Fiji and OHCHR Strengthen Human Rights Partnership

Fiji and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening human rights cooperation and advancing shared priorities across the Blue Pacific.

This follows a courtesy call by OHCHR Pacific Regional Representative, Ms Heike Alefsen, on the Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Ambassador Solo Mara.

Ambassador Mara thanked OHCHR Pacific Regional Office for its longstanding partnership with Fiji and acknowledged the support provided by the United Nations and OHCHR during last week’s Pre-COP31 meeting in Nadi. He noted that the recent visit by UN Deputy Secretary-General Ms Amina Mohammed was particularly valuable for small island developing states such as Fiji, ensuring that the Pacific’s priorities were being heard at the highest level.

Discussions also focused on climate change as a critical human rights challenge, including climate mobility, planned relocation and the importance of integrating human rights considerations into when relocating communities affected by climate change. Ambassador Mara, thanked the OHCHR Pacific Regional Office for their active participation at Pre-COP31.

Ambassador Mara highlighted Fiji’s priorities at the UN Human Rights Council, including climate finance, the Pacific’s nuclear legacy, and ocean and environmental protection and acknowledged the assistance the OHCHR Pacific Regional Office was providing to the disciplined forces in Fiji in ensuring that human rights principles were being adequately captured in training courses.

Ms. Alefsen congratulated Ambassador Mara on his appointment and reaffirmed OHCHR’s commitment to supporting Fiji and the wider Pacific on human rights priorities, including climate action, treaty reporting and strengthening national human rights institutions.