A new cycle of reviews of the United Nations Human Rights Treaty Body in Fiji is about to begin with Fiji taking a strong position that it covers national policies.
Speaking at the UN Human Rights Treaty Body Follow-up Review Pilot for Vanuatu, Tonga and Fiji in Nadi yesterday, Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection Lynda Tabuya said this would ensure their voices are heard.
“With the treaty body moving into a new cycle of reviews, it is imperative that regional and national engagement by the committees be built into these new modalities including the planned mid-term reviews,” Ms Tabuya said.
“Fiji is taking a strong position on this to ensure that the new treaty body system reflects the needs of the Pacific and enables Pacific voices to be heard.
“Supporting and hosting this event is part of that strategy as was our call to host a regional session of the CEDAW committee in the Pacific in 2025 and get more Pacific Island representatives elected to the treaty body committees of which both proposals were unanimously endorsed by the region at the recent Pacific Islands Forum Women Leaders meeting.”
Ms Tabuya said the three-day discussions provided a unique opportunity to engage with different body committee members on intersecting priority human rights issues.
“It is an opportunity for us to learn from each other and from the experts and for the voices of non-state actors and rights holders to be heard. We hope that it helps each country to achieve accelerated implementation of the treaties and empowers people across the Pacific to become agents for change.”
The discussion is the third and final pilot meeting which began at the end of the UN Human Rights meetings in Sierra Leone in 2021 and Grenada in 2022. Fiji, Tonga and Vanuatu would take part in the pilot project.
