Fiji Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission Chair Pravesh Sharma

The Fiji Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission stresses the importance of having a boost to its capacity.

Chair Pravesh Sharma says that the commission is facing issues in solving cases as they do not have enough staff.

Sharma adds there has been an increase in the cases that the commission is managing, and as a result, there is a need for more complaint officers.

“The more we have, the more complaints we can receive. Recently, over the last few years, we’ve received 800 complaints. So that’s quite a lot of complaints. But we have three officers dealing with them. So capacity is an issue for us, and like I said, we need more regional officers.”

He says that the commission is working with its partners to ensure that individuals human rights are protected.

“So we are a gateway for receiving complaints, some of which we deal with personally, our commission; there are others that other agencies are better supported to deal with, so we pass them on to them.”

By increasing its capacity, the Fiji Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission is looking at enhancing its ability to protect, promote, and uphold human rights more effectively, contributing to a more just and equitable society.