]

In 2007, the Fiji Human Rights Commission created controversy when its chairwoman Dr. Shaista Shameem expressed support for the 2006 coup. Consequently, the FHRC was suspended from the International Co-ordinating Committee, which oversees human rights organisations. A review by the ICC stated that the FHRC "lacked both credibility and independence" [ [http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=31209 "Fiji Human Rights Commission suspended from international body"] , Radio New Zealand International, April 2, 2007] .

The FHRC later commissioned an inquiry into the 2006 general election which had brought the subsequently deposed Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase to power. The Commission of Inquiry delivered a report which "identifie [d] deficiencies and anomalies at every stage of the election process" [ [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/466/story.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10469843 "What if Fiji ballot was less than 'free and fair'?"] , David Neilson, "New Zealand Herald", October 15, 2007] , thus affirming that the democratic legitimacy of Prime Minister Qarase's deposed government had been questionable.

In October 2007, Dr. Shameen criticised United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Louise Arbour for allegedly "only hearing one side of the story regarding what was happening in Fiji" - that is, for criticising Commodore Bainimarama's interim government [ [http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=72456 "Arbour upsets Shameem"] , Amelia Vunileba, "Fiji Times", October 17, 2007] .

External links

* [http://www.humanrights.org.fj/ Fiji Human Rights Commission official website]

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Human rights commission — A Human Rights Commission is a body set up to investigate, promote and/or protect human rights. The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as national human rights institutions or (usually… …   Wikipedia

  • National human rights institutions — (NHRIs) are administrative bodies set up in to protect or monitor human rights in a given country. The growth of such bodies has been encouraged by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) which has provided… …   Wikipedia

  • Fiji Law Society — The Fiji Law Society is the official body that registers and regulates the activity of all lawyers in Fiji. Devanesh Sharma was elected to replace Graeme Leung as President of the Fiji Law Society on 9 September 2006, and as such he holds… …   Wikipedia

  • Fiji — /fee jee/, n. 1. an independent archipelago of some 800 islands in the S Pacific, N of New Zealand, composed of the Fiji Islands and a smaller group to the NW: formerly a British colony, now a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. 792,441; 7040… …   Universalium

  • Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit Court Martial, Fiji — Fiji This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Fiji Government …   Wikipedia

  • Yellow Ribbon campaign (Fiji) — Most Fijian politicians outside of the government have come out against the legislation to establish a Commission with the power, subject to presidential approval, to pardon perpetrators and compensate victims of the coup d état against the… …   Wikipedia

  • Blue Ribbon campaign (Fiji) — The Blue Ribbon campaign was the name for the campaign promoting support for the controversial legislation introduced by the Fijian Government in 2005 to establish a Reconciliation and Unity Commission. The name specifically comes from the blue… …   Wikipedia

  • Reconciliation and Unity Commission — The Reconciliation and Unity Commission is a proposed government body to be set up if the Reconciliation, Tolerance, and Unity Bill, which was introduced into the Fijian Parliament on May 4 2005, is passed. The legislation proposes to empower the …   Wikipedia

  • List of Fiji-related articles — NOTOC Articles (arranged alphabetically) about people, places, things, and concepts related to or originating from Fiji, include: 0 9 2007 Colonial Cup A Rodney ACRAMAN Adi Adi Da James AH KOY Air Fiji Air Pacific Air Pacific destinations Ahmed… …   Wikipedia

  • Fiji — For other uses, see Fiji (disambiguation). Republic of Fiji Matanitu ko Viti  (Fijian) Fijī Ganarājya फ़िजी गणराज्य   (Fiji Hindi) …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”