UN envoy calls for immunity review to be tied to TRC process

Fiji's Ambassador to the United Nations, Filipo Tarakinikini, says the review of the 2013 Constitution must directly address the immunity clause and be linked to the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), arguing that one process cannot be undertaken responsibly without the other.

Responding to public submissions calling for the removal of Chapter 10 of the Constitution, which grants immunity, Mr Tarakinikini said the Constitution Review Commission needed to address provisions that had protected those involved in actions against the constitutional order.

He said the TRC had an important role to play in that process.

“These two instruments – the removal of immunity and the TRC – are not alternatives but are complementary; one cannot be undertaken responsibly without the other,” Mr Tarakinikini said.

“Those who have relied upon the immunity clause must be given the opportunity, and must accept the responsibility, to come forward and testify before a properly constituted TRC.”

He said their testimonies should go beyond the actions themselves and examine the reasons behind them.

“The communal fears that felt existential at the time, the sectarian pressures that were applied, and the political manipulations that became visible only in hindsight,” he said.

“This is not about excusing past actions. It is about understanding them fully to ensure they are never repeated.”

Mr Tarakinikini said the Terms of Reference of both the ongoing TRC and the Constitution Review Commission may need to be revisited to better connect the two processes.

“I am calling for that to change,” he said.

“The TRC’s ToR should be broadened to encompass testimony from those sheltering under the immunity clause, including the full context of their actions.

“Likewise, the Constitution Review Commission’s ToR should be amended to ensure its findings are informed by, and responsive to, whatever truths emerge from that process.”

Mr Tarakinikini said the opportunity should not be treated solely as a legal exercise, but as a national effort to uncover the truth and strengthen unity.