After a lapse of 19 years, the Fiji Human Rights and Anti Discrimination Commission is once again hosting the 27-member Asia Pacific Forum.
Fiji was suspended in 2007 from the forum — made up of national human rights institutions — following the Bainimarama-led coup.
Commission director Loukinikini Lewaravu said hosting the 30th Asia Pacific Forum Annual General Meeting where regional heads of national human rights institutions gathered is a milestone achievement for Fiji.
She said this opportunity also provided a platform for the commission to push for Fiji’s A accreditation under the United Nations Paris Principles on Human Rights, which the commission was yet to fully comply with.
“Today marks only the second time that the Fiji Human Rights Commission has hosted the annual general meeting, the first time we hosted was in 2006,” she said.
“So it’s a milestone for the human rights commission to bring this meeting back to Fiji.
