Human rights activist and Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre coordinator Shamima Ali says she is open to mentoring individuals who will form the new-look Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission (HRADC).
When asked whether she had been approached for a role in the commission, Ms Ali said she had not, adding she would be more than happy to take on a mentoring role.
“I would love to play a part in the re-establishment of it, to run like an independent entity compliant with the Paris Principles and so on,” she said.
“I’d love us to go back to pre-2006 and I would offer whatever help I have got.
“A lot of people who have come in are younger than me and I’ve known them as students and as they were young people coming up so you know that rapport is already there. I’m hoping that we can have those consultations and that I could be invited to offer some mentoring, some advice and so on. There are many other people who can do the same.”
She commended the recent steps taken to advance human rights such as freedom of speech and association in the country, particularly that of workers.
Ms Ali said workers had their rights stifled for more than a decade.
“That is one of the pillars of democracy. Democracy means adhering to democratic principles of human rights and so on. One of them is workers’ rights which have been so suppressed.”
