Fiji, 2002

Please accept, Mr. President,

the warm congratulations of the Republic of the Fiji

Islands on your election to lead this forum. I also

extend my appreciation to your predecessor, Mr. Han

Seung-soo of the Republic of Korea, for his guidance

of the General Assembly during the past year. We also

wish to congratulate Switzerland on its admission to

the Organization, as well as East Timor on its imminent

membership of the United Nations. Their membership

gives them a direct share in the collective

responsibility of the United Nations to promote world

peace, security and development.

When I last spoke here, in September 2000, my

country was in the throes of its most dangerous crisis,

following an armed uprising against the elected

Government. However, with God's help and with the

support of our own citizens and the understanding of

friends overseas, we have passed through the worst. We

returned to parliamentary democracy through general

elections in August last year. We have been welcomed

back into the Commonwealth and granted leadership of

the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States

(ACP). Recently, we hosted the third summit of ACP

leaders, as well as the thirty-third meeting of the

Pacific Islands Forum. Our economy is growing again,

and we have just concluded a successful national

consultation on strategies for development. We have

also embarked on a reconciliation effort to strengthen

peace and harmony in our multiracial society.

Today I thank the Member States of the United

Nations and the United Nations system for their

support and understanding during our period of crisis.

They stood with us, with words of quiet

encouragement, and expressed confidence in our ability

to resolve our own difficulties. There were others who

were judgmental and strident. Their approach was not

helpful. We remind them of the founding principles of

the United Nations: respect for national sovereignty

and non-interference in the internal affairs of Member

States. Countries have the right to seek, and to put into

effect, their own solutions to their problems.

Not far from this site is the desolate and empty

space of Ground Zero. It is a scar not only on the face

of this city; it is a scar on the world, a terrible reminder

of an unspeakable act of horror. We in the Pacific share

America's pain. We cannot feel it in all its intensity,

but we have a sense of the anguish and the anger. Our

thoughts and prayers have been with the American

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people. We remember the innocents of so many races

and faiths whose blood was spilled by hate, including

those killed in Kenya, Tanzania and other places, through

wanton acts of terrorism. Let it be known that the small

nations of the Pacific join the United Nations and all

right-thinking countries in the fight against terrorism.

In the Pacific Ocean, we are far from the world's

centres of power and areas of conflict and tension, but

we are very conscious that, today, no country is beyond

the reach of fanatics all too ready to kill and maim at

random. The Pacific's response to the heightened

threats of terrorism and transnational crime is

contained in the Nasonini Declaration on regional

security. This was adopted at the recent meeting of the

Pacific Islands Forum, which I had the honour to chair.

The Declaration binds the Pacific Islands Forum States

to the implementation of internationally agreed anti-

terrorism measures, such as Security Council resolution

1373 (2001) and the special recommendations of the

Financial Action Task Force. Forum countries have

undertaken to introduce legislation and other measures

to combat terrorism and terrorist financing. We will

similarly act against drug trafficking, people smuggling

and money laundering, in accordance with work

undertaken by such organizations as the United Nations.

The summit of the African, Caribbean and Pacific

Group of States (ACP) in Fiji in July lent the weight of

78 States, with 650 million people, to the anti-terrorism

campaign. Its Nadi Declaration strongly condemned

the 11 September attacks and terrorism in all its forms.

ACP countries want terror to be fought politically,

legally and operationally and in keeping with the

United Nations Charter. We made the point that the

root causes of terrorism, including poverty,

underdevelopment and oppression, must be treated.

The member countries of the Pacific Islands Forum

are heartened that at last there is an awakening to the

importance of the oceans. The international community is

starting to see that the conservation and sustainable use of

the oceans are vital to the survival of the human race and

this planet. It was a significant achievement for us that the

Plan of Implementation adopted at the World Summit on

Sustainable Development had a comprehensive section

on oceans and numerous allied issues. The Summit

specifically recognized that oceans, islands and coastal

areas are essential to the Earth's ecosystem and critical

to food security and the economic welfare of many

developing countries.

While the island States are small in population

and area — in contrast to the billions who occupy the

large land continents — we have something no other

international grouping possesses. Our Pacific heritage

gives us sovereign authority over nearly one sixth of the

Earth's surface. The Pacific has been described as the last

frontier, its depths still largely unexplored, its total

resources unknown. This almost boundless body of water

contains great biological diversity, the most extensive

coral reefs in the world, seabed minerals and the largest

sustainable tuna fishery. Humankind still does not

know what forms of natural energy it may produce.

It is our responsibility, as people of the islands, to

protect and nurture the Pacific. We must do so not only

for ourselves, but for people everywhere. For the first

time, we have adopted a regional ocean policy which

lays out the guiding principles for promoting the

Pacific as a maritime environment in support of

sustainable development. These principles are based on

international law, reflected in the United Nations

Convention on the Law of the Sea and other

international and regional agreements. The policy's

objective is to improve our understanding of the Ocean,

maintain its health and ensure environmentally sound

use of its resources and riches. It also recognizes that

we cannot take on this task alone and that we will

therefore need to develop partnerships and promote

Pacific cooperation.

For Pacific islands peoples, the ocean

environment is an integral part of their ethnic and

cultural identity and way of life. It is because of the

importance of the sea and its resources to them that they

are so adamantly opposed to any action which exposes the

Pacific Ocean to pollution, hazardous waste and the

destructive effects of nuclear and missile tests.

Recently, radioactive materials have been trans-

shipped across the Pacific in arrogant defiance of our

protests. We are told there is no risk, but when we

propose payment of compensation if there should be an

accident, there is instant rejection. The danger these

shipments pose to us is underscored by the disaster off the

coast of South Africa, where a freighter ran aground with

a hold full of toxic chemicals. We read of a ship

carrying hazardous cargo on fire in waters off Britain.

We do not want the Pacific put at risk in this way.

We know too well the legacy of radioactivity from

nuclear-weapons testing. People in parts of the Pacific

continue to suffer from the fallout. We are still waiting

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for those who committed these acts to take full

responsibility for what they have done.

There are real hazards to low-lying atolls from

another by-product of this era of environmental crisis.

Rising sea levels caused by global warming will lead to

the disappearance of some islands. They will sink

beneath the waves. Do not therefore be surprised if in

future environmental refugees from Oceania are forced

to seek sanctuary elsewhere.

The world should also not be surprised at the

strong call from the Pacific for the adoption and

ratification of the Kyoto Protocol. We praise those

nations that have signified their intention to ratify. To

those who have not done so, we pose the same question

we asked in Johannesburg: Will you display the

courage, generosity and largeness of spirit the world

needs from you? Will you join fully in saving the Earth

from the gross abuse and destruction of its resources?

We have done much in the Pacific to secure our

ownership of the rich regional tuna fishery. Ten years

of combined effort, negotiation, lobbying and

painstaking legal drafting led to the adoption of the

United Nations Law of the Sea Convention in 1982.

When it came into force, international law allowed us

to lay claim to huge areas of marine-resource

jurisdiction through archipelagic regimes and 200-

nautical-mile exclusive economic zones. We established

the Forum Fisheries Agency to coordinate our efforts to

get the best returns from valuable tuna stocks. There was

a successful conclusion to negotiations with America for

a regional fisheries agreement. I pay tribute here to the

United States for its willingness to reach an accord and

for agreeing to its extension to 2013.

We still have much to do, however, to consolidate

our position and to ensure that we bring an end to

exploitation, which continues unabated. We are

angered by the indiscriminate commercial exploitation

of our tuna by distant-water fishing fleets. They have

no compunction about using purse seine methods and

drift nets, which take huge amounts of small tuna and

destroy other species. We call on those nations to act

responsibly and to stop this ruthless exploitation. The

reality is that more than 95 per cent of the annual value

of the South Pacific catch is taken by them. Where

arrangements for fees to be paid do apply, the return to the

region is less than 3 per cent of the annual commercial

worth of the harvest. Obviously, we must redouble our

efforts to improve our ability to receive a fair share of

these resources from harvesting and processing.

The next step is to bring into effect the Western

and Central Pacific Tuna Convention. This will

establish a commission to secure long-term

sustainability. The Convention recognizes that the

standards of other regions cannot be applied to us and

that our interests will be safeguarded against more

powerful and economically superior Powers.

We very much welcomed the undertaking by a

number of countries in Johannesburg to permit quota

and tariff-free market access to the least developed of

the developing countries. We urge them to extend the

same access conditions to developing island States. We

know that free trade, as espoused by the World Trade

Organization, is the ideal. All nations will trade on the

same basis of equality and fairness, but what a large

gap there is between the ideal and the reality. The

developing countries hear huge amounts of free-market

rhetoric from the rich nations, but it is completely

cancelled out by the reality of continuing

protectionism. There is no level playing field for the

poorer nations, only a steep and slippery slope. That is

why we must move carefully into an integrated system

of world trade and allow special treatment for those

developing countries that are especially vulnerable.

It is in furtherance of this that I make a plea for

the acceptance of small island developing States as a

special case for trade and aid assistance. This would

bring them into line with the least developed and

landlocked developing countries.

Next week will see the commencement of formal

negotiations between the European Union and the

African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries on new

partnership arrangements under the Cotonou

Agreement. The ACP States look forward to

strengthening the partnership with the European Union

started under the Lomé Convention in 1975. It is also

their hope that the new economic partnership

agreements will incorporate commitments made by the

European Union member countries at Johannesburg.

The United Nations was conceived to seek the

betterment of people and to foster security and peace in

the world. It has had its failures, and it still has its

critics. But let us not forget the successes and its

influence for good. Consider where we would be

without the United Nations. We believe it has a

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continuing role and a future, given the commitment of

the membership to its governing principles.

I am pleased to assure the Assembly that the

Pacific Island Forum and the Africa, Caribbean and

Pacific Group strongly support our Secretary-General's

new emphasis on preventive diplomacy. Conflict

prevention and peace-building should continue to be

the central considerations in involvement by the United

Nations in ongoing efforts to deal with conflict and

crisis situations in the Middle East and elsewhere.

We congratulate the United Nations on the

success of its various peacekeeping operations. Fiji's

participation in the United Nations Interim Force in

Lebanon (UNIFIL), after more than 24 years, will

conclude in December this year. It has been a great

honour for us to serve the international cause of bringing

peace and order to that part of the Middle East.

Fiji reaffirms its willingness to continue its

participation in United Nations and international

peacekeeping operations. All this has cost us dearly in

lost lives, but it is a price we are willing to pay for

international peace and security.

We live in uncertain times. The world is troubled.

We look to the United Nations to provide steadiness

and balance at the centre. We look to it to maintain

peace on earth and hope for humanity. Member

countries of the Pacific Island Forum have committed

themselves to promoting and safeguarding the Pacific

Ocean as a region of peace. We appeal to all those who

are part of our wider Pacific community to embrace the

way of peace and to constructively engage in

cooperation for development. We welcome China's

increasing presence and involvement in supporting and

assisting development in our region. China and Taiwan

have longstanding differences. All of us in the Pacific

want to see them resolve their dispute amicably

through dialogue and a common vision.

We welcome the peace mission by the Prime

Minister of Japan to normalize relations with North

Korea. We hope that his visit will also have the added

impetus of encouraging North and South Korea to

intensify their contacts and dialogue for a peaceful

accord between them.

Japan, itself, is setting an example of how a

developed nation can use its resources to help others.

In Johannesburg, Japan was more forthcoming than

most affluent countries in its willingness to act on the

Summit agenda and decisions. It is already playing a

very positive role in the South Pacific.

Fiji reiterates its support for Japan as a permanent

member of the Security Council, along with China.

In concluding, let me reaffirm that, in a world

still threatened by conflict and war, the Pacific Island

Forum and the ACP Group stand firmly for peace. We

say the best way of securing that and protecting our

precious planet is to uphold the multilateralism

represented by the United Nations and its family of

nations. For peace to endure, the United Nations must

continue to ensure that development and opportunities

for economic and social progress are spread and shared

evenly among all its Member States.

At Johannesburg, we all agreed to promote

partnerships to assist developing countries in dealing

more effectively with the basic needs of their peoples.

From our experience with our trade and development

partnerships, with Australia and New Zealand and with

the European Union, the Pacific Islands and ACP

countries commit themselves to working closely with

the United Nations system and other multilateral

organizations, like the World Trade Organization, in

promoting similar partnerships with other developed

countries.