FIJI’S anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts remain inadequate, with corruption, limited resources and poor co-ordination hampering investigations and prosecutions, according to the US State Department’s 2026 Trafficking in Persons Report.
The report states that authorities investigated six trafficking cases during the reporting period — three involving labour trafficking, two sex trafficking and one unspecified case.
Two prosecutions were initiated, the first trafficking prosecutions since 2022, but courts recorded no trafficking convictions for the third consecutive year.
“Corruption and official complicity in trafficking crimes remained significant concerns, inhibiting law enforcement action during the year,” the report states.
While investigations into alleged official complicity continued, the report said authorities did not prosecute or convict any allegedly complicit officials.
It also highlighted the continuing investigation into trafficking allegations involving members of the Grace Road Group, where the report said workers had experienced “significant indicators of forced labour”.
“Despite public reporting on suspected forced labour in this organisation since at least 2018, the government has never prosecuted or convicted any offenders associated with the allegations,” the report states.
The report also raised concerns about Fiji’s response to INTERPOL red notices involving leaders of the organisation and an investigation into the alleged improper issuance of a Fijian passport to the child of one of its leaders.
Operational weaknesses were also identified within the Fiji Police Force’s Human Trafficking Unit.
The report said officers were frequently assigned non-trafficking cases, the unit lacked authority to conduct undercover operations and insufficient dedicated funding and resources affected its ability to investigate cases.
“Authorities did not proactively investigate trafficking cases,” the report states.
It also found insufficient communication between police and prosecutors had impaired the pursuit of trafficking cases, while inadequate victim and witness support and lengthy court proceedings affected prosecutorial success.
The report said weaknesses in Fiji’s legislation also remained, with all forms of labour trafficking not criminalised under the Crimes Act.
A review of Fiji’s anti-trafficking laws, which began in 2023 with support from an international organisation, remained ongoing at the end of the reporting period.
