AUSTRALIAN High Commissioner to Fiji, John Feakes says we should be pleased with the significant progress made in advancing human rights in the region over recent years.
He made this comments while speaking at the Donor Roundtable on National Human Rights Institutions(NHRI) in the Pacific at the Grand Pacific Hotel In Suva earlier today.
Mr Feakes said most pacific countries now had in place legislation and policies to protect the rights of vulnerable people and there was a wider understanding and recognition of human rights across the region.
“Pacific countries also are meeting their treaty and international reporting obligations such as Universal Periodic review. All this is no small feat and something we, as a region, should celebrate,” Mr Feakes said.
The roundtable was held in partnership with the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (APF), and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
