Disagreements between students and teachers at school, issues between a couple or elderly family members, a neighbour in a wheelchair who cannot access certain places because of the staircase, etc. Do we view these as human rights issues?

Community members in Lami town are actively discussing issues affecting people in their community from a human rights perspective following a learning session with Community Human Rights Advocates.

The three-day training was attended by over 40 members from four communities around Lami who were eager to learn how best they could address their communities’ concerns, including the rights of the child, rights of persons with disabilities, and rights of the elderly, among others.

The training was provided by the Community Human Rights Advocates trainers, who are human rights experts and resource persons from civil society and government agencies, coordinated by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through the Fiji Access to Justice Project, funded by the European Union. The project supports impoverished and vulnerable groups in particular. It does so by empowering people to access legal rights and services, strengthening key justice institutions to deliver improved services and strengthening CSOs’ capacity to deliver access to justice accompaniment services. 

Collectively engaging with communities, the project partners – government justice institutions, Legal Aid Commission, Human Rights and Anti-discrimination Commission, and CSOs – have come together to provide training to community members to act as Community Human Rights Advocates.

Community Human Rights Advocates raised awareness of 423 (181 women and 242 men) community members in eight communities last year. This has resulted in increasing knowledge on access to justice and human rights, identifying and discussing key human rights challenges at the community level.

Salote T. Nalewabau from Suvavou village was among the participants in the training that was conducted in Lami from 4-6 March. She took the initiative and encouraged other women and men from her village to attend the training, which saw a positive impact on her community.

“More men in my community showed their interest and support when we, the training participants, conducted an awareness raising session in the community with the Community Human Rights Advocates trainers. We learned about the challenges faced by persons with disabilities and children’s rights, she said.

Her village placed a ramp to their community hall to make it accessible to wheelchairs when they saw the trainer from the Fiji Disabled People’s Federation (FDPF) could not enter the hall without it. 

The Outreach Officer for FDPF, Peniasi Rawaidranu, said,  “I believe the most effective way to advance human rights is when communities, civil society and government come together and talk about issues from a rights-based approach. I am pleased that the FDPF Access to Justice Team has been strengthening its advocacy as part of the initiatives developed through the Fiji Access to Justice Project, such as this Community Human Rights Advocates platform.”

FDPF has also been actively providing support to persons with disabilities in accessing justice through the newly established Access to Justice Team with support from the Fiji Access to Justice Project, which adds an area of focus to the organization’s strong advocacy work.

More training programmes of Community Human Rights Advocates have been planned across Fiji this year. The method of the training is being reviewed to keep the advocate community connected without physically convened, using various online tools and the media. This will allow more people to be aware of rights-based approach in an effort to further develop inclusive society in Fiji.

The Fiji Access to Justice Project supports the initiatives taken by the Fijian people and government to leave no one behind in achieving Fiji’s Sustainable Development Goals. The project focuses on Goal 5 - to achieve gender equality and empowerment of women and girls, and Goal 16 - to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.