About

Dignity Pasifika

Ensuring Dignity and Respect for the People of Pacific

Who are we?

A newly established Fiji based Non-Profit Organisation with a specialisation in regional health and development laws. Dignity Pasifika is committed to empowering the people of Fiji and the Pacific to achieve positive health and development outcomes through the realisation of their human rights and responsibilities.

Dignity Pasifika will be the only Non-Government Organisation to conduct ‘human rights and responsibility’ consultation, training, advocacy and representation.

While the organisation is new, our team has many years of successful regional and national experience applying a human rights approach to assisting individuals, community based organisations (CBOs) and Governments progress health and development goals. The team has been instrumental in assisting marginalised groups in Fiji and the region (Cook Islands, Kiribati, Tonga and Tuvalu) to retain dignity and respect. It can assist minority group organisations and governments through a legal response and by conducting advocacy, training and representation.

What do we believe?

At Dignity Pasifika we believe that regardless of their economic, social or health status, gender, age, or sexual orientation, everyone should enjoy respect and dignity as members of their communities through the recognition and fulfilment of their human rights. Equally, we believe that having these rights is only possible through fellow community members recognising and assuming their duties and responsibilities in relation to all individuals and organisations, regardless of circumstance.

To help realise these rights and responsibilities, we employ a human rights based approach (HBRA) that has mutual respect and dignity at its foundation.

Who do we work with?

Our work is assisting civil society, private sector, donors and governments work with marginalised individuals and communities.

Where do we work?

Our base is in Fiji, however we also outreach to the Pacific where we work with partners in health and development.

What sectors and areas do we focus on?

Dignity Pasifika brings the human rights based approach to the following sectors:

  • Health (HIV, STIs, Tuberculosis and Non Communicable Diseases)
  • Development (Gender, End Violence against Women, Democracy & Governance, Transformational Leadership and Elections, including Climate Change)

We focus on the four areas of “the most vulnerable; root causes; rights-holders and duty-bearers; and empowerment.”

How can you help?

Dignity Pasifika is seeking donor and funding partners who would like to make lasting breakthroughs in health and development.

What services do we offer?

Our services include representation, advocacy, technical inputs, capacity building, strategic advice, policy and programme development, monitoring and evaluation, and health & development related legal services including:

Training

 

Train-the-Trainer
–        Training CSOs to empower rights holders and duty bearers to embrace their rights and responsibilities to society. –        Training CSOs to conduct human rights based training within their organisation and in their programs.
–        Providing the human rights training component of a range of health and development programs. –        Assisting civil society and Government Departments to incorporate the HRBA into their implementation of policy and programs.

Needs Assessments and Recommendations
–        Supporting Governments to create and implement policy and programs to meet their national, regional and international human rights obligations. –        Supporting organisations to mainstream human rights into their organisational policy and practice.-        Fast tracking of health & development legislative processes.

Customised Services
–        Providing customised services to support organisations achieve their human rights goals.

What is the ‘human rights based approach’?

HRBA offers a new perspective and solution to traditional health and development programs. It starts from the ethical position that all people are entitled to enjoy a fundamental level of material and spiritual wellbeing. Dignity Pasifika takes the side of people who suffer injustice and marginalisation by acknowledging their equal worth and dignity. It recognises poor people not as beneficiaries, but as active rights-holders and establishes corresponding duties for states and other development partners and actors against who claims can be made.

The HRBA focuses on outcomes as well at outputs. It is measured by the lives it has changed for the better, over and above the number of activities and how many participants a program has reached.

How does it help deliver health and development outcomes?

The concepts of rights-holders and duty-bearers introduce an important element of accountability into health and development work and move the focus to where it should be: development by people – not for people. Dignity Pasifika’s role is to help the poor identify and overcome obstacles blocking their rights and give governments and development partners the tools and training to enable them to fulfil these rights through empowerment of government officials, development partners and target population.

Why are dignity and respect essential?

We believe that poverty is never simply the fault of the individual, nor can its solution be purely personal. Dignity Pasifika refuses to simply place the burden of poverty and injustice on abstract notions such as society or globalisation. There is no dignity or respect in suffering poverty. “Poverty” is injustice and its central causes include marginalisation, discrimination, and exploitation.

Living in dignity and respect is about identifying root causes of poverty, empowering rights-holders to claim their rights and enabling duty-bearers to meet their obligations.