A weak national framework and limited funding for the Department of Women are holding back efforts to promote gender equality in Fiji, the UN CEDAW Committee has warned.
CEDAW has, however, acknowledged Fiji’s efforts to promote gender equality, including the development of the Fiji Country Gender Assessment in 2023 and the ongoing Gender Transformative Institutional Capacity Building Program for 2025-2030.
CEDAW noted that the Department of Women lacks sufficient financial and institutional capacity to advance the rights of women and girls.
Additionally, the committee raised concerns about the scarcity of gender-disaggregated data and the inconsistent use of gender-responsive budgeting across government ministries, which limits the transparency and impact of gender policies.
“Fiji must provide the department with adequate human, technical, and financial resources to effectively coordinate and implement gender policies nationwide,” said CEDAW.
“The State should finalise the Gender Transformative Institutional Capacity Building Program for 2025-2030 and adopt a comprehensive national strategy on gender equality.”
“This strategy should incorporate systematic gender assessments across all legislative, policy, and programmatic frameworks, supported by gender-disaggregated data collection to address the needs of marginalised women, including rural, iTaukei, older, disabled, and lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and intersex women.”
Fiji has been told to integrate gender-responsive budgeting into all chapters of the State budget, with robust monitoring and accountability mechanisms to ensure effective implementation across all sectors and government levels.
