National Council For Building a Better Fiji
Draft Terms of Reference for National Task Team 3: Social-Cultural Identity and Nation Building
Introduction
The National Council’s overall objective is to rebuild Fiji into a non-racial, culturally vibrant and united, well governed, truly democratic nation that seeks peace and progress through merit based equality of opportunity, justice and the mutual observance of everyone’s human rights.
The bulk of Fiji’s history, as an independent nation has been marked by the weakening of democratic traditions, particularly over the past two decades. Worsening economic and social conditions beset Fiji today. Fiji’s problems are clearly deep-rooted and complex. And there are no quick, simple or easy solutions. Given such a situation, the people of Fiji, individually and collectively, need to come together to contribute actively to help resolve the country’s deep-rooted and most fundamental problems, to help build a better Fiji for all. With this as our collective, national objective, Fiji’s people, particularly leaders at all levels, in individual
communities and the society as a whole, need to place Fiji’s national interestahead of any personal and sectional interests.
To facilitate this process, the Council is conducting a nation-wide, informed consultation process to diagnose the problems confronting Fiji and to seek solutions to these problems. The consultation process is to be “informed” in the sense that facts on the current state of the nation and economy, and preliminary and tentative analyses of the causes of the problems confronting Fiji will be widely distributed, with the dissemination of information being in forms that can be readily accessed and understood by the wider community across the nation.
At present the citizens of Fiji identify themselves more strongly by community than by nationality. This can be a major obstacle to reconciliation and nation building. There are numerous and serious breaches of human rights, particularly in relation to the rights of women, people with disabilities and ethnic minorities. About a third of the population are unable to obtain their basic needs. While the definition and extent of poverty is contested, there are undoubtedly a significant number of people living in poverty and extreme hardship. Developing Social Justice strategies to assist these people requires a concerted mix of policy initiatives ranging from improvements to the operation of labour markets to the targeting of expenditure programmes in health, education and housing as well as strengthening the observance of people’s rights.
National Task Team 3 will focus on Social-Cultural Identity and Nation Building and its role is (a) to oversee the organisation of this factual, diagnostic and analytical work and its effective dissemination throughout the country; and (b) to faithfully summarise and report back to the Council on its deliberations and recommendations of on each of the following priority topics in the area of Social-Cultural Identity and Nation Building.
Priority Topic 1: Poverty, Social Justice and Human Rights
Identifying and assessing strategies to assist poor people including:
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Increasing employment opportunities, especially in rural areas and outlying islands (among other reasons, in order to reduce migration to urban areas);
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Ensuring equal opportunities for women seeking employment;
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Reviewing the programmes and policies for the provision of support to the unemployed, (including the scope for the introduction of unemployment insurance), to the sick, disabled and elderly, and to poor families, especially those with children.
Assessing the operation and performance of the Poverty Eradication Unit, particularly on its key function of developing an Integrated National Poverty Eradication programme.
Review of social justice arrangements
- Are current social Justice programmes consistent with the provisions of the Constitution
- Have social justice programmes (affirmative action) targeted those most in need?
- Reviewing the effectiveness of current human rights legislation in preserving and promoting human rights in Fiji, with special emphasis on the human rights of women, discrimination against persons with disabilities, and ethnic minorities, and making recommendations to strengthen the legislation if this is considered to be necessary.
- Assessing ways in which Fiji can promote a culture of human rights both within the public sector and among the public at large. This might include improving human rights education programmes and strengthening national human rights institutions, including the Human Rights Commission. (Note: Issues relating to the strengthening of the Human Rights Commission may be discussed by NTT1 under priority Topic 2 in its terms of reference.)
- Making any other recommendations it considers appropriate in order to combat poverty, achieve social justice and protection of human rights.
Priority Topic 2: Meeting Basic Needs: Education, Health and Housing
- Formulating policies aimed at decreasing dropout rates and increasing completion rates at both primary and secondary levels of education.
- Assessing whether the current education system provides school leavers with the necessary skills and knowledge to participate fully in the labour market.
- Assessing the current methods of financing education noting the inability of many families to afford their children’s’ education.
- Formulating policies to improve the quality of health care delivery which could include:
- Improving existing service delivery mechanisms to address the major health issues in Fiji
- Options to improve health care financing whilst ensuring the poorest are not excluded from health services.
- More independence
- Improving the terms and conditions of health professionals.
- Considering ways in which to increase the provision of low cost housing, with accompanying facilities such as water supply, roads and recreational activities.
- Formulating policies to ensure public sector housing providers such as the Housing Authority and PRB fulfil their mandates to provide low cost housing.
- Assess policies to address the squatter settlement problem.
- Consider policies that would quickly and easily release land for housing development.
Priority Topic 3: National Identity and the Role of Culture and Religion in Nation Building
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Assessing the importance of national identity for Fiji in the country’s reconciliation and rebuilding process and making recommendations for rebalancing concepts and symbols of national identity.
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Is Fiji ready for a common name for all citizens
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What programmes could be effective in moving towards and building a national identity
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Do separate communal schools hinder development of a National Identity
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Managing cultural changes in the face of the development of a modern economy
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How far has the modern economy eroded chiefly authority
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How can traditional Fijian cultural values survive in a modern cash economy
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Politics vs business
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Can traditional support mechanisms continue to survive.
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Recommending policies and activities designed to promote cooperation and understanding among religions and cultures, including consideration of the merits of:
- .the promotion of inter-religious dialogue;
- .the introduction of legislation to outlaw all forms of intolerance and discrimination.
- Making any other recommendations it considers appropriate in order to promote national identity and inter-community understanding.
In undertaking this work, National Task Team 3 is to take into account any studies already completed in any of the above areas and undertake further investigations only where a Working Group considers that this is required to complete its work satisfactorily. NTT3 is to consider the priorities to be accorded to tasks, to outline a timetable for the implementation of the activities recommended and ensure that work is appropriately sequenced.
In consultation with the Head of TASS, NTT3 may request the preparation of literature reviews and study papers to assist it in its deliberations.
NTT3 may establish a number of Working Groups (WGs), as it considers appropriate and necessary, to accomplish the diagnostic work under the foregoing listed priority topics. Each WG will need to report back to NTT3 within specified timelines.
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