Violence against children in Fiji is estimated to have cost the country F$460 million, or more than 4 percent of Fiji’s GDP a year, says new research highlighted on International Human Rights Day.

This research was carried out jointly by UNICEF and Fiji’s Ministry of Women, Children and Social Protection.

The study, Economic Costs of Violence Against Children in Fiji, has revealed that 81 percent of children aged between one and 14 years experience some form of violent discipline, 65 percent experience psychological aggression while 68 percent experience some form of physical punishment in their lifetime.

Endorsed by Minister for Women and Children Lynda Tabuya, the research explained how children in Fiji continued to experience abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence on a daily basis.

“This not only affects their physical and mental health but also leads to challenges in education, social services and their overall quality of life,” the study found.

“The long-term impacts are well documented. Children who suffer abuse are more likely to become violent adults, perpetuating a cycle that negatively impacts the economic wellbeing of families for generations.

“Through this study, the total economic cost of violence against children in Fiji is estimated at $459.82 million, equivalent to 4.23 percent of GDP annually.

“These costs include $19.33 million in direct medical costs, $14.96 million in direct non-medical costs, $140.41 million in indirect tangible costs and $285.12 million in indirect intangible costs.”

The study showed that while significant, this large economic burden could be averted through targeted investments in interventions that prevent and respond to violence against children.

In Parliament last week, Minister Tabuya had said the report provided a basis for their 2022 to 2027 Action Plan.

“It provides a comprehensive analysis of the importance of investing in child protection, the socioeconomic costs of under-investment and an evaluation of government spending on preventing and responding to violence against children.”

Republished from The Fiji Times with permission.

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Family members keep silent on the issue of violence in Fiji and individuals continue to be the victims, according to Jonathan Veitch, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) representative to the South Pacific.

While raising his concern on the issue at Nasinu Gospel Primary School on Friday, he said 83 percent of children in Fiji had reported some level of violence, either in their family or in school over the past six months.

“This 83 percent rate is far too high, and it’s not acceptable,” he said.

“The problem is that when the violence is happening, there’s kind of a curtain of silence.”

Visiting UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell said although legal processes should be ensured, it was also important to acknowledge the rehabilitation process for the victim to deal with the trauma.

Speaking during a student-led press conference at Nasinu Gospel Primary School, Veitch expressed his concern about the alarming rate of violence against women and children in Fiji, whether physical or sexual.

“You (Fiji) do have high rates of violence against children,” Veitch said.

“This (83 percent rate) is far too high, and it’s not acceptable.

‘Curtain of silence’
“The problem is that when the violence is happening, there’s kind of a curtain of silence.”

He said it was common in Fiji for family members to keep silent on the issue of violence while individuals continued to be victimised.

“If that particular person has to be stopped, we have to deal with it in our village.

“So, it’s not just UNICEF and the Government; it’s also the village itself.”

Veitch said significant pillars of communities must be involved in key conversations.

“We really need to talk about it in our churches on Sundays; we have to have an honest conversation about it.

“These kids shouldn’t be hurt; they shouldn’t be punished physically.”

Multifaceted approach
He said the issue should be dealt with through a multifaceted approach.

Visiting UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell expressed similar concerns and called for a change in norms.

“It requires government leadership and good laws,” she said.

“It requires the government to come together and say that this is a priority where violence against children is unacceptable.”

She said conversations regarding the matter needed to focus on changing the norms of what was acceptable and unacceptable in a community.

“A lot of times this issue is kept in the dark and not talked about, and I think it’s very important to have those conversations.”

She said although legal processes should be ensured, it was also important to acknowledge the rehabilitation process for the victims to deal with the trauma.

She added that society played a role in condemning violence against women and ensuring they were safe in their homes and in their communities.

Russell said while most cases were directed at men, there was a need to train the mindset of young boys to change their perspective of using violence as a solving mechanism.

Sainimili Magimagi is a Fiji Times reporter. Republished with permission.

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A young Samoan climate activist says the UN’s new guidance on children’s rights to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is “the first step to global change”.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child have affirmed for the first time that climate change is affecting children’s rights to life, survival and development.

“General Comment No. 26” specifies that countries are responsible not only for protecting children’s rights from immediate harm, but also for foreseeable violations of their rights in the future.

It found the climate emergency, collapse of biodiversity and pervasive pollution “is an urgent and systemic threat to children’s rights globally”.

Children have been at the forefront of the fight against climate change, urging governments and corporations to take action to safeguard their lives and the future, said committee member Philip Jaffé.

Samoan-born Aniva Clarke, 17, is an environmental activist based in New Zealand. She has been a climate advocate since 10 years old.

Amplifying Pacific youth voices
Growing up in Samoa, she helped to amplify Pacific youth voices about climate change.

“Children and young people have been calling on action for so long and I think this is one of the many things and sort of products of that action working.”

Clarke was one of 12 global youth advisors on the inaugural Children’s Advisory Team, established to facilitate youth consultations on children’s rights, the environment and climate change.

She said the comments “create a framework” that hold 196 UN countries to account.

“They have recognised that there is a call and need for action,” she said.

Countries that have ratified the UN Child Rights Convention are urged to take immediate action including towards phasing out fossil fuels and shifting to renewable energy sources, improving air quality, ensuring access to clean water, and protecting biodiversity.

A lot to lose for Pacific nations
Clarke said Pacific Island nations had a lot to lose and larger nations responsible for emitting the most carbon emissions must take a stand to preserve the environment for future generations.

“The climate crisis is a child rights crisis,” said Paloma Escudero, UNICEF Special Adviser on Advocacy for Child Rights and Climate Action.

Clarke is worried that future generations are at risk of not only losing their land but their “culture”.

“We lose our ancient traditions … we live off the land but we live for the land,” she said.

For island groups like Tokelau and Tuvalu, which are low lying atolls, if climate change continues, then “those communities risk losing their islands completely”.

The committee received more than 16,000 contributions from children in 121 nations, who shared the effects of environmental degradation and climate change on their lives and communities.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

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Shocking abuses against indigenous Papuans have been taking place in Indonesia, say United Nations-appointed human rights experts who cite child killings, disappearances, torture and enforced mass displacement.

“Between April and November 2021, we have received allegations indicating several instances of extrajudicial killings, including of young children, enforced disappearance, torture and inhuman treatment and the forced displacement of at least 5000 indigenous Papuans by security forces,” the three independent experts said in a statement.

Special Rapporteurs Francisco Cali Tzay,  who protects rights of indigenous peoples,  Morris Tidball-Binz, who monitors extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, and Cecilia Jimenez-Damary,  covering human rights of Internally Displaced Persons, called for urgent humanitarian access to the region and urged the Indonesian government to conduct full and independent investigations into the abuses.

They said that since the escalation of violence in December 2018, the overall number of displaced has grown by 60,000 to 100,000 people.

“The majority of IDPs [internally displaced persons] in West Papua have not returned to their homes due to the heavy security force presence and ongoing armed clashes in the conflict areas,” the UN experts explained.

Meanwhile, some IDPs have been living in temporary shelters or stay with relatives.

“Thousands of displaced villagers have fled to the forests where they are exposed to the harsh climate in the highlands without access to food, healthcare, and education facilities,” the Special Rapporteurs said.

Relief agencies have limited access
Apart from ad hoc aid deliveries, humanitarian relief agencies have had limited or no access to the IDPs, they said.

“We are particularly disturbed by reports that humanitarian aid to displaced Papuans is being obstructed by the authorities”.

Moreover, severe malnutrition has been reported in some areas with lack of access to adequate and timely food and health services.

“In several incidents, church workers have been prevented by security forces from visiting villages where IDPs are seeking shelter,” the UN experts said.

They stressed that “unrestricted humanitarian access should be provided immediately to all areas where indigenous Papuans are currently located after being internally displaced.

“Durable solutions must be sought.”

??#Indonesia: UN experts concerned by deteriorating human rights situation & abuses against #indigenous Papuans, incl. child killings, disappearances, torture & mass displacement, in Papua & West Papua. They call for humanitarian access & investigations: https://t.co/idEsWJDBvM pic.twitter.com/mwFQyxgkCc

— UN Special Procedures (@UN_SPExperts) March 1, 2022

‘Tip of the iceberg’
On a dozen occasions, the experts have written to the Indonesian government about numerous alleged incidents since late 2018.

“These cases may represent the tip of the iceberg given that access to the region is severely restricted making it difficult to monitor events on the ground,” they warned.

Meanwhile, the security situation in Highlands Papua had dramatically deteriorated since the 26 April 2021 killing of a high-ranking military officer by the West Papua National Liberation Army in West Papua.

The experts pointed to the shooting of two children, aged two and six, on October 26, shot to death by stray bullets in their own homes, during a firefight. The two-year-old later died.

End violations
“Urgent action is needed to end ongoing human rights violations against indigenous Papuans,” the experts said, advocating for independent monitors and journalists to be allowed access to the region.

They outlined steps that include ensuring all alleged violations receive thorough, “prompt and impartial investigations”.

“Investigations must be aimed at ensuring those responsible, including superior officers where relevant, are brought to justice. Crucially lessons must be learned to prevent future violations,” the Rapporteurs concluded.

Special Rapporteurs and independent experts are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation.

The positions are honorary and the experts are not paid for their work.

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Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk

Greenpeace has called for climate leadership to emerge from the Pacific COP, saying leaders must listen to the need for urgency and transform their energy and land-use systems.

The Trump administration failed to stop the global climate talks from moving forward, despite its announcement to withdraw from the Paris Agreement.

But the world is still in urgent need of action, says Greenpeace.

Jens Mattias Clausen, head of Greenpeace’s political delegation in Bonn, Germany, said:

“Leaders must now go home and do the right thing, prove that they have listened to the voices of the Pacific, with all their hurt and hope, and understand the urgency of our time. Talk is not good enough and we still lack the action we need.

“We call on France, Germany, China and others to step up and display the leadership they claim to stake. Clinging to coal or nuclear power and parading as climate champions while failing to accelerate the clean energy transition is nothing but bad faith.”

Failed to deliver concrete support
This year’s COP placed heightened attention on climate impacts and the need for accountability, but failed to deliver the concrete support that a small island COP should have, Clausen said.

“We welcome the focus on enhanced ambition and the inclusion of pre-2020 climate action in the design of next year’s stocktake, the Talanoa Dialogue. This will form part of Fiji’s legacy and it is imperative that the dialogue will not just be a discussion but actually lead to countries ramping up their climate targets.

“Bonn still leaves a daunting task of concluding the Paris rulebook next year. Countries need to rediscover the political courage they had in Paris to complete the rulebook on time.”

A deal to break a deadlock in Bonn over the languishing pre-2020 climate action from developed countries and to anchor it in coming climate talks must now prove pivotal in forging additional ambition.

Country and region views:

The Pacific
“The Pacific has been dealing with the devastating impacts of climate change for years so time is a luxury we do not have. While leaders talk, we face the effects. It’s time for leaders to live up to their promises,” said Pacific Island representative activist Samu Kuridrani.

United States
“We have seen the true face of America here, exposing how Trump and his regressive fossil fuel agenda are outnumbered by those who proclaim with one voice, ‘America is still in’. It’s been abundantly clear here that despite Trump, climate action continues. World leaders must now categorically reject any proposed weakening of America’s commitments and hold the US administration to account if it reneges,” said Greenpeace USA climate campaigner Naomi Ages.

Germany
“This COP saw Germany drastically lose credibility and leadership on climate action. Chancellor Merkel’s disappointing speech failed to align Germany with a coalition of progressive nations stepping away from coal, raising doubts if Germany is committed to the ambition of the Paris agreement. Only by deciding on a coal phase out will the new government be able to reach its climate targets for 2020 and 2030,” said Greenpeace Germany executive director Sweelin Heuss.

China
“The Pacific COP has been a way-station in China’s aspiration to become a climate leader. The transformation from a developing country to a responsible global power takes time and courage, but climate leadership demands urgency. In 2018, eyes will increasingly turn to China to enhance the country’s climate ambition and help conclude the Paris rulebook,” said Greenpeace China climate policy adviser Li Shuo.

Southeast Asia
“The voices from the climate frontlines have spoken in the Pacific COP. But how much have those who are historically most accountable for climate change listened? Those least responsible for climate change are suffering the worst impacts and this great injustice must be addressed. Governments and corporations must urgently change their policies and practices to avert climate-related human rights harms,” said Greenpeace Southeast Asia executive director Yeb Saño.

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