Fiji's society has long been marked by tensions between the majority indigenous Fijian population and an Indo-Fijian minority. Smaller minorities, including Banabans, Rotumans, Chinese, Melanesians and other Pacific islanders remain socially and politically marginalized. Largely as a result of this ongoing ethnic tension, the country has experienced four military coups and a military mutiny since 1987. The most recent coup of 2006, led by Commodore Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, promised to bring an end to the country's system of ethnic classification. Yet progress towards this goal has been slow, and Bainimarama's regime has been strongly criticized for infringing basic rights such as free speech and peaceful assembly.

The year 2012 saw the submission of a draft Constitution, which had been prepared by independent legal experts based on widespread public Consultation. Yet in January 2013, the government announced that it would not accept the draft, and that its Attorney General's Office would revise it. Furthermore, upon delivery of the new draft, the government announced that it was abandoning plans to hold a Constituent Assembly that was supposed to deliberate on the scheduled new constitution.

In August 2013, the government of Fiji released the final version of its Constitution, paving the way for elections in 2014. The new draft, which received presidential assent in September, seeks to break down ethnic divisions and create a single national identity. The new Constitution abolishes regional and ethnically based constituencies in favour of one national constituency covering the whole of Fiji. However, this has been accused of favouring larger political parties. The text has also been denounced for its restrictions on free speech and the extensive powers granted to the state, including detention without charge or trial in times of emergency, as well as immunity for government officials for a wide range of human rights abuses.

Regarding hate speech, Article 17 of the new Constitution prohibits 'advocacy of hatred that is based on any prohibited ground of discrimination ... and constitutes incitement to cause harm'. Furthermore, it gives individuals and groups the right to be free from hate speech, which is defined as any expression that 'encourages or has the effect of encouraging discrimination', whether directed against individuals or groups. Article 26 provides for the right to equality and freedom from discrimination on the basis of culture, ethnic or social origin, colour, place of origin, religion, birth, primary language, religion and a range of other grounds. It should be noted, however, that paragraph 8 grants a number of exemptions for laws and administrative measures. With regard to indigenous rights, the new Constitution recognizes the customary title of the iTaukei, Rotuman and Banaban to their lands, and their rights to royalties to resources extracted from those lands. It has been criticized, however, for not affirming the indigenous right to free, prior and informed consent. Finally, the new Constitution calls for compulsory multilingual education in iTaukei and Fijian Hindi, alongside English, and the provision of translation in court proceedings.

Over and above the constitutional framework, there are also some important provisions that address discrimination in Fijian domestic law, including the revised Public Order (Amendment) Decree 2012, which broadly prohibits vilification. However, it has attracted criticism for not complying with international standards and for undermining other important human rights and freedoms, including freedom of association. Furthermore, Fiji does not have any comprehensive legislation to prevent and combat ethnic discrimination. Most troubling, perhaps, is the fact that very few complaints, prosecutions and convictions relating to ethnically motivated crimes have gone through the courts or via the Fiji Human Rights Commission, despite reports of institutionalized or de facto ethnic discrimination in the country, including by law enforcement officials.

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