Government has started work on a legal framework to strengthen its refugee policy to be on par with international regulations, says the Director Immigration Nemani Vuniwaqa.
Vuniwaqa made the comments during a presentation at the 17th Attorney General’s Conference in Sigatoka.
He says this would ensure that Fiji has a national framework towards this issue.
Since 2006, the Fijian Government has received 28 applications from 36 individuals.
Of these, 12 applications have been approved, seven refused, six are currently pending and six have been withdrawn.
Vuniwaqa says while asylums has been covered in the Immigration Act 2003, reports have been received and not dealt with as there is a lack of capacity from officials.
The first registered case was in August, 2006 and a decision on that case was made five years later in 2011.
Government is now working closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on capacity building for immigration officials.
