Fiji

I extend to you, Madam, the congratulations and best wishes of the Government and the people of the Fiji Islands. The General Assembly is to be commended for accepting your candidature to become the third woman to assume the post of President of the Assembly. That recognizes the critical role that women play in the development of humanity in our global village. We assure you of the support of my Government during your tenure. We also extend our gratitude to your predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Jan Eliasson, for his tireless efforts in the United Nations reform process, to which he has applied his personal skills and knowledge. While much is still to be resolved, his contributions thus far to the reform process have started the ball rolling. It is up to us to maintain the momentum. Fiji, its Government and its people wish to honour and express our appreciation to the outgoing Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan. His tireless efforts to promote peace and reconciliation in the world are well recognized. Ghana should be justly proud of its son. As a nation of the developing world, we are just as proud that he has been able to project our hopes — most prominently, in the development agenda of the Organization. We respect his achievements in leading the United Nations during his tenure of office. His service to peoples around the world, and the patience, courage and determination that he has demonstrated daily in facing the world, despite the barbs and criticisms thrown his way, are commendable. We ask him to accept our deepest gratitude and profound appreciation for all that he has done. We extend best wishes for the future to him and to his family. On this occasion, following our successful general elections held in May of this year, I am pleased to be able to report to the Assembly that all international observers who attended the holding of the general elections in Fiji have concluded that the result was democratic and a fair reflection of the popular will of the people. The rebuilding of our nation after the disaster that struck us in 2000 is going very well indeed. It was strengthened following the formation of the multiparty Government in accordance with the requirements of our Constitution. We now have a Cabinet comprising ministers drawn from the majority Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua (SDL) Party and the Fiji Labour Party, as the party that qualified to be invited to be represented in Cabinet. We also have ministers drawn from the independent members of our elected House of Representatives. This means that, for the first time in its history, Fiji has a cabinet that is truly representative of its multi-ethnic communities. Ministers from the two major races in the country and those from the minority groups are working well together in collaborative and consultative decision- making. We are united by the common purpose of taking our country forward, for the benefit of every citizen. Mr. Muñoz (Chile), Vice-President, took the Chair. This multi-ethnic arrangement for good governance has received overwhelming approval and support from all our communities. It has given our country reasons to be optimistic. People from all races now feel more confident and secure about their future. We believe that forming a multi-ethnic Government that is representative of our different communities, and making it work, is the approach that has eluded us for a long time, but one which will ensure long-term peace and stability in Fiji. That new form of inclusive Government is also underpinning our drive for continued improvements in Fiji’s economic performance. The plea from Fiji is for the United Nations Member countries to strengthen their joint resolve to 5 06-53615 oppose terrorism everywhere in the world. Fiji is committed to a world in which peace and prosperity are the cornerstones of all societies and communities. We consider it an honour to serve the cause of peace under the banners of the United Nations and other peacekeeping arrangements, including that under the Pacific Islands Forum. Where there are potential internal crises and disorder, we support the Secretary-General’s concept of conflict prevention. However, where the United Nations mandates intervention for peace, we are ready to contribute. Peacekeeping personnel from Fiji are working in Iraq, Kosovo, Liberia, the Sinai, the Solomon Islands, the Sudan and Timor-Leste. We would like to thank the United Nations and all those countries that have assisted Fiji in honouring its commitment to international peace and security. We welcome the intention of other countries to assist us in that matter. We do so with humility, knowing that there is more peace to keep and to build in the world today, and that we have acquired competence to offer to humanity. Peace and security initiatives have undergone a number of reviews recently to benefit peacekeeping operations. Fiji notes the creation of the peace stabilization force in Lebanon and the consultative process that preceded it as an example of an existing organization’s being tailored to suit a given situation. We should not be afraid to make changes for the better. The best practices derived from Bougainville and the Solomon Islands are examples that can be utilized elsewhere. The Peacebuilding Commission was established primarily to ensure that countries that have emerged from conflict do not regress to their status quo ante. Fiji commends that initiative and appeals for everyone’s support. I welcome the support given to Fiji as an inaugural member of the Peacebuilding Commission. We in the Pacific remain committed to ensuring that our region remains one of permanent peace and stability. Next month, Fiji will host the meeting of the leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum. The finalization of the Pacific Plan will be the main focus of the meeting. The Plan provides a framework for cooperation and mutual assistance in development, good governance and long-term peace and security. We commend those countries from outside our region that have pledged to work and to assist us in the implementation of the Plan. The Pacific Islands Forum leaders welcomed their summit meetings earlier this year with China, Japan and France. We commend them for their development support and their leadership in promoting lasting peace in the region. We maintain that those initiatives ought to be sustained and can be ensured by engaging all parties in constructive dialogue. The United Nations is renowned for addressing and finding resolutions for the problems of the small and marginalized. Fiji is a small island developing State with a highly vulnerable economy. Our economy is open and is over 70 per cent dependent on export trade to earn foreign exchange to meet its development needs. We find that the multilateral trading rules emanating from the World Trade Organization (WTO) are not fair or equitable, given our development status, geography and size. WTO proposals that have tended towards a one-size-fits-all approach have not fully benefited from an honest and creative application of the special and differential treatment clauses of the WTO. They have not effectively addressed the multiplicity of problems we are facing. They serve only the interests of countries that are developed, big and already established traders globally and, of course, are already well off. The fact that those proposals are formulated with little regard for our concerns has manifested itself in widening disparity, greater marginalization and worsening global poverty. However, we do not advocate the removal of the multilateral trading arrangement. We just need to make it better. The suspension of the WTO talks on the Doha Development Agenda has further deepened our concerns regarding the need for the multilateral trading rules to show some flexibility so that the development concerns of countries like Fiji can be addressed in the current round of negotiations. We call on the membership of the United Nations to work towards an early resumption of the suspended WTO talks. There is far too much at stake for all of us, and especially for the small islands developing States like Fiji. We acknowledge the importance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international instruments in the promotion of human rights. We note that they are concerned primarily with protecting the rights of individuals. Fiji, like other Pacific Islands 06-53615 6 indigenous communities, welcomes the decision to bring the draft declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples to this Assembly for discussion and adoption. That instrument is vitally important to the recognition and acceptance of the right of indigenous peoples to self-determination and of their right to survival as ethnically and culturally distinct peoples. On the international convention on the protection and promotion of the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities, Fiji, like others, has recognized the special needs of persons with disabilities and has already enacted the relevant legislation and subsequently established the Fiji National Council of Disabled Persons. A national policy on disability for 2006-2016, a requirement of the act, is currently being finalized. Fiji strongly supports the international convention and would be in favour of its adoption. Fiji acknowledges the vital role women play in development. To ensure women’s active participation in all facets of development, the monitoring of the rights of women contained in the Beijing Platform of Action has to be reinforced. One effective way to do so is to ensure that domestic policies and legislation are in place to drive gender mainstreaming. That must be a priority target for us all. Improving world security must be accompanied by appropriate reforms in our Organization. A goal of the current reform of the United Nations is the need to ensure that the voices of small and vulnerable countries like Fiji are given equal treatment in the membership of this global body. One of the goals of the United Nations reforms is to achieve democratization. Without that, it will remain an Organization driven by sectarian interests, where might is right and moral and ethical considerations fall by the wayside. We must not be deterred from the momentous task we have set for ourselves. The outcome of our concerted and committed effort in those reforms will be a just and stronger Organization, better prepared to address the world’s multiplicity of challenges. A lot has been achieved since we last met in plenary. New challenges have emerged. However, there are still far too many people whose needs and voices are still crying out to be heard. The United Nations remains a beacon of hope for them. Those cries ought to be listened to and people empowered so that they can firmly and confidently take charge of their own destiny. We must all undertake to assist and participate in the work of the United Nations, commensurate, of course, with our respective size and economic standing.