(Geneva, 8 March 2016): Fiji’s Ambassador to the UN in Geneva today presented recent developments in law and in policy in relation to the protection of rights of persons in relation to torture at the Interactive Debate on the Report of the Special Rapporteur on Torture at the Human Rights Council.
Every year at the Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur on Torture provides a comprehensive report on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, especially in the context of the rights of vulnerable groups.
“This week, four members of the legal profession in Fiji are visiting Geneva, and in collaboration with the Human Rights Commission of the Geneva Bar Association, and the Association for the Prevention of Torture, are attending a two day workshop with Swiss criminal justice professionals, to consider introducing in Fiji, the First Hour procedure for suspects who are in police custody and are about to be interrogated,” said Ambassador Nazhat Shameem Khan, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Fiji to the UN in Geneva.
“The project hopes to implement a scheme which ensures the substantive right to legal representation of all persons in detention, within the first hour of the commencement of detention. It envisages implementation of the project through a partnership of the Fijian Legal Aid Commission and the Fiji Law Society,” she said. As part of their visit, the four Fijian lawyers attended the session of the Human Rights Council where the Special Rapporteur’s report was presented and discussed.
Last week Fiji signed the United Nations Convention against Torture. Parliament has already approved ratification of UNCAT. Ambassador Khan recognised that much work is required domestically to review police procedures at police stations and during informal arrests and detentions. Work is also required to train police officers, lawyers, prosecutors and judges on the rights of persons in custody, including those with disabilities, of various sexual orientations, children and women and girls.
“Such work is imperative given the passing of the Fiji’s Constitution in 2013, which guarantees ICCPR and European Court of Human Rights protections for persons in police custody, and given Fiji’s accession to the United Nations Convention against Torture,” said Ambassador Khan in her statement.