Fiji, 2006

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.