FIJI 2020 HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Fiji is a constitutional republic. In 2018 the country held general elections, which

international observers deemed free, transparent, and credible. Josaia Voreqe

(Frank) Bainimarama’s Fiji First party won 27 of 51 seats in parliament, and he

began a second four-year term as prime minister.

Significant human rights issues included: cases of cruel, inhuman, or degrading

treatment, in some cases leading to death; restrictions on free expression, such as

substantial interference with the right of peaceful assembly; and trafficking in

persons.

The government investigated some security force officials who committed abuses

and prosecuted or punished officials who committed abuses elsewhere in the

government; however, impunity was a problem in cases with political implications.

murdered one remand prisoner and assaulted two others. The officers were

arrested and charged; on September 15, a court granted the officers bail. As of

year’s end, the trial had not yet opened.

b. Disappearance

There were no reports of disappearances by or on behalf of government authorities.

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c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or

The constitution and law prohibit torture, forced medical treatment, and degrading

treatment or punishment. The Public Order Act (POA, see section 1.d.), however,

authorizes the government to use whatever force it deems necessary to enforce

public order. There were reports security forces abused persons.

The police Ethical Standards Unit is responsible for investigating complaints of

In April, four police officers allegedly assaulted a 32-year-old man and threw him

off a bridge in Naqia village on Tailevu. The man allegedly broke COVID-19

curfew rules. The four were suspended from work, arrested, charged, and granted

bail at a June court hearing. In August, the four, together with a fifth officer

charged with obstruction of justice, appeared in court for plea hearings.

In September authorities investigated assault allegations by two inmates who

claimed corrections officers assaulted them during a strip search and took pictures

of them while the inmates were naked. The investigation continued as of

November.

actions taken relating to the 2000 suppression of a mutiny at military headquarters,

the 2006 coup, and the 2009 abrogation of the 1997 constitution.

A 2016 Amnesty International report concluded that there is no independent

oversight mechanism for the security forces. In brief, the legal framework means

that no investigation can be initiated or disciplinary action taken against a police

officer without the consent or approval of the police commissioner. Authorized

investigations were usually conducted by the Internal Affairs Unit, which reports

to the police commissioner, who decides the outcome of the complaint.

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Information about the number of complaints, investigatory findings, and

disciplinary action taken is not publicly available.

Slow judicial processes contribute to an impression of impunity, especially in

police abuse cases. For example, trials have yet to begin for the alleged July 2019

police beating of Pelasio Tamanikoula or for the alleged November 2019 police

beating of prisoner Manasa Rayasidamu, The three officers accused in the Manasa

Rayasidamu case were suspended and brought to court on November 22 and

charged with causing grievous harm. Other unresolved cases date back as far as

Prison and Detention Center Conditions

The national prison system remained overcrowded, with deteriorating

infrastructure and complaints about inadequate essential services.

Physical Conditions: Prisons were overcrowded. In September 2018, according to

an Asian and Pacific Conference of Correctional Administrators report, prisons in

the country had a capacity of 1,916 and a population of 2,643. There were

insufficient beds, inadequate sanitation, and a shortage of other necessities. Some

Administration: Prisoners may submit complaints to the FHRADC or judicial

authorities, which investigated several complaints during the year. Although the

law prohibits authorities from reviewing, censoring, or seizing prisoner letters to

the judiciary and the commission, authorities routinely reviewed such letters and,

in most cases, seized them. Authorities did not investigate or document credible

allegations of inhumane conditions in a publicly accessible manner.

Detainees have the right to observe their religion but may not change religions or

belief without consultation with prison staff.

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Independent Monitoring: The Fiji Red Cross and other NGOs visited official

visits (with restrictions aligned to COVID-19 guidelines) without third parties

present.

Improvements: In October the Corrections Services completed the new Lautoka

Corrections Center, which contained facilities designed to cater to and house

“elderly, disabled, and bedridden prisoners.”

d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention

these requirements. The law details procedures for lawful arrest. The minister of

defense and national security must authorize detention without charge exceeding

48 hours.

The POA allows authorities to suspend normal due process protections where

“necessary to enforce public order.” Persons detained under the provisions of the

POA can be held for up to 16 days without being charged, and the POA explicitly

disallows any judicial recourse (including habeas corpus) for harms suffered when

the government is acting under its provisions. There are also provisions that allow

for warrantless searches, restriction of movement (specifically international travel,

Arrest Procedures and Treatment of Detainees

The constitution provides that detained persons be charged and brought to court

within 48 hours of arrest or as soon as practicable thereafter, and that right was

generally respected. Police officers may arrest persons without a warrant.

Police also conduct arrests in response to warrants issued by magistrates and

judges. Persons held under the POA must be charged or released after 16 days.

There is no legal requirement to bring to court persons detained under provisions

of the POA for judicial review of the grounds for their detention, unless authorities

charge them with an offense.

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The law provides for bail. Under the law both police and the courts may grant bail.

may object, and often did so in cases where the accused was appealing a conviction

or had previously breached bail conditions. An individual must apply for bail by a

motion and affidavit that require the services of a lawyer.

Authorities generally allowed detainees prompt access to counsel and family

members. The Legal Aid Commission provided counsel to some indigent

Pretrial Detention: Pretrial detainees made up 24 percent of the prison population,

which resulted from a continuing pattern of courts refusing bail and resource

shortages. A shortage of prosecutors and judges contributed to slow processing of

cases. Consequently, some defendants faced lengthy pretrial detention.

e. Denial of Fair Public Trial

The constitution provides for an independent judiciary, but the judiciary was

subject to intimidation.

under the public health law. There were credible claims that Acting Chief Justice

Kumar acted in response to statements from the attorney general criticizing

Turaga’s ruling.

On May 19, Acting Chief Justice Kumar overturned a high court ruling by Justice

Salesi Temo that dismissed convictions of civilians caught violating the national

curfew, and directed magistrates not to follow Temo’s ruling.

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The president appoints or removes from office the judges of the Supreme Court,

justices of appeal, and judges of the high court on the recommendation of the

commission, following consultations with the attorney general, may appoint

magistrates, masters of the high court, the chief registrar, and other judicial

officers. The constitution and law provide for a variety of restrictions on the

jurisdiction of the courts. For example, the courts may not hear challenges to

government decisions on judicial restructuring, terms and conditions of

remuneration for the judiciary, and terminated court cases. Various other decrees

generally enforced this right.

Defendants are generally presumed innocent; they may not be compelled to testify

or confess guilt. They may present witnesses and evidence on their own behalf and

confront witnesses against them. Defendants have the right to be informed

promptly and in detail of the charges against them and be present at their trial, with

free interpretation if necessary, through all appeals. Authorities also must accord

them adequate time and facilities to prepare a defense. Defendants have the right

to counsel, but some reportedly were unaware of their rights when detained or

interviewed and, therefore, did not ask for legal counsel. The Legal Aid

There were no reports of political prisoners or detainees.

Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies

Individuals and organizations may seek civil remedies for human rights violations

through domestic courts.

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f. Arbitrary or Unlawful Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or

The constitution prohibits such actions, but the POA permits military personnel to

search persons and premises without a warrant from a court and to take

photographs, fingerprints, and measurements of any person. Police and military

officers also may enter private premises to break up any meeting considered

unlawful. In September, for example, police broke up a meeting held by the then

opposition leader Sitiveni Rabuka in a private residence in Rakiraki.

Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

grants the government authority to restrict these rights for a broad array of reasons.

These include preventing hate speech and insurrection; maintaining national

security, public order, public safety, public morality, public health, and the orderly

conduct of elections; protecting the reputation, privacy, dignity, and rights of other

persons; enforcing media standards; and regulating the conduct of media

organizations. The POA also gives the government power to detain persons on

suspicion of “endangering public safety” and to “preserve the peace.” The

authorities continued to use broad provisions in this law to restrict freedom of

expression.

thrown a man off a bridge in Naqia village (see section 1.c.). He was quickly

released, and the public prosecutions office announced there was insufficient

evidence to charge Tikoduadua.

Freedom of Press and Media, Including Online Media: Independent media were

somewhat active; however, journalists practiced self-censorship on sensitive

political or communal topics because of restrictions in the law and monitoring by

the Media Industry Development Authority. The law on media prohibits

“irresponsible reporting” and provides for government censorship of media. The

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opposition and other critics of the government accused the government of using

state power to silence critics.

Unlike in previous years, there were no known cases of legal action directed at

media.

Violence and Harassment: Unlike in previous years, there were no known cases of

harassment directed at media.

must be citizens and permanently reside in the country. The Media Industry

Development Authority is responsible for enforcing these provisions and has the

power to investigate media outlets for alleged violations and to search facilities and

seize equipment.

A media code of ethics established in law requires that media publish and

television broadcast balanced material. It obligates media to give any individual or

organization an opportunity to reply to comments or provide materials for

By law some of these conditions also apply to the internet.

In July lawyer Aman Ravindra Singh, sued for defamation by the prime minister

and attorney general in 2018, was ordered to pay damages of almost Fiji $150,000

allegations about the prime minister’s and attorney general’s involvement in the

2000 coup.

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opposition critics with posting defamatory remarks on social media, remained

Fiji Broadcasting Corporation Limited, against opposition member of parliament

Niko Nawaikula for defamatory comments against it on social media. The court

also denied the broadcaster’s request for a permanent injunction restricting

Nawaikula from further posting, circulating, or distributing statements about it or

private online communications without legal authority.

The law on online safety penalizes offenders with a substantial maximum fine and

a maximum five years’ imprisonment for posting an electronic communication that

causes harm to a person. Critics, including rights groups and youth and women’s

organizations, maintain the law is a potential Trojan horse for internet censorship

and punishment of online dissent.

After enacting the law in 2018, the government filed several defamation lawsuits

(although none during the year) against political opponents for posting comments

COVID-19. Tabuya was arrested on March 26 for Facebook posts about COVID-

19 that allegedly breached the POA, as “malicious writings of false news or reports

tending to create or foster public alarm and anxiety.” Tabuya was detained for four

days and appeared in court on March 30 charged with one count of a malicious act

contrary to the POA. The court ordered that she surrender travel documents, report

weekly to a local police station, and deactivate her Facebook account for the

duration of her court case. The case ended on August 17 when the prosecution

withdrew the charges against her.

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Discrimination: Women have full rights of inheritance and property ownership by

law, but local authorities often excluded them from the decision-making process on

of all land. Women have the right to a share in the distribution of indigenous land-

lease proceeds, but authorities seldom recognized this right. Women have the

same rights and status as men under family law and in the judicial system.

Nonetheless, women and children had difficulty obtaining protection orders, and

police enforcement of them, in domestic violence cases.

Birth Registration: Citizenship is derived both from birth within the country and

through one’s parents. Parents generally registered births promptly.

Education: Education is compulsory until age 15, but the law does not provide for

free education. The government nonetheless as a matter of policy provides for free

education, although students must pay nontuition costs, such as for uniforms.

Child Abuse: Corporal punishment was common in schools, despite a Ministry of

Education policy forbidding it in the classroom. Increasing urbanization,

overcrowding, and the breakdown of traditional community and extended family

Child, Early, and Forced Marriage: The legal minimum age for marriage is 18.

Some NGOs reported that, especially in rural areas, girls often married before 18,

preventing them from completing their secondary school education. In ethnic

Fijian villages, pregnant girls younger than 18 could live as common-law wives

with the child’s father after the man presented a traditional apology to the girl’s

family, thereby avoiding the filing of a complaint with police by the girl’s family.

The girls frequently married the fathers as soon as legally permissible.

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Sexual Exploitation of Children: Commercial sexual exploitation of children

continued. It is an offense for any person to buy or hire a child younger than age

punishable by a maximum 12 years’ imprisonment. No prosecutions or

convictions for trafficking of children occurred.

It is an offense for a householder or innkeeper to allow commercial sexual

exploitation of children on his or her premises. There were no known prosecutions

or convictions for such offenses.

claimed to have received reports of children exploited in organized prostitution,

including being advertised online.

The minimum age for consensual sex is 16. The court of appeals has ruled that 10

years is the minimum appropriate sentence for child rape, but police often charged

defendants with “defilement” rather than rape because defilement was easier to

prove in court. Defilement or unlawful carnal knowledge of a child younger than

age 13 has a maximum penalty of life imprisonment; the maximum penalty for

defilement of a child ages 13 to 15, or of a person with intellectual disabilities, is

10 years’ imprisonment.

The law requires mandatory reporting to police by teachers, health-care, and social

welfare workers of any incident of child abuse.

International Child Abductions: The country is a party to the 1980 Hague

Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. See the

Department of State’s Annual Report on International Parental Child Abduction at

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/International-Parental-Child-

Abduction/for-providers/legal-reports-and-data/reported-cases.html/.

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Anti-Semitism

There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

See the Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report at

https://www.state.gov/trafficking-in-persons-report/.

Persons with Disabilities

right of persons with disabilities to reasonable access to all places, public transport,

and information, as well as the rights to use braille or sign language and to

reasonable access to accommodations, including materials and devices related to

the disability. The constitution, however, provides that the law may limit these

rights “as necessary,” and the law does not define “reasonable.” Public health

regulations provide penalties for noncompliance, but there was minimal enabling

legislation on accessibility, and there was little or no enforcement of laws

protecting persons with disabilities.

Building regulations require new public buildings to be accessible to all, but only a

communications for persons with disabilities, in particular the deaf and blind.

Parliament televised its sessions in sign language to improve access for the deaf.

There were a number of separate public schools offering primary education for

persons with physical, intellectual, and sensory disabilities; however, cost and

location limited access. Some students attended mainstream primary schools, and

the nongovernmental Early Intervention Center monitored them. Opportunities

were very limited for secondary school or higher education for persons with

disabilities.

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The law stipulates that the community, public health, and general health systems

supported such persons at home. Institutionalization of persons with more

significant mental disabilities was in a single, underfunded public facility in Suva.

The Fijian Elections Office continued to maintain a website accessible to the

disability community, including text-to-speech capability, large type, and an

inverted color scheme. The office implemented new procedures to facilitate the

Indo-Fijians 36 percent, and the remaining 6 percent was composed of Europeans,

Chinese, Rotumans, and other Pacific Islander communities. The government

publicly stated its opposition to policies that provide “paramountcy” to the interests

of ethnic Fijians and Rotumans, which it characterized as racist, and called for the

elimination of discriminatory laws and practices that favor one race over another.

Indo-Fijians dominated the commercial sector, ethnic Fijians the security forces.

Land tenure remained highly sensitive and politicized. Ethnic Fijians communally

held approximately 87 percent of all land; the government, 4 percent; and the

remainder was freehold land held by private individuals or companies. Most cash-

as the resource owners.

By law all ethnic Fijians are automatically registered upon birth into an official

register of native landowners, the Vola ni Kawa Bula. The register also verifies

access for those in it to indigenous communally owned lands and confirms

titleholders within indigenous communities.

Acts of Violence, Criminalization, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual

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The constitution prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation,

employment based on sexual orientation. Nevertheless, the FHRADC reported

complaints of discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or intersex

persons in employment, housing, access to health care, and other fields.

Section 7. Worker Rights

a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining

workers or firing a worker for union membership. The law prohibits employers

from using violence, intimidation, or stalking or hindering the work of an

employee who has exercised any legal right under the labor code.

The law limits who may be an officer of a trade union, prohibiting noncitizens, for

example, from serving as officers. The constitution prohibits union officers from

becoming members of parliament. The law also limits the ability of union officers

to form or join political parties and exercise other political rights.

All unions must register with the government, which has discretionary power to

requires that parties negotiate in good faith and outlines the basic requirements of

collective bargaining.

Unions may conduct secret strike ballots after giving 21 days’ notice to the

Registrar of Trade Unions, and the strike may begin after the registrar supervises a

secret ballot in which 50 percent of all members entitled to vote approve the strike.

Workers in essential services may strike but must also notify the Arbitration Court

and provide the category of workers who propose to strike, the starting date, and

location of the strike. The law designates “essential service and industries” to

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include corporations engaged in finance, telecommunications, public sector

employees, mining, transport, and the airline industry. The definition of essential

authorities, and local government authorities.

The law permits the minister of employment to declare a strike unlawful and refer

the dispute to the Arbitration Court. If authorities refer the matter to the court,

workers and strike leaders could face criminal charges if they persist in strike

action.

discrimination, unfair dismissal, sexual harassment, or certain other unfair labor

practices to the Ministry of Employment, Productivity, and Industrial Relations

(hereafter the employment ministry).

Relations between the government and the two trade union umbrella bodies, the

Fiji Trades Union Congress and the Fiji Islands Council of Trade Unions, remained

strained. In May 2019, police arrested several workers of the Water Authority of

Fiji for breaching the POA when they protested the firing of many employees.

Trades Union Congress general secretary Felix Anthony, the secretaries of the

Fijian Teachers Association and the nurses’ union, and an officer of the National

In previous years trade unions reported additional antiunion action, including

unilateral voiding of collective bargaining agreements with civil servants, lockouts

and threats of retaliation to prevent unions from voting on industrial action,

dismissal of union members, and a pattern of systematic harassment and

intimidation. There were no reports of such problems during the year, due in part

to COVID-19 restrictions.

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The constitution and law prohibit all forms of forced or compulsory labor.

The Office of Labor Inspectorate, police, and Department of Immigration are

responsible for enforcing the law, depending on the circumstances of the case. The

government did not effectively enforce the law. The law prescribes penalties that

were commensurate with those for analogous serious crimes such as kidnapping.

There were reports forced labor occurred, including by children (see section 7.c.).

c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment

The law prohibits all the worst forms of child labor. Education is compulsory until

age 15; the law specifies that children ages 13 to 15 may be employed on a daily

wage basis in nonindustrial “light” work not involving machinery, provided they

return to their parents or guardian every night. The law sets a limit of eight hours

per day on child labor but does not include a list of permissible activities. Children

ages 15 to 17 may work, but must have specified hours and rest breaks. They may

not be employed in hazardous occupations and activities, including those involving

child labor laws. The law provides for imprisonment, fines, or both, for companies

that violate these provisions. The employment ministry maintains a database on

child labor.

Poverty caused children to migrate to urban areas for work, increasing their

vulnerability to exploitation in work as casual laborers, often with no safeguards

against abuse or injury. Child labor continued in the informal sector and in

hazardous work, for example, as wheelbarrow boys and casual laborers. Children

engaged in hazardous work in agriculture and fishing. Commercial sexual

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exploitation of children occurred (see section 6, Children). Some children worked

in relatives’ homes and were vulnerable to involuntary domestic servitude or

school fees.

Also see the Department of Labor’s Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor

at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/findings.

d. Discrimination with Respect to Employment and Occupation

The law also stipulates that every employer pay male and female workers equal

pay for work of equal value. The law prohibits women working underground but

places no other legal limitations on the employment of women. Workers may file

legal complaints of sexual harassment in the workplace.

The government did not provide data on the enforcement of antidiscrimination

provisions. Penalties for employment discrimination include fines and

imprisonment and were commensurate with those for laws related to civil rights.

There was no official poverty-level income figure, but the minimum wage did not

typically provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. The

regulations stipulate all employers must display a written national minimum wage

notice in their workplace to inform employees of their rights.

The employment ministry’s Office of Labor Inspectorate is responsible for

enforcing the minimum wage, but the inspectorate lacked capacity to enforce the

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law effectively. The Employment Relations Tribunal and the Employment Court

adjudicate cases of violations of minimum wage orders. The law provides for 48

apply to managerial or executive workers. There is no legal limit for overtime

hours. Convictions for a breach of the minimum wage law result in a fine,

imprisonment, or both. Penalties are commensurate with those for similar crimes

such as fraud.

The government establishes appropriate workplace safety laws and regulations and

presence would prejudice the inspection, they may forgo this requirement.

Obstruction of an inspection can lead to a fine. Inspectors can suspend businesses

deemed to pose an immediate health or safety threat or risk. Penalties are

commensurate with those for similar crimes like negligence. Government

enforcement of safety standards suffered from a lack of trained personnel. Delays

in compensation hearings and rulings were common.

Although the law excludes mines from general workplace health and safety laws,

the director of mines is responsible for inspecting all mines to provide for the

health, safety, and welfare of employees. The Employment Relations Tribunal and

shipping, worked excessive hours.

There were no statistics available on the frequency or type of workplace accidents.

The Ministry of Employment, however, reported in mid-February that it had 1,426

workplace injury and 247 workplace death cases pending compensation

adjudication. Media reported on workplace death cases. For example, in August,

Rajnesh Narayn died in an accident reported at the lumber mill where he had

worked for 20 years. In another case, a worker died when crushed while moving

equipment in a storage yard. The employer undertook to assist local investigators.