Pursuant to section 45 (4) (d), of the Fijian Constitution, the Commission is mandated to make recommendations to Government concerning matters affecting the rights and freedoms recognised under Bill of Rights , including recommendations concerning existing or proposed laws. As per section 45(4)(e) of the Constitution, the Commission is also responsible for receiving and investigating complaints in relation to alleged abuses of human rights and take steps to secure appropriate redress if human rights have been violated, including making applications to court for redress or for other forms of relief or remedies. In materialising this, the Director made submissions to parliamentary committees in 2018 on two proposed Bills and two International Covenants. Two cases of alleged human rights violations were taken to court for redress. The cases were in relation to right to life and rights of arrested and detained persons. Parliamentary Submissions Submission to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Justice, Law and Human Rights on Registration of Sex Offenders Bill No. 6 of 2018 13th April 2018 The Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission appreciates the sense of urgency and concern that has prompted the formulation of this Bill. In 2017, the youngest victim of sexual violence in Fiji was 1 year 10 months and the youngest accused person charged with rape was a 12 year old boy. The primary responsibility of promoting public safety, including the right of every child to live a life free of violence and sexual abuse, by holding offenders accountable and putting effective protection mechanisms in place invariably lies with the state but so does the constitutional obligation to protect fundamental human rights and freedoms of every citizen. The imperative to register sex offenders, therefore, will require careful balancing between public safety and the human rights of sex offenders. The Standing Committee on Justice, Law and Human Rights must consider the impact of the Bill on the right to privacy and respect for human dignity, confidentiality of personal information pursuant to 24(1) (a) and respect for private and family life pursuant to 24(1) (c) of the Fijian Constitution, the constitutional safeguard that every person has the right to the correction or deletion of false or misleading information that affects a person under section 25(2), whether the Bill gives primary consideration to the best interests of a child as required under section 41(2) of the Constitution in every matter concerning the child whether the child is a victim or a perpetrator, the right to be free from mental and emotional torture, access to justice including the right to appeal and the impact of the Bill on the possibility of rehabilitation, reintegration into society and the ability of those that have been registered as sex offenders to access subsistence rights including the right to housing, employment and education without unreasonable discrimination. Rights of the sex offenders Confidentiality and the right to privacy Punitive monitoring can result in significant curtailment of the right to privacy. Unlike the United States where the Courts have established that a sex offender’s privacy rights remain secondary to maintaining public safety and where legislation under the Walsh Act consequently allows for public disclosure of the personal details of registrants including community notifications and residency restrictions, the Bill before the Parliament of Fiji under section 29 (1) (a) (b) has strong and salutary confidentiality provisions which require that a person who is authorized to access the register must not disclose any information in the register unless the person is authorised by the Commissioner or permitted or required by a court of law or under any other written law. Section 29 (2) (a) and (b) further requires that a person to whom personal information about a registered offender is disclosed must not disclose that information to any other person unless that disclosure is made with the consent of the Commissioner for FIJI HUMAN RIGHTS & ANTI-DISCRIMINATION COMMISSION Goal 2: Litigation and Policy Analysis ANNUAL REPORT 2018 37