Thank You Mr Vice President,

We commend Fiji’s engagement with the UPR process.

We welcome Fiji’s establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to promote healing, truth telling and national unity. The UK is pleased to have provided legal and communications assistance to support these efforts.

The UK recognises the emphasis Fiji places on freedom of expression and assembly. We encourage Fiji to go further, to ensure a safe civic space for all Fijians to challenge and protest, strengthening democratic accountability. 

We welcome Fiji’s openness to engage with the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers and hope they will be able to visit soon.

We also welcome Fiji’s commitment to countering gender-based and domestic violence. Fiji’s Action Plan and the police’s enhanced policies in this regard are reassuring. We encourage Fiji to continue monitoring this issue and to ensure the process delivers from investigation through to sentencing.

We note the measures in place to counter human-trafficking, and encourage Fiji to build on these, in particular to ensure an effective enforcement mechanism.

We look forward to Fiji’s continued progress through subsequent reviews.

Thank you.