The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) has called on Fiji to intensify efforts to raise awareness among women, particularly those in vulnerable groups, about their human rights and the legal remedies available when those rights are violated.
In its final findings on Fiji released on Monday, the committee emphasised the need to empower rural women, iTaukei women, older women, women with disabilities, and lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and intersex women with knowledge of their rights under UN conventions.
CEDAW highlighted the importance of ensuring that women across Fiji are informed about their protections under international human rights frameworks and the legal avenues open to them in cases of violations.
The committee urged Fijian authorities to prioritise awareness campaigns tailored to these marginalised groups to address systemic gaps in access to justice.
The committee also recommended strengthening the capacity of the Fiji Human Rights Task Force, encouraging greater collaboration with civil society organisations dedicated to promoting women’s rights and gender equality.
This partnership is seen as critical to advancing the implementation of CEDAW’s recommendations and fostering a more inclusive approach to human rights advocacy in Fiji.
However, CEDAW expressed concern over Fiji’s delay in acceding to the Optional Protocol to the Convention, a mechanism that enhances protections for women’s rights and strengthens monitoring procedures.
“Despite Fiji accepting recommendations during its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) cycles in 2010, 2014, and 2018, the State cited resource and capacity constraints during its 2025 UPR and dialogue with CEDAW, deferring accession to focus on completing pending reports to human rights treaty bodies,” said CEDAW.
“Recalling that the Optional Protocol provides for increased protection of women’s human rights and additional procedures that strengthen monitoring of those rights, the committee recommends that the State party accede, as soon as possible, to the Optional Protocol to the Convention.”
The recommendations come as part of CEDAW’s ongoing efforts to ensure Fiji aligns its national policies with international standards to eliminate discrimination against women.
