Updated: 7:00am – Fiji has sufficient institutions and laws in place to deal with complaints that Fiji is not fulfilling its obligation under the conventions and other human rights laws.
This was highlighted by Director of Public Prosecutions, Christopher Pryde while making a submission to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence on the ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
He also stated that the office of the DPP recommends the rectification of the two conventions but is against making an Article 41 declaration and advices against adopting the optional protocols.
Pryde says that if the decision is made to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Fiji will have to consider whether it will make an Article 41 declaration.
He says that an Article 41 declaration provides that the UN Human Rights Committee may receive and consider communications to the effect that a state party claims that another state party is not fulling its obligations under the convention.
Pryde says it must be understood this provision may allow other states who have deposited Article 41 declarations themselves to file communications or essential complaints to the UN Human Rights Committee but it will also allow Fiji to make such communications itself against other States that have made an Article 41 declaration.
He says the relevant provision in this regard would be Article 41 and 42 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Pryde says that Fiji has adequate redress mechanism to deal with complaints that an individual’s human rights have been breached either through the constitutional redress provision of the 2013 Constitution or with the assistance of the Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission.
He says there are currently matters before Fiji’s Courts that are dealing with a number human rights law claims.
-Fiji Village
Featured image: Director of Public Prosecutions, Christopher Pryde
