Whilst human rights are universal, issues which have impacted our islands disproportionately- such as rising sea levels and more frequent and intense disasters such as internal displacement- require solutions where Pacific voices cannot be excluded.
These sentiments were noted by Fiji’s Permanent Representatives to the United Nations, Ambassador Nazhat Shameem Khan, at the opening of the Least Developed Countries / Small Island Developing States Trust Fund regional workshop in Nadi.
“Fiji has been a strong advocate for the Trust Fund, because it is based on the premise that a Human Rights Council which does not represent all regions and all concerns does not fulfil the expectation that human rights are universal and relevant for everyone,” she said.
The Trust Fund has benefited Fijian diplomats through exposure and training at the Council and helped the country be better represented in Geneva.
Ambassador Khan noted that since 2014, when Fiji first opened its Mission in Geneva, the voices of SIDS and LDCs have helped to shape the debate in the Human Rights Council.
“There are cynics in the world who might question what the council does, and how effective it is. I am not one of them. I have sat in the Council day after day, in all its sessions, including the sessions of the Workshop Group of the Universal Periodic Review. I have seen how the debates have changed for the better. I see a greater appetite for discussions around the relationship between development and human rights and developing it, around LGBT rights, and around the important role of businesses and human rights.”
With the Council greatly influencing the domestic implementation of rights and with countries represented in Geneva participating in debates, the SIDS/LDCs Trust Fund has been central to ensuring the universal relevance of human rights.
The workshop includes His Excellency Coly Seck, who is the first President of the UN Human Rights Council to visit Fiji.