[File Photo]

Fiji Corrections Service Commissioner Dr. Jalesi Nakarawa stresses the challenges that corrections officers face in maintaining human rights, discipline, procedures, and processes within the organization.

While signing a partnership with the Fiji Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission, Nakarawa states that at times, they enforce rules and procedures on the inmates without considering their human rights.

He adds that the partnership symbolizes a shared vision between FCS and HRADC, where human rights are integral to all aspects of corrections management.

“But over time, education and experience have changed my outlook on the prisoners, who they are, and why they are there. So in fact, they are there as punishment, but we are not there to punish them again.”

Nakarawa says that the role of the corrections institutions is to ensure the provision of an environment where inmates feel safe, respected, and supported throughout their sentences.

He adds that the MOU with the FHRADC encapsulates a progressive approach to corrections, recognizing that while incarceration serves as punishment for crimes committed, it should not extend to further punitive measures or violations of basic human rights.