9 July 2026
The Australian Centre for International Justice (ACIJ) notes the announcement this week of the new Australia-Fiji mutual defence treaty, known as the ‘Ocean of Peace Alliance’, alongside the broader ‘Fiji-Australia Vuvale Union’ economic partnership.[1] Together these agreements mark a significant deepening of Australia’s relationship with Fiji, including through a mutual defence framework and more than $1 billion in Australian support over the next decade. [2]
ACIJ is deeply concerned that this significantly expanded defence and security relationship with Fiji has been announced despite unresolved allegations of torture, ill-treatment and custodial violence committed by members of the Fijian military. These concerns are not abstract. ACIJ represents a Fijian torture survivor who was subject to torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment by members of the Fijian military in Suva, Fiji.
In 2024, a Fijian Colonel, Penioni “Ben” Naliva was appointed as Deputy Commander of the 7th Brigade of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) in Brisbane, exposing serious deficiencies in the Department of Defence’s vetting of foreign military personnel.
Following ACIJ’s concerted advocacy efforts, including the submission of a criminal complaint to the Australian Federal Police (AFP) on behalf of our client, in April 2024, identifying Naliva as one of those responsible, it was reported that Naliva had been removed from his position as Deputy Commander of the 7th Brigade and transferred by the ADF to the Australian Defence College in Canberra for a period of one year. Despite credible allegations of torture against him, Naliva was later given a free pass to leave Australia in December 2024, absent any apparent investigative action by either the Department of Defence or the AFP while he was present on Australian soil. Until now, ACIJ has continued to seek answers from Australian authorities, including the Department of Defence, as to why an alleged perpetrator of torture was not only able to freely enter Australia, but was also appointed to a senior defence position without apparent consequence.
This treaty also comes amid renewed allegations of torture and custodial violence in Fiji. In April 2026, Fijian national Jone Vakarisi died while in Fijian military custody at Queen Elizabeth Barracks, an Australian-linked base in Suva, with Fijian police reportedly opening a murder investigation after a post-mortem identified severe blunt-force injuries.[3] In June 2026, Fijian national Sakiasi Radravu died after his family alleged he had been subjected to torture and sexual abuse during a raid involving Fijian law enforcement personnel. These recent allegations arise against a longer documented pattern of torture and ill-treatment by Fiji’s security forces, including Amnesty International’s 2016 report, Beating Justice, which documented severe beatings, rape and other sexual violence, deaths in custody, and impunity involving police and military personnel.
Australia cannot credibly champion human rights in the region while failing to ensure that its own defence cooperation reflects those same principles. This criticism is not unique to Fiji. ACIJ has consistently called for accountability for serious international crimes and human rights violations, regardless of where they occur or who commits them, including alleged war crimes committed by ADF personnel.
Where there are credible concerns that a state’s security forces have committed serious human rights violations, defence cooperation should be subject to robust human rights conditions, including independent vetting, ongoing monitoring and accountability safeguards. Unlike the United States, Australia has no legislated human rights vetting framework comparable to the US Leahy Law, which prohibits certain forms of security assistance to units of foreign security forces “where there is credible information implicating that unit in the commission of gross violations of human rights”.[4] As Australia expands defence partnerships across the Indo-Pacific, this gap is increasingly untenable.
ACIJ urges the Australian Government to introduce a transparent, independent and legislated human rights vetting regime applicable to all defence cooperation with foreign security forces, including any training, exchanges, secondments, operational cooperation, or other forms of institutional support.
Australia should not deepen defence cooperation with foreign security forces where there are credible allegations of torture or other gross human rights violations unless robust human rights vetting has been undertaken and any allegations capable of investigation under Australian law have been promptly referred to, assessed, and where appropriate, investigated by the AFP.
Australia must ensure that any mutual defence assistance it provides does not legitimise alleged perpetrators, undermine accountability, or risk contributing to future human rights violations.
[1] Australian, Government, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Fiji-Australia Vuvale Union.
[2] ABC News, ‘Prime Minister Anthony Albanese Signs Ocean of Peace Alliance with Fiji’ (6 July 2026).
[3] Amnesty International, ‘Fiji: Death of Man in Military Custody Linked to Australian Base Must Be Promptly Investigated’ (21 April 2026); ABC News, Pacific Beat, ‘Jone Vakarisi’s Death in Military Custody Investigated As Murder’ (24 April 2026); Fiji Police Force, Facebook Progress Post, (20 April 2026); ABC News, Pacific Beat, ‘Human Rights Organisations Call for Reforms to Fiji’s Police and Military Systems’ (11 June 2026); Amnesty International, Fiji: Beating Justice: How Fiji’s Security Forces Get Away with Torture (4 December 2016).
[4] United States, Department of State, Leahy Law Fact Sheet.
