Fiji's Peoples Community Network has told the commission drafting the country's new constitution it needs to clearly spell out people's rights to things such as education and housing.
Father Kevin Barr was speaking at a workshop run by the Constitutional Commission which has been hearing submissions on the issue.
He says two thirds of people in Fiji either live in poverty or are close to it.
Father Barr says consitutions usually mention the Bill of Rights but this document should go further.
"Usually they're expressed in words but there's no way to show how they become actionable and brought into reality so I was suggesting that the constitution needs to find ways of showing how those rights are not just words, but can become reality."
Father Kevin Barr says people also need to be made aware of the rights they have in the constitution.
