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Thank you. Hi. I am is Kelly. And, uh I am from Fiji and I am here representing the male empowerment network Fiji, where I whereby I provide, uh, volunteer assistance, particularly technical assistance. And this is a very new organisation in Fiji, Fiji stands for [00:00:30] males empowerment network Fiji. And it is a community based Ms M organisation that was established in 2008. I actually work for a United Nations agency back in Fiji and I'm here in my personal capacity as a volunteer for men Fiji, Uh, just to say more about men Fiji just to let you understand the context where [00:01:00] I'm coming from and also the reason I'm here men Fiji was established in 2008 by a group of professionals who work particularly in the area of public health. And it was established because of the recognition of the huge gap in HIV programming for MS MS in Fiji. And the focus of this organisation has been on HIV programming and there [00:01:30] has been, uh I mean, the human rights component of the programme has been missing because of the lack of capacity within the network of professionals who are also the management collective for men Fiji. So we thought that this conference was a golden opportunity for us to build our capacity around human rights and also learn more about what's happening around the Asia Pacific region. And we [00:02:00] have gained a lot that we will take back with us and hopefully we will be able to apply that in our programming and more importantly, secure funding for the human rights aspect of our programmes. Is funding a difficult issue? Uh, yes, we have not been able. There are not many funding opportunities available in Fiji for human rights uh, programmes and more so because [00:02:30] of the I'm sure you are aware of the current military government that is running Fiji and there is no National Human Rights Institute right now that is actively sort of addressing human rights abuses and issues that have been happening back in Fiji. And [00:03:00] we used to have one. I think Fiji was the first country that established a human rights commission in the islands, and, uh, since the military coup, they have sort of, uh, decommissioned that office. But now they're still running, but they are just like administrative staff. I'm not sure if they don't handle complaints anymore. I think there is No, [00:03:30] I mean what they used to do before. It's not happening now. They are not functioning like they're supposed to be a human rights commission where people can lodge their complaint for human rights abuses and all that, and for them to speak out on human rights abuses in the country. And obviously I know they've been silenced by the current political situation in Fiji, the military rule, and yeah, that's really sad. Which means that the LGBT community's work is more and then we have to push more in our country. And I'm sure as well as other Pacific Island countries. Surprisingly, [00:04:00] one good thing that has come out of this government is the decriminalisation of homosexuality. And I'm not sure where that emanated from, because we, I mean, I was not aware of any intensive lobbying being done, and most of the decrees that are coming out now some of them they have had, uh, substantive and comprehensive consultations with the communities before they are decreed and the penal code, I mean, it used to be the penal code. Now it's a criminal [00:04:30] decree crimes decree sorry. So I'm not so sure about the consultations that happened around that crimes decree, but one of the gains that the LGBTI community had, uh I mean, gained from this government is the decriminalisation of homosexuality. So that was one of the positive things that I thought this government has done for the community. I mean, at large. Do you know where that came from? Where that decriminalisation [00:05:00] push came from? They have been doing that in the past with elected governments. But when the military came into power, everyone stood silent. Even the the the non government organisations in Fiji. But out of the blue, the government just started to to to to remove the sodomy act from Fiji's law and abrogated the Constitution and came up with this human rights decree protecting the rights of sexual minorities [00:05:30] in the country. And we were like, OK, we are loving this country. But it's really you know, the process that they have taken is not really democratic, but somehow they've addressing. They've addressed some of the issues issues that would have been received a lot of resistance if there was a democratic government. If they have abrogated the Constitution the first institution that would stand up in Fiji and oppose this and have [00:06:00] a march on the street will be the church, the Methodist Church. But because of the the government, the military, they can't do that. Which is a good thing for the LGBT community. We they Probably because in the 1997 Constitution, uh, under which Democratic governments have been operating, there was a clause on. Yeah, I'm not so sure about this. Which section in particular where? There [00:06:30] was reference to, uh uh, the second anti discrimination laws for people from different ethnic backgrounds, racial backgrounds, including sexual orientation. So that was a big plus in the 2000, and it was the 1997 Constitution. I think Fiji became the second country in the world to have that clause that protects the rights of people [00:07:00] with different sexual preference. And that was a big move for Fiji, I don't know, but it's just weird how things have been going in the past. And, you know, it's just and even under that Democratic, uh, government And we had that clause in the Constitution and then we had, uh I mean, this actually came out prominently when they the Thomas Mask and [00:07:30] case Yeah, case whereby an Australian tourist had have had sex with the local and it was taken to the high court and the high court. Uh, I mean, they had convicted him in the at the Lower Court Magistrates Court, and then it was taken up to the high court where they had sort of, uh dismissed the case because, uh, I mean, they were not guilty [00:08:00] because the the judges had made reference to that particular clause of the Constitution. And there was widespread resistance from the religious community, particularly the Methodist Church. So that was done under democratic rule. But now that we are under military rule, they had sort of further rewarded us by removing the soda statutes from the former penal court, which is now the crimes decree. And we [00:08:30] now can. I mean, now they allow homosexuality. But in the privacy of your homes, you cannot do it publicly. Which is, however, on the other on the other side. The sad thing about all of these and the decriminalisation and everything, they have also impose tougher penalties on sex work. And to us, I was like you know you have decriminalised this and then we are trying to remove penalties on sex sex [00:09:00] workers in Fiji and now the military. So I heard prostitution is still a crime. Unfortunately, although they have made advance in some areas, I mean, when it comes to homosexuality, they still feel that prostitution is it's still a criminal act. So there has been a lot of work done in trying to address that, particularly because of HIV and AIDS programmes. [00:09:30] And it's that angle that NS and UN agencies and regional agencies in Fiji have been trying to use to try and decriminalise prostitution because of the increasing evidence that it will just further stigmatise the community and they will go underground. And then, of course, HIV will continue to spread if they don't access the services because of the [00:10:00] because of the context, you know, the legal context, not providing, not supportive enough for them to access the services that they will need. Sorry, following the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Fiji, there were a few other acts that came into force protecting the rights of sexual minorities. One would be the Employment Promulgation Act that restrict people from discriminating. You on the grounds at the workplace on grounds [00:10:30] of sexual orientation, which is basically you cannot be fired if you're gay and they cannot discriminate you from getting to a high level. I mean, maybe a high civil servant position if you are gay. I mean, they now have that anti discrimination laws in that employment relations bill act. Sorry. So this a lot of progress that has [00:11:00] been made under the current military rule. And I must say that we are still surprised about the the decriminalisation of homosexuality because the lobbying for that has been done a long time ago. But it was only reflected in the Constitution, but our penal code was a cake. It's I think it was in existence for about more than 40 years or so. You know, when British rule was, uh, first came to [00:11:30] Fiji, so I'm sure they probably just, uh because of the current attorney General. He's probably quite supportive and understanding, too, of the you know, the latest trend when it also comes to those one sexuality. So they have been accommodating in that particular area, but it we still need them to strengthen the services, the human rights services [00:12:00] that the government or a national Human rights institute should provide to those who may still face discrimination, whether they stay at their workplace or anywhere. But you were saying earlier that even though it's been decriminalised that's in that that would be in private. So you would you have hassles if you were walking down the street or overtly homosexual publicly. Of course, even though decriminalisation took place, there are still [00:12:30] reports of, uh, I mean unreported cases of LGBT community being harassed on the streets. There has been deaths in the past as well and really, really bad. We have had instances in the past, I think, in the last year or 2009, 1 of our I mean a fellow a gay, a gay guy who works as a hairdresser, was murdered by young [00:13:00] kids in his own neighbourhood. It was reported in the media that he was returning from work at night, and these guys were probably drinking or something, and then they started hassling him, and, uh, they ended up killing him. So because of the absence of the national, uh, of a human rights institute, there was no way of addressing that particular issue that it could be a hate. I mean, [00:13:30] it's most apparent that it is a hate crime and, uh, unfortunately, we are sort of, um, helpless in that regard because of the absence of a mechanism or an active institute, National Human Rights Institute, where we could channel our concerns to address that particular issue. And I'm not sure, even by now where [00:14:00] whether those guys are behind bars or what's happened to them like no one has been able to take that up. No organisation either has been able to to take that up. And it was also probably because of the absence of NGO S that works, uh, with, uh the LGBTI community in terms of human rights because main Fiji when it came. Like I said [00:14:30] earlier, the focus has been primarily on HIV programming. But now we are starting to realise that even in HIV programming, you need to address also human rights issues. So that had also sort of changed our mindset that we cannot avoid human rights. Whatever the issues are. We have to also include that in our programmes and hopefully we would [00:15:00] receive funding that would enable us to strengthen the human rights component of our programme, which right now is absent. I mean, there's nothing really the network that you're a part of. How many people are involved in that? Well, uh, in the management, Uh, it has evolved over time. We had, uh, so many in the beginning and then, uh, we ourselves because we had the capacity within the organisation to organise ourselves ever [00:15:30] like to develop and strengthen the organisation. So we started with about 20 management collective members. And then over time, we had decreased it to seven. So that, uh, management decisions are done in a more systematic and strategic manner than having so many people on board. But otherwise those guys are still members of the organisation [00:16:00] and we have also been having membership drives on Facebook and also, uh, on the ground, we've been going to I mean, whichever events or activities we organise around the country, we've also tagged membership drives, uh, to the to those activities. And we are having our annual first ever annual general meeting, uh, in either in April or May whereby we will also use it as a membership drive. And also [00:16:30] we will call on our members who have registered already to be part of the annual general meeting as part of our effort towards, uh, registering men Fiji as an official charitable organisation in Fiji. What kind of activities do you undertake? Uh, due to limited funding, our activities has mostly been event based campaigns where we [00:17:00] develop behaviour, change communication products, materials such as posters, uh, water bottles, just like those that have been developed for this particular conference with the specific messages on them. Promote, particularly promoting condom use and uh, what are the activities activities subcommittee chair? Well, I just took the position this year. [00:17:30] Well, I'm still new to that. Like Keli said, I sit in as a member of the management collective for men Fiji as the chair of the activity subcommittee. On the other hand, I also coordinate the Fiji Transgender Empowerment Project under the Fiji Arts Council and one of our major activities for the for the project is the and Seal Pageant. It's Fiji's biggest annual drag show. It's held every year during hibiscus. Hibiscus is the premier festival of [00:18:00] in Fiji. It's the biggest festival in Fiji so and is probably the biggest event one of the biggest events in the hibiscus festival itself. So it's a crowd draws a crowd. More people come and watch the drag show than any other hibiscus events in Fiji. The themselves the hibiscus queens. That's one of my one of my main activities. I. I was the event coordinator for that year and this year, and we [00:18:30] got funding from UN Aid specific office. And yes, one of the other activities that I'm involved in is with the Citizens Constitutional Forum. We are doing a story on human rights abuse story, which happened way back in 2002 when a gay student in high school was beaten by six senior prefects for being gay. So this young person took the matter to court through the Fiji Human Rights Commission, and the six prefects were [00:19:00] sentenced to Well, they had to go through anger management and all that because they were minor. They couldn't go to jail. I was hoping that they would go to jail Well, and yes, I'm really looking forward to this out games conference because I want to learn more about human rights LGBT human rights issues in the Pacific and, um What? Uh what strategies are there? [00:19:30] Uh, that will enable us to effectively address human rights abuses in our country, not only address human rights abuses, but also promote human rights amongst our members. Because when it comes to human rights back in Fiji, like our members, the LGBT, they can be quite hesitant if we have that. In fact, that was the reason Men Fiji when we first established men Fiji, we thought we will focus on HIV programming. It will attract [00:20:00] more of our members to the programme rather because when it comes to human rights uh, the LGBTI communities, they still need to be empowered to embrace human rights programme. You know their own human rights rather than just going with the flow which has been existent from way before. So we need to go against the flow. I mean, there are many [00:20:30] things good that are happening, but there are other things also that we need to address. So we hope that this human rights component of the programme we will be, I mean and with funding with the appropriate funding, we will be able to raise the profile of the human rights programme within the man FIS programmes and empower the community by educating them on their own rights and also [00:21:00] provide a channel whereby they can approach appropriate services to air their grievances or concerns or complaints even as simple as verbal verbal abuse. I mean because we need to keep record of these things and a lot of this is happening, you know, verbal abuse on the streets or in school or even bullying in schools. And even like in certain [00:21:30] cases we have had deaths. It has proved it has even gone that far, resulting in fatal deaths. So we hope this will improve as we increase the profile of the human rights programme and also by the management collective themselves, also increasing their own capacity in human on human rights. We would also love to [00:22:00] see an increase of Pacific representations in Asia Pacific forums and conferences like this, and we are grateful to the Netherlands government for providing funding for that. But I still think that there is still a gap in terms of representation from the Pacific. It is clear that this conference I have noticed that this conference it's mostly a and the lady in Samoa and Tonga there is not representation. We there is representation [00:22:30] from the from Fiji mess. But what about our? The focus is Polynesian, and that is true. There has been incredible work done by other mess and micronesians LGBT movements out there that needs to be documented. That needs to be, you know, shared in these kind of conferences. And, uh, you know, that's that's still a gap in terms of Pacific representation. And I and I hope that [00:23:00] in the future, probably in the third and other future events of Asia Pacific, that that Pacific representation is, um is is there meaning at every from every corner of the Pacific and not just the Polynesia? And I'm really happy that the the art games has provided this opportunity for us, because otherwise, most of grievances on human rights is channelled through the HIV regional conferences. [00:23:30] We have never had any human rights, uh, regional conference. So this was a great opportunity for us to come and learn about human rights, what's happening in other countries in the Asia Pacific region and also gain from it, and we even we are here. We are already thinking about how we can go back and, uh I mean, apply whatever knowledge we have learned from here [00:24:00] to try and raise the profile of our programmes came back in Fiji. Apart from the activities that men Fiji and the Transgender Empowerment Project is doing, there is also the research that men is was meant Fiji's priority this year. So we have secured funding from the Pacific Response Fund, which is mainly funded by AusAID and New Zealand aid, [00:24:30] and we are using those funds for, uh for the implementation of an integrated behavioural and biological survey. So we are hoping that the results from that survey it's particularly on HIV and SDIS that the results from that particular research will enable us to um develop a [00:25:00] programme. It will inform our programme. It will also help us in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of our HIV programmes. So maybe in the future, if we secure more funding, we will be able to also carry out a survey with quantitative or qualitative for human rights to just explore what human rights issues are there amongst the LGBTI community in Fiji. [00:25:30] And I think the survey is probably a landmark for our community as well as in the Pacific because this is the first survey in the integrated by her behaviour biological survey that is done in the Pacific Islands at, uh, specifically on MS M. And so this is really interesting distraction. We are looking forward to the results and the outcomes of the survey in July when it's going to be available for the public. So we are going to hope [00:26:00] maybe in the next conference we will be able to share some of the results from that survey. And also we would like to add that there is another organisation sent Fiji. It's a Vival advocacy network which is mainly made up of its A sex worker network, mostly transgender sex workers. So they've been also doing good work amongst the transgender sex workers in Fiji. So we have existing organisations that can [00:26:30] reach out to the community uh, out there, but, uh, we just need more funding. So what are the the biggest things that you will take away from this conference? What are the what are the things that stick in your mind? Well, for me personally, the Yogyakarta principle I attended that session, so I am like, I'm already thinking in my head. Now we are going to use this document as a guiding document for us [00:27:00] as we develop the human rights, uh, component of our programme because of the richness of the the information in that particular booklet, the Jakarta principle, and also they have an activist guide. So that should also I mean, I'm already thinking ahead and thinking I have to get hold of those documents and we are going to use that document to help to help [00:27:30] inform us on what strategies and what programmes we can develop to address the human rights issues that are prevalent in our country. And I had also gone to I'm also quite interested in, uh, how we can, uh, sort of instil a tolerance for me. Maybe we could start with tolerance, like, how could we increase tolerance amongst those [00:28:00] who are not LGBTI who don't belong to our community? Because I believe that for most of the countries, it has been tolerance and, like the Dutch ambassador had said for the Netherlands its tolerance that has made them live through I mean LGBT community that has enabled the LGBT community to live in, um cordial. I mean, It has been cordial, the [00:28:30] relationship between the LGBT community and the other, the other community. So that's one of the I mean, one of the things I'm thinking. Maybe we should even if we work with churches, it's not about accepting. I mean, it is probably if they can accept them, that's better. But if we work with the churches, we can just ask them. Probably when you have your sermons, you minister tolerance. I mean, focus [00:29:00] on tolerance for any type of, uh I mean, especially for this type of behaviour and maybe, I mean, for not for this type of people, I mean for the LGBTI mean for those whom they seem to them are different from them. So tolerance for that, uh, for the differences that are existing in our communities. And also, um, I've also attended the sessions on Queer Education in schools. [00:29:30] I think that it is very important that we educate the young ones as they are growing up, talking about tolerance to them and also them recognising the differences that are prevalent in our communities in terms of sexual identities. So it is important that we also work through the schools so That's why that's I think are the two things for me that I will take back. I mean trying to work with organisations [00:30:00] that are with the Ministry of Education and also regional organisation that has sexuality, education programmes in schools to try and work with us and help develop the resources and also probably help develop the capacity, especially the teachers, help develop the capacity around how they can teach sexuality and issues around homosexuality and the different sexual identities in the schools because these are our future and they would. [00:30:30] I mean, if we talk about this to them now, when they grow up, we could be like Netherlands and I'm sure the Netherlands has reached this point because they have done it very early earlier than us in most other countries. So of course, well, for me, this conference has pushed me further to do more work on LGBT and human rights in my country and to also continue the work that [00:31:00] I'm currently doing and yes, and I think that the LGBT community in Fiji are doing a great job and this is evident as we are the first Pacific island country to have endorsed the UN joint statement. I think that is a plus plus for our community in Fiji have pushed our government and our minister in the in the states to endorse this. And I think it's our community is quite powerful and the work that we do and we just [00:31:30] need to get the support from our neighbours Australia and New Zealand and yes, at the national level, we need to coordinate the work that we do because for now our focus is just primarily Ms Ms. But in this conference we have also learned about lesbians and we know the lesbian community back in Fiji is quite underground. They are not as vocal as us. So it's also sort of empowered us and also enable us to open our mind to also start thinking about how we can involve [00:32:00] the other the L, the B, the T, the LB. I'm not sure if we have intersect the ABC A and the bisexuals in Fiji, how we can involve them more effectively in our programmes and also like he has mentioned about the Pacific representation here, most of the emphasis seems to be on the Polynesian countries. So one of the things that I had discussed with joy from Tonga is for us to organise [00:32:30] the Pacific caucus today. So that is also one of the things that we I mean we are already moving because of this conference. We are also using this as an opportunity for us to discuss at the regional level how we can sort of collaborate further and also work in a more coordinated manner and also strengthen the capacity of the regional Pacific Sexual Diversity Network. Because currently I'm not so sure about what they are doing. But [00:33:00] we could all contribute to building the capacity of that particular regional network and also involving the lesbians bisexuals more in, uh in the discussions and sex workers. Well, the transgender sex workers, they are involved. But we could should involve them more in our programmes. One very quick last question. If somebody was listening to this in 30 years time, [00:33:30] what would you say to them? Well, I will uh, hopefully I hope that by in 30 years we will not be having specific conferences like this where we still have marginalised. We still have marginalised communities, minority communities. I hope that by then it's a utopian society whereby we had sort of fully integrated. [00:34:00] I mean, the different communities based on sexual identities that are in the community have integrated well among themselves and also with other with the majority population. 30 years time, I will be the first prime minister for Fiji, and we would be the first country in the Pacific island to legalise gay marriage, living peacefully and [00:34:30] harmoniously. I hope that by that time we would be everyone would be living peacefully and it would be more peaceful than it is now and then. There is no hostilities between the different communities, particularly on sexual identities, in the next 30 years. So embrace your sexuality and your identity, it's who you are.
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