Fiji, a signatory to the nine core United Nations human rights treaties faces significant delays in fulfilling its reporting obligations.

This, according to Attorney-General Graham Leung.

These treaties, he says include the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention Against Torture, among others.

Leung says by ratifying these treaties, Fiji has committed to upholding international standards and regularly reporting to the respective Treaty bodies in Geneva.

The A-G states these bodies review Fiji’s compliance and make recommendations for improvements.

Fiji is required to consider these recommendations and provide updates on its progress.

In addition to treaty obligations, Leung says Fiji participates in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) conducted by the UN Human Rights Council.

This peer-review process evaluates the human rights records of member states every four or five years.

During its third UPR in November 2019, Fiji received 242 recommendations from 97 countries.

Fiji accepted 207 of these recommendations, reflecting its commitment to human rights improvements.

However, the A-G says delays in reporting are a concern.

Leung states that Fiji has missed several deadlines, including reports to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Committee Against Torture and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The latest overdue report , he adds is Fiji’s sixth report to the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which was due in March 2022.