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Press Release - March, 2001
Elections
The Fiji Human Rights Commission is planning to provide a forum to enable constructive dialogue on race relations to take place, the Chairperson of the Fiji Human Rights Commission, Justice Sailosi W Kepa said today. Justice Kepa made this statement to mark the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which is today March 21st.
Justice Kepa said that the Commission had a primary responsibility to undertake this task under the 1997 Constitution. Section 42 (2) (a) of the Constitution provides the Commission with the mandate to educate the public about the nature and content of the Bill of Rights and about the responsibilities of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and other organs of the United Nations General Assembly for promoting respect for human rights. Section 7 (1) (h) of Fiji's Human Rights Commission Act similarly provides the Commission with powers and duties to advise Government on its reporting obligations and on the content of the reports.
Regular reports to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination were necessary to show that a state was willing to respect its obligations to the international community in the best interests of its citizens and of the state itself, Justice Kepa said. This was the responsibility of the State since Fiji had ratified the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) in 1973.
The Commission was planning a host of activities to contribute to international efforts leading up to the World Conference Against Racism which will be held in August/September in Durban South Africa. This was particularly relevant in view of the problems facing Fiji in the past year, he said. The Commission was committed to taking a leading role in fostering constructive dialogue on race relations in Fiji and was placing emphasis on national and regional discussions and educational programmes. It was also developing a 'best practices' model for dealing with race relations issues in Fiji, using a multi-media approach, Justice Kepa said.
He said that Human Rights Commissions the world over had been identified as the appropriate institution to help combat racial discrimination and intolerance. As a member of the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions, the Fiji Commission was particularly committed to the guidelines developed by the Forum in combating racism and related intolerance in accordance with international standards. Justice Kepa said that there was no excuse for racial antagonism or state-sponsored racism of any kind, and one of the tasks of the Commission in 2001 would be to examine existing administrative and legal redress mechanisms and undertake research and policy development in order to make recommendations to Government on the implementation of 'best practices' mechanisms.
As part of its mandate the Commission would also monitor government's reporting obligations under CERD, advocate that national laws conform to CERD and ensure that appropriate information is made available to the relevant UN committees. I would also urge Government to pay particular attention to the combination of race with other multiple disadvantages such as gender, age, sexuality, the rights of non-citizens and migrants, indigenous populations and economic status, Justice Kepa said.