Sainimili Magimagi 
[Photo: PARLIAMENT OF FIJI/ FACEBOOK]
The Great Council of Chiefs is warning that Fiji’s Rights of Indigenous Peoples Bill does not provide strong enough safeguards for free, prior and informed consent.
It says this raises concerns over the protection of indigenous land rights.
Speaking before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Justice, Law and Human Rights, GCC Representative Uluaisi Bai said free, prior and informed consent must sit at the centre of all decisions on land, resources and development projects.
He said the current legal framework does not clearly enforce consent requirements. This, he adds, is a major issue for customary land decisions.
Bai, who was in New York when the United Nations adopted the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007, said Fiji and other Pacific countries initially did not support the declaration. He said this was because they already saw themselves as indigenous states.
Fiji’s ratification of the UN Declaration in 2023, according to Bai, is a positive step. However, he said implementation must go beyond adopting principles on paper.
Bai said there is a clear gap between consultation and genuine consent. He said the two are often treated as the same, but they are not.
He said processes under the iTaukei Land Trust Board often rely on consultation only.
Bai also stressed that real consent must be secured before major decisions on customary land are made.
