Director of Social Welfare Veremo Muria emphasizes the necessity of a coordinated response involving various stakeholders to protect child victims’ rights and ensure access to justice.

Speaking at the Access to Justice for Children Validation Workshop Muria says the objective of the workshop was to undertake a comprehensive review of Fiji’s child justice systems by enhancing stakeholders’ understanding of their current status.

Muria says that children who go through the justice system are vulnerable, and hence stakeholders need to ensure that the systems in place are child-friendly and empathetic, even if children are in conflict with the law.

He says strategies will be explored to strengthen existing mechanisms to ensure the effective protection, rehabilitation, and reintegration of children in conflict with the law.

The two-day workshop is underway in Suva.