Advancement of the rights and interests of Women and Girls is at the heart of Fiji’s leadership and National Development priorities. Fiji has conveyed this commitment at the United Nation’s (UN) High Level Meeting, providing opportunity for Member States to present on their country’s actions and commitments towards accelerating the implementation of the Platform for Action.

Fijian Prime Minister, Honourable Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama delivered Fiji’s National Statement at the High Level virtual Meeting “25th Anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women,” held at the margins of the UNGA75, on Friday 2nd October 2020.

PM Bainimarama spoke on the concrete actions Fiji has taken in advancing SDG 5, “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.”

“Excellencies and Distinguished Delegates, there is far more work to be done in Fiji, but we have made important gains over the past 25 years in education, maternal mortality, access to health services, women’s representation in leadership positions and participation in Parliament, and increased public awareness and recognition of women’s rights. We have enacted progressive legislation and regulatory frameworks.

“And my Government in particular has led a relentless effort to end violence against women by changing the laws governing sexual assault to make it easier and safer for a woman to come forward and feel secure under the law and confident that justice will be delivered, and by speaking out at every opportunity to shame the very notion of violence directed against women and girls.”

PM Bainimarama spoke on the Fijian Government’s policies and programs that enables women to pursue enhanced opportunities and excel in all aspects of their development, be it education, leadership, career development, empowering them to reach to their highest potential in life.

“Excellencies and Distinguished Delegates, all children in Fiji attend primary school, with 92% of girls completing secondary school. Female students make up 57% of the graduates of tertiary institutions. Women hold 10 of 51 seats in Parliament, and half of those female Parliamentarians serve as Ministers or Assistance Ministers in my Government. Almost 30% of leadership positions in the Civil Service are women.

“I am proud to tell you that the 2018 Employment Relations Act has been amended to increase the length of maternity leave and introduce paternity leave, so that women can have assistance with child-rearing in the home. The 2018 amendment to the Succession, Probate and Administration Act now guarantees inheritance rights to women living in de facto relationships.

“Excellencies and Distinguished Delegates, we can take pride in certain achievements, but we cannot rest. We expect steady transformation as more girls in Fijian classrooms and universities translate into more women participating in the formal economy, having greater access to financial resources, and serving as Government and business leaders, engineers, entrepreneurs, scientists and doctors and financiers,” PM Bainimarama said.

PM Bainimarama said that Fiji’s larger National Development Plan, includes a historic mission to develop a five-year National Action Plan to Prevent Violence Against all Women and Girls.

“We recognize that if we wish to solve a national problem, we must have shared understanding of what causes it that is based on evidence. The National Action Plan will use data and evidence to explain what the root causes of violence against all women and girls are in Fiji, and what additional contributing factors make violence more likely.

“We are now one of only two countries in the world to adopt a whole-of-government, inclusive, evidence-based approach to preventing violence against women and girls.”

The Head of Fijian Government reiterated that for Fiji, Beijing+ 25 is a critical opportunity to bring to renew our commitment to the Beijing Declaration, which was reaffirmed by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

“From ridding our societies of the plague of gender-based violence to ensuring gender equitable access to services, resource, assets, markets, good working conditions, technology and sustainable development; from supporting women entrepreneurs, to boosting resilience to natural disasters, to improving the availability and analysis of gender statistics; and from building capacity across Government institutions to supporting gender-response planning and budgets, Fiji reaffirms its commitment to keep the promises made to women and girls in 1995. We are determined to have an inclusive and equal Fiji, and we won’t stop until we get there,” PM Bainimarama said.

In opening the 25th Anniversary of Beijing Declaration, the UN Secretary General His Excellency, Antonio Guterres welcomed the considerable progress that has been made by member countries. He called on world leaders and civil society to “push back against the pushback on gender equality and women’s rights”.

Over 100 Presidents and Prime Ministers participated in this High Level Meeting. Many leaders spoke of the disproportionate impact on women of the Global COVID Pandemic and called on the UN to support countries to mitigate these.