THE wrong application of human rights laws by individuals is a challenge that is often faced in Fiji, says Citizens’ Constitutional Forum CEO Sara Bulutani Mataitawakilai.
Mr Mataitawakilai said there was a need for people to understand and accept the meaning of human rights.
“They should accept and understand what human rights is all about, they should try their best,” he said.
While commemorating the annual Human Rights Day at Suva’s Ratu Sukuna Park yesterday, Mr Mataitawakilai said it was encouraging to see women involved in the fight for human rights advocacy.
“We fight and we are standing up for the voiceless and we are also standing up for those who are out there and cannot join us here today (yesterday).”
He said it was pivotal to practise human rights daily.
“It is not just of the 10th of December, but it should be a daily routine of human rights defenders.
“Human rights defenders are in many forms, it can be an activist, can be those who are fighting for women and even those fighting for the environment, that will in any way relate to the livelihood and the protection of fellow human beings.”
