Media release
For immediate release
2 September 2009

Suspension from Commonwealth underlines deteriorating human rights situation in Fiji

Amnesty International calls on the international community to continue applying pressure on the military-led government in Fiji following today’s suspension of the country from the Commonwealth.

“The grounds on which the suspension was made reiterate Amnesty International’s calls for Fiji to commit to returning to the rule of law and human rights,” said Amnesty International’s Pacific Researcher Apolosi Bose.

“Since the abrogation of the Fijian constitution in April this year, we have seen increasing human rights violations against the people of Fiji, with no sign of improvement.”

Bose, Amnesty’s London-based researcher who was in Fiji in April at the time of the abrogation, has documented widespread human rights abuses including censorship of the media, severe limitations to freedom of association, and threats to human rights defenders, lawyers, and critics of the regime.

Amnesty International is calling for sustained pressure from the international community for Fiji to return to the rule of law, and for the Fijian Government to immediately repeal the Public Emergency Regulations (PER) that have been in force since April.

“Fijian authorities have used the PER, under the guise of law and order, to impose severe limitations on human rights. These regulations have allowed authorities to detain, harass, and assault critics of the regime without being held to account for their actions,” said Bose.

Note to editors

Apolosi Bose’s findings from his research mission to Fiji in April this year will be released next Tuesday in a report giving an overview of the human rights abuses in Fiji.

ENDS

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