On December 13th 2006 I was appointed Acting Ombudsman and, ex-officio, Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission, by the Acting President, Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama. The position of Ombudsman and HRC Chair had been vacant since Mr. Walter Rigamoto resigned in July 2006.

This meant that no official meetings of the Commission could be held from July 2006 because there is no quorum without the Chair. This put the Commission at a disadvantage as no decisions could be made.

However, despite the political situation, the Commission has been operating according to its mandate and fulfilling its obligations to the people of Fiji.

It has received a budget cut like other statutory authorities and is operating with fewer staff since the European Union contract ended in March 2007. However this seems not to have affected the work of the Commission and with some revision of the Strategic and Corporate Plans, staff have managed to continue with the work of the Commission without any effect on delivery of services.

There are some obvious difficulties that the Commission will face in the months ahead but I am confident that we will be able to meet these challenges head on. The people of Fiji deserve nothing less.

The Acting Ombudsman Mr Rodney Acraman pose with staff

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