Sign language on board for equal access to services and advocating for the rights
November 2017
Suva, Fiji – The inclusion of sign language interpreters provided persons with hearing loss access to social, economic and legal services and highlighted equal access to justice and government services as human rights during a recent outreach at the Nausori market coordinated by the government officers and United Nations Development Programme( UNDP).
Members of the Fiji Association of the Deaf( FAD) communicated their needs to government officers through sign language interpreters, who are not always available.
Director of the FAD, Krishneer Sen said,“ Provision of sign language interpreters would help us access government services. The programme today was helpful because we had interpreters with us. We have now accessed the information we wanted through sign language.”
He spoke to the Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission about the need to have sign language interpreters in the courts, not only in the capital city of Suva, but in other locations as well so that the deaf can have equal access to justice.
Social, economic and legal services are available and provided to persons in Fiji by the government but are not always known and easily accessed by all communities. Geographical location, language, economic, social and physical conditions can be barriers to essential government services. The need for increased awareness of the right to access to justice and the delivery of services that are enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Fiji, has been identified as a priority so that no one is left behind.
A mobile service delivery approach to raising awareness of rights and delivery of services was initiated by the Fijian Government and UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji with support from the Japanese Government.
Teams from the Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, Legal Aid Commission, Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission, and other related government agencies use mobile offices to take their services to the doorsteps of communities. Buses were custom designed and equipped to serve as mobile offices to deliver the services.
Provision of sign language interpreters would help us access government services. The programme today was helpful because we had interpreters with us. We have now accessed the information we wanted through sign language.
Krishneer Sen Director of the FAD
10 IMPACT STORIES Rights, Empowerment and Cohesion( REACH) for Rural and Urban Fijians Project