Corporate report

Fiji - country of concern: latest update 31 December 2014

Updated 21 January 2015

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

Any incidents or events taking place after 31 December 2014 will be covered in future reports.

0.1 Latest Update: 31 December 2014

There has been continued progress on democracy in the last three months. Parliament is now fully operational. Fiji’s human rights record was examined during the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). An International Labour Organization (ILO) - Direct Contacts Mission visited Fiji in October to examine allegations of abuses of workers’ rights.

Fiji’s newly elected parliament opened on 6 October and sat for 18 days between October and December. The Auditor General’s reports from 2006–13 were tabled in parliament on 17 October. A public accounts committee, responsible for scrutinising the reports, has begun its work.

The joint report by the Fiji Electoral Commission and Supervisor of Elections was published on 17 December 2014.The report concluded that the election had been a significant milestone in Fiji’s electoral history. The final version of the Multinational Observer Group’s report has yet to be published.

Fiji’s suspension from the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) was lifted on 22 October. However, the government has said that Fiji will not re-join the PIF unless it is reformed. Measures under Article 96 of the Cotonou agreement which partially suspended EU development assistance to Fiji will lapse in March 2015 and not be renewed, enabling the resumption of full development cooperation.

Minister for the Pacific, Hugo Swire, met Prime Minister Bainimarama in London on 17 November. Mr Swire welcomed Fiji’s general election and re-admittance to the Commonwealth.

Fiji’s human rights record was examined for the second time by the UN Human Rights Council’s UPR Working Group on 29 October. The Fijian delegation to the UPR was led by the Attorney General and Minister for Justice, and included the Chief Justice, Director of Public Prosecution, and Chair of the Media Industry Development Authority. Fiji received 137 recommendations, accepted 98 (of which they said 12 had already been or were being implemented) and agreed to respond to the 39 outstanding recommendations by March 2015.

The UK made two recommendations: to ensure all alleged cases of human rights violations by security forces are investigated urgently and transparently, with those held responsible brought to trial swiftly; and to review and amend or repeal as necessary all decrees limiting freedom of expression and association, particularly the Media, Essential National Industries and Public Order Decrees. The first recommendation was accepted, and Fiji will review the second.

During the UPR, Fiji committed to removing all reference to the death penalty from its military code in early 2015, and to reviving the Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission.

An ILO Direct Contacts Mission visited Fiji from 7-11 October to examine outstanding allegations of workers’ rights abuses, including restrictions on freedom of association and the right to organise. The mission met trade unions, employers and the government. A tripartite Memorandum of Understanding on the future of labour relations in Fiji was signed by workers’ and employers’ representatives, but not by the Ministry of Labour. The ministry is now working on an alternative text. By allowing the mission to visit, Fiji avoided an ILO Commission of Inquiry.

The ILO Governing Body discussed Fiji during its 322nd session in November, and agreed to defer a decision on Fiji until March 2015. Fiji’s Minister for Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations has committed to reviewing all of Fiji’s labour laws, working closely with the ILO.

At the end of September, police investigated an allegation that a man had been severely beaten by police and military officers after he sent a series of angry text messages to Prime Minister Bainimarama.

Police investigations continue into the death in custody of Vilikesa Soko in August. Four police officers remain suspended following an inquiry into alleged police brutality.

Fiji’s delegation to the UPR acknowledged that police training on domestic violence and interrogations was needed, and explained the steps that were being taken to address concerns about police brutality and modernise police procedures.

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