High-level representatives from Fiji’s police, military, prison authorities, government agencies, the medical profession and academia have taken part in a two-day national dialogue to discuss ways to strengthen laws, policies and practices to prevent torture and ill-treatment.
The national dialogue, held in Suva, Fiji, from 27-28 November, was co-hosted by the APT, the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions and the Fiji Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission (FHRADC).
Fiji ratified the UN Convention against Torture in 2016 but has yet to submit its first national report to the UN Committee against Torture. Significant gaps remain in laws, policies and procedures to prevent torture.
The discussion, facilitated by former APT Secretary General Mark Thomson, was an opportunity for participants to better understand the different dimensions of torture prevention and to work together to identify gaps in national laws, practices and oversight, with a view to making progress in the future.
Key outcomes from the national dialogue included:
- Identifying the need to draft and enact a specific law criminalising torture
- Willingness to incorporate the Méndez Principles on Effective Interviewing in existing policy and practice, building on significant work already done in relation to first hours procedures and PEACE-model interviewing
- Interest to move ahead with ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT) and, in the interim, designating a prevention of torture officer within the FHRADC to develop national prevention capacities.
As part of the programme, the APT and the FHRADC held separate meetings with Fiji’s Attorney General and with high-level representatives of the police and the corrections department.
The FHRADC – with the recent appointment of Loukinikini Lewaravu as Director and under the leadership of Chairperson Pravesh Sharma - is taking this opportunity to strengthen relationships to promote practical, long-term change in this crucial area of human rights protection.
