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Pacific Islands Address Human Rights Issues

10 June 2004

Hanif Vally, Head of the Secretariat's Human Rights Unit
"It is particularly gratifying that the Pacific Islands Forum leaders in April this year agreed to encourage the development of national human rights machinery in the region"
Pacific governments, national human rights institutions and civil society representatives met in Suva, Fiji Islands, from 1 to 3 June 2004 to discuss human rights issues affecting the region's small island nations. The discussion is part of a Pacific Islands Human Rights Consultation titled 'Human Rights in the Pacific: Problems and Prospects'. The event brought together more than 60 participants from 15 Pacific countries.

Participants identified the most pressing national and regional human rights issues --  how the human rights agenda is changing in response to the changing global environment, and how civil society, government, regional organisations and international agencies could work better together to respond to these challenges.

The consultation was organised by the Human Rights Unit of the Commonwealth Secretariat, Asia-Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the United Nations Development Programme. The event was hosted by the Fiji Human Rights Commission with support from the New Zealand Human Rights Commission.

It continues a series of consultations which have been held in Sri Lanka for Commonwealth Asian countries and in Jamaica for Commonwealth Caribbean countries, bringing together human rights defenders from both governments and civil society in endeavouring to achieve their joint aim of promoting and protecting human rights.

The Head of the Secretariat's Human Rights Unit, Hanif Vally, said, "It is particularly gratifying that the Pacific Islands Forum leaders in April this year agreed to encourage the development of national human rights machinery in the region. This echoes the Commonwealth Expert Group on Development and Democracy's recommendation that the establishment of national human rights institutions are an essential component of poverty alleviation. The Human Rights Unit will continue to facilitate this process in partnership with governments and human rights activists from civil society."

Governments of the region represented at the consultation included Australia, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Non-governmental organisations from these countries also attended the event including representatives from Cook Islands.

 

CNIS - the Commonwealth News and Information Service Issue 187      9 June 2004

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