General Assembly Official Records Seventieth Session

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

General Assembly Official Records Seventieth Session United Nations A/70/ PV.103 General Assembly Official Records Seventieth session 103rd plenary meeting Monday, 13 June 2016, 10 a.m. New York President: Mr. Lykketoft ......................................... (Denmark) The meeting was called to order at 10.05 a.m. It was so decided. Mass shooting in Orlando, Florida Agenda item 4 The President: I should like to express my deepest Election of the President of the General Assembly sympathies to the host country and the people of the Election of the President of the General United States of America after yesterday’s horrific Assembly for the seventy-first session mass shooting in Orlando, Florida. The loss of so many innocent lives through such an act of barbarism is The President: I now invite Members, in accordance extremely upsetting, and I wish to convey my sincere with rule 30 of the rules of procedure of the General condolences to the families and friends of the victims. Assembly, to proceed to the election of the President of This attack demonstrates once again the need for each the General Assembly for the seventy-first session. and every member of the Assembly to continue the work May I recall that, in accordance with paragraph 1 to defeat hatred, counter discrimination and prevent of the annex to resolution 33/138 of 19 December 1978, violent extremism. the President of the General Assembly at its seventy- first session should be elected from among the Asia- Agenda item 138 (continued) Pacific States. Scale of assessments for the apportionment of the In this connection, I have been advised that expenses of the United Nations the Chair of the Asia-Pacific States for the month The President: I should like, in keeping with of May 2016 has informed the Secretariat that His established practice, to draw the attention of the Excellency Mr. Andreas Mavroyiannis of Cyprus and General Assembly to documents A/70/722/Add.7 His Excellency Mr. Peter Thomson of Fiji are the two and A/70/722/Add.8, in which the Secretary-General candidates for the presidency of the General Assembly informs the President of the General Assembly that, for the seventy-first session. since the issuance of his communication contained In accordance with rule 92 of the rules of procedure, in document A/70/722/Add.6, Yemen and Libya have the election shall be held by secret ballot and there shall made the payments necessary to reduce their arrears be no nominations. Before we begin the voting process, below the amount specified in Article 19 of the Charter. I should like to remind members that, pursuant to rule May I take it that the General Assembly duly 88 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly, takes note of the information contained in documents no representative shall interrupt the voting except on a A/70/722/Add.7 and A/70/722/Add.8? point of order on the actual conduct of the voting. This record contains the text of speeches delivered in English and of the translation of speeches delivered in other languages. Corrections should be submitted to the original languages only. They should be incorporated in a copy of the record and sent under the signature of a member of the delegation concerned to the Chief of the Verbatim Reporting Service, room U-0506 ([email protected]). Corrected records will be reissued electronically on the Official Document System of the United Nations (http://documents.un.org). 16-16793 (E) *1616793* A /70/PV.103 13/06/2016 Ballot papers are now being distributed and the and the United Nations had that small majority tipped voting has thus begun. I request representatives to his way rather than mine. I wish him well in all his use only those ballot papers that have been distributed future endeavours, and I thank him. and to write the name of one of the candidates and not I should also like to take this opportunity to thank the name of the candidate’s country, for whom they the Government of Fiji for putting me forward for this wish to vote. Ballot papers containing more than one post. It is a great honour that it chose to put one of its name or containing only the name of a country will be own up for this high office, and that that person was me. declared invalid. I should like to thank my Prime Minister, the Minister At the invitation of the President, Mr. Guido for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Crilchuk (Argentina), Ms. Lachezara Stoeva Fiji ambassadors overseas and, especially, the staff of (Bulgaria), Mr. Mustapha Kamal Rosdi (Malaysia), the Permanent Mission of Fiji to the United Nations. Mr. Ilan Cohen (Netherlands), Mr. Samson Itegboje I also take this opportunity to thank the hundreds of (Nigeria) and Mrs. Katalin Oanţă (Romania) acted Fijians who serve in the Blue Helmets and Blue Berets as tellers. as United Nations peacekeepers around the world. To them, also, I say “Thank you for your service”. A vote was taken by secret ballot. I should also like to take this moment to thank The meeting was suspended at 10.15 a.m. and my brothers and sisters from the Pacific small island resumed at 10.50 a.m. developing States (SIDs). This was not just a Fiji The President: The result of the voting is as follows: candidacy; it was a Pacific SIDs candidacy, and this is the first time in history that one of the Pacific SIDs Number of ballot papers: 192 countries has put up someone who has succeeded in Number of invalid ballots: 7 being elected as President of the General Assembly. It Number of valid ballots: 185 is a great moment for the Pacific islands, and I thank Abstentions: 1 everyone for their support. The Pacific SIDs bring Number of members voting: 184 special perspectives on climate change and oceans Required simple majority: 93 issues, and Assembly members can expect me to be Number of votes obtained: vocal on those in the seventy-first session. Mr. Peter Thomson (Fiji) 94 But let me say that, while my presidency is Mr. Andreas Mavroyiannis (Cyprus) 90 supported by the SIDs and the Group of 77, I want to Having obtained the required majority, His assure everyone that it is for the whole house. We are Excellency Mr. Peter Thomson was elected bound together not only by the Charter of the United President of the General Assembly at its seventy- Nations, but also by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable first session. Development (resolution 70/1), which is a universal Agenda. That is what lies ahead for us in the seventy- The President: I wholeheartedly congratulate first session — the implementation of the Agenda His Excellency Mr. Peter Thomson on his election as for Sustainable Development. It is the high purpose President of the General Assembly for the seventy-first of the seventy-first session to achieve momentum on session, and invite him to take the floor. that Agenda. By the end of the seventy-first session, Mr. Thomson (Fiji): I thank you, Mr. President, we must be accountable; we must have progress on and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for your wise all 17 Sustainable Development Goals. That is going leadership and the excellent example you have forever to require transforming systems. It is going to mean set us here at the United Nations. I look forward to overcoming structural and intellectual barriers. We working with you both over the next three months in have to implement the Agenda. It is there for the good preparation for the seventy-first session. of our children and our grandchildren. Without it, their future will be in jeopardy; with it, we will have a I thank my honourable colleague Mr. Andreas sustainable place on this planet. Mavroyiannis so much for the fairness of our contest and the gentlemanly conduct that he exhibited throughout. On a personal note, I should like to thank the He would have been a credit to the General Assembly two gentlemen sitting beside me at the Fiji desk this 2/8 16-16793 13/06/2016 A /70/PV.103 morning. They are the two most senior diplomats that refugees in September, and the important work of the Fiji has ever produced. Ambassador Satya Nandan revitalization of the General Assembly. I will also hold was for many years the Secretary-General of the my third high-level thematic debate on human rights on International Seabed Authority and was also an Under- 12 and 13 July, as well as further informal dialogues Secretary-General here at the United Nations. Sitting with candidates for the position of Secretary-General, next to him is Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, the President of if necessary. Fiji until last year. Ratu Epeli and my fathers fought in I am determined to leave behind a strong General the trenches at the pointy end of the Pacific war, and Assembly that all the 193 Member States and the people our families have been linked ever since. It is a great of the world can look up to and depend upon. I am honour for me that he is sitting with me here today. He confident that our efforts to drive this organ forward began his career here at the United Nations as a First and make it more transparent, more inclusive and more Secretary in the early 1970s. Tonight, we will sit down effective will be built upon under his Mr. Thomson’s at the Fiji Mission, we will drink Cava together and we stewardship. I therefore once again wish him the very will sing a lot of Pacific island songs.
Recommended publications
  • Timor-Leste's Growing Engagement with the Pacific Islands Region
    110 Regionalism, Security & Cooperation in Oceania Chapter 8 Acting West, Looking East: Timor-Leste’s Growing Engagement with the Pacific Islands Region Jose Kai Lekke Sousa-Santos Executive Summary • Timor-Leste is situated geopolitically and culturally at the crossroads of Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands region, and has pursued a two-pil- lared neighborhood foreign policy of “comprehensive and collective en- gagement,” which is defined by “Acting West” and “Looking East.” • Timor-Leste is seeking to integrate itself within regional governance and security structures, and institutions of both Southeast Asia and the Pa- cific Islands, thereby increasing its strategic role as a conduit for cooper- ation and collaboration between the two regions. • Timor-Leste is of increasing geostrategic importance to the Asia Pacific in view of the growing focus on the Pacific Ocean in terms of resource security and the growing competition between China and the United States. • Timor-Leste could play an increasingly significant role in regional de- fense diplomacy developments if the Melanesian Spearhead Group re- gional peacekeeping force is realized. Timor-Leste’s Engagement with the Pacific Islands Region - Santos 111 “We may be a small nation, but we are part of our inter- connected region. Our nation shares an island with Indone- sia. We are part of the fabric of Southeast Asia. And we are on the cross road of Asia and the Pacific.” 1 - Xanana Kay Rala Gusmao Introduction Timor-Leste is situated geopolitically and culturally on the crossroads of Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands region and has, since achieving in- dependence in 2002, pursued a two-pillared neighborhood foreign policy of ‘Acting West’ and ‘Looking East.’ Timor-Leste claims that its geographic position secures the “half-island” state as an integral and categorical part of Southeast Asia while at the same time, acknowledging the clear links it shares with its Pacific Island neighbors to the west, particularly in the areas of development and security.
    [Show full text]
  • Fijian Colonial Experience: a Study of the Neotraditional Order Under British Colonial Rule Prior to World War II, by Timothy J
    Chapter 4 The new of The more able Fij ian chiefs did not need to fetch up the glory of their ancestors to maintain leadership of their people: they exploited a variety of opportunities open to them within the Fij ian Administration. Ultimately colonial rule itself rested on the loyalty chosen chiefs could still command from their people, and day-to-day village governance, it has been seen, totally depended on them. Far from degenerating into a decadent elite, these chiefs devised a mode of leadership that was neither traditional, for it needed appointment from the Crown, nor purely administrative. Its material rewards came from salary and fringe benefits; its larger satisfactions from the extent to which the peopl e rallied to their leadership and voluntarily participated in the great celebrations of Fijian life , the traditional-type festivals of dance, food and ceremony that proclaimed to all: the people and the chief and the land are one . 'Government-work' had its place, but for chiefs and people there were always 'higher' preoccupations growing out of the refined cultural legacy of the past (albeit the attenuated past) which gave them all that was still distinctively Fij ian in their threatened way of life. This chapter will illuminate the ambiguous mix of constraint and opportunity for chiefly leadership in the colonial context as exercised prior to World War II by some powerful personalities from different status levels in the neotraditional order. Thurston's enthusiastic tax gatherer, Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi , was perhaps the most able of them , and in his happier days was generally esteemed as one of the finest of 'the old school' of chiefs .
    [Show full text]
  • Twitter Accounts Compiled in May 2016 By
    Diplomatic Twitter accounts Compiled in May 2016 by www.unfoldzero.org Twitter accounts: Europe Andorra Prime Minister: Mr. Antoni Martí @GovernAndorra Albania President: Mr. Bujar Nishani @BujarNishani Prime Minister: Mr. Edi Rama, @ediramaal Minister of Foreign Affairs: Mr. Ditmir Bushati @AlbanianMFA UN office in Geneva @AlMissionUNGen Austria Federal Chancellor: Mr. Werner Faymann @Werner_Faymann Minister of Foreign Affairs: Mr. Sebastian Kurz @MFA_Austria Belarus Minister of Foreign Affairs: Mr. Vladimir Makei @BelarusMFA UN office in Geneva @BelarusUNOG Belgium Prime Minister: Mr. Charles Michel @CharlesMichel Minister of Foreign Affairs: Mr. Didier Reynders @dreynders Bosnia and President: Mr. Bakir Izetbegović @B_Izetbegovic Herzegovina Prime Minister: Mr. Denis Zvizdić @DrZvizdic Bulgaria President: Mr. Rosen Plevneliev @PlevnelievRP Prime Minister: Mr. Boyko Borissov @BoykoBorissov Minister of Foreign Affairs: Mr. Daniel Mitov @MFABulgaria Croatia President: Mrs. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović @KolindaGK Prime Minister: Mr. Tihomir Orešković @ZoranMilanovi Minister of Foreign Affairs: Mr. Miro Kovač @MVEP_hr Czech Republic President: Mr. Miloš Zeman @MZemanOficialni Prime Minister: Mr. Bohuslav Sobotka @SlavekSobotka Minister of Foreign Affairs: Lubomír Zaorálek @ZaoralekL Denmark Prime Minister: Mr. Lars Løkke Rasmussen @larsloekke Minister of Foreign Affairs: Mr. Kristian Jensen @UM_dk UN office in Geneva @DKUNmisgva Estonia President: Mr. Toomas Hendrik Ilves @IlvesToomas Prime Minister: Mr. Taavi Rõivas @TaaviRoivas Finland President: Mr. Sauli Niinistö @TPKanslia Prime Minister: Mr. Juha Sipilä @juhasipila Minister of Foreign Affairs: Mr. Timo Soini @Ulkoministeriö UN office in Geneva @FinlandGeneva France President: Mr. François Hollande @fhollande Page 1 Diplomatic Twitter accounts Compiled in May 2016 by www.unfoldzero.org Prime Minister: Mr. Manuel Valls @manuelvalls Minister of Foreign Affairs: Mr Jean-Marc Ayrault @jeanmarcayrault UN office in Geneva @FranceONUGeneve Germany Chancellor: Mrs.
    [Show full text]
  • Pacific Partners Outlook
    Pacific Partners Initiative Pacific Partners Outlook Volume III | Issue 1 | January 2013 Six Pacific Developments to Watch in 2013 Inside This Issue elke larsen the week that was — Wildfires devastate parts of Tasmania, Elke Larsen is research assistant with the Pacific Partners Initiative New South Wales, and Victoria at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, — New Zealand cuts budget surplus forecast D.C. — Government of Fiji rejects draft constitution January 10, 2013 looking ahead — G’Day USA showcasing Australia The year ahead will see a number of important issues crop up in Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. But six in particular will be worth — Australia Day champagne reception watching. — Conference on the Asia Pacific in 2013 1. Elections in Australia Australia must hold national elections by November 30 at the latest. What the outcome will be remains unclear. Over the last year, public support for the Labor government of Prime Minister Julia Gillard has waxed and waned. The government’s unpopular carbon tax, its failure to achieve a promised budget surplus, and accusations that Speaker of the House Peter Slipper harassed a staffer are just the most prominent recent difficulties to tarnish the government’s popularity. Nevertheless, polls show that opposition leader Tony Abbott remains significantly less popular than Gillard. This is surprising considering that Gillard entered office deeply unpopular after ousting her predecessor, Kevin Rudd. But the public has warmed toGillard over the course of her administration and seems now to find her more likeable than the conservative and sometimes clumsy Abbott. No matter how the elections turn out, Australia’s foreign and defense policy will likely remain stable.
    [Show full text]
  • Indonesia-Fiji Bilateral Relationship Development Through South-South Cooperation in 1999-2016
    INDONESIA-FIJI BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPMENT THROUGH SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION IN 1999-2016 Hanna Ladrika Precillia International Relations, Universitas Kristen Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia [email protected] Abstract The use of soft power in diplomacy is essential because it minimizes the use of violence and coercion to solving a problem. This strength became the primary tool in the diplomacy of Indonesia-Fiji bilateral relations. The implementation of Indonesia's soft power is Indonesia's engagement in South-South Cooperation through technical cooperation for Fiji. This training is considered essential for Indonesia’s national interest, such as to support the territorial integrity and Indonesia's position in the South Pacific. The problem in this research is how the development of bilateral relations between Indonesia-Fiji through South-South Cooperation in 1999-2016? What is the impact of South-South Cooperation that Indonesia has made with Fiji? The research method used is qualitative with collecting data and uses the concept of Soft Power, Bilateral Relations, and International Cooperation Theory. Indonesia's bilateral relations with Fiji over the period of 1999-2016 have increased. The increase can be seen from the position of the total ranking of Fiji trade with Indonesia, which always occupies the top three in the South Pacific region. The Indonesian Government's strategy to improve bilateral relations with Fiji is to use a soft power approach in the form of technical cooperation within the South-South Cooperation Framework. This strategy has a positive impact on the political and economic fields of Indonesia. In politics, Indonesia has gained political support from Fiji about Indonesia’s territorial integrity from the separatist movement.
    [Show full text]
  • Reflections on the Civilian Coup in Fiji
    REFLECTIONS ON THE POLITICAL CRISIS IN FIJI EDITORS BRIJ V. LAL with MICHAEL PRETES Published by ANU E Press The Australian National University Canberra ACT 0200, Australia Email: [email protected] Previously published by Pandanus Books National Library in Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Title: Coup : reflections on the political crisis in Fiji / editors, Brij V. Lal ; Michael Pretes. ISBN: 9781921536366 (pbk.) 9781921536373 (pdf) Notes: Bibliography. Subjects: Fiji--Politics and government. Other Authors/Contributors: Lal, Brij V. Pretes, Michael, 1963- Dewey Number: 320.99611 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. First edition © 2001 Pandanus Books This edition © 2008 ANU E Press ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many of the papers in this collection previously appeared in newspapers and magazines, and as internet postings at the height of Fiji’s political crisis between May and June 2000. We thank the authors of these contributions for permission to reprint their writings. We also thank the journals, magazines, and web sites themselves for allowing us to reprint these contributions: Pacific World, The Listener, Fiji Times, Sydney Morning Herald, Canberra Times, The Australian, The Independent (UK), Pacific Journalism Online, Fijilive.com, Eureka Street, Daily Post, Pacific Island Network, Pacific Economic Bulletin, Journal of South Pacific Law, and Te Karere Ipurangi. Ross Himona, of Te Karere Ipurangi, and David Robie, of the University of the South Pacific’s Journalism Online program, were of particular assistance in tracking down contributors.
    [Show full text]
  • The Social and Religious Scene in Fiji Since the Coups
    Uncertain Sequel: The Social and Religious Scene in Fiji since the Coups John Garrett Fiji's political stability since the coups of 1987 has depended partly on the interplay near the political summit between two high chiefs and a com­ moner. Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau, the president of the interim government of the republic, was in April 1989 invested as Tui Cakau, the highest title in the province of Cakaudrove, within the Tovata, one ofFiji's three tradi­ tional confederacies. Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, the interim prime minister, is the bearer of the high titles Tui Nayau and Tui Lau in the same confed­ eracy. His authority extends over both southern and northern Lau-the eastern islands of the Fiji group (see Garrett 1988). Major-General Sitiveni Rabuka, the soldier-commoner, does not have the hereditary power of the other two members of the triumvirate. A professional warrior, he is largely a self-made man (Dean and Ritova 1988). He acquired his present power by dissolving a constituted Parliament at the head of troops schooled in abrupt intervention in the Fiji Battalion of the United Nations International Peacekeeping Force in south Lebanon. His troops have seen Israeli units in action. THE PARADOX OF RABUKA Ratu Ganilau and Ratu Mara conform to the pyramidal Polynesian struc­ tures and mores of ethnic Fijian society. Rabuka, through his upbringing, works within the same framework. He affirms the loyalty and customary duty he owes to high chiefs within a rank-order determined by birth. His activity in the two coups, and as minister for home affairs and commander The Contemporary Pacific, Volume 2, Number I, Spring 1990, 87-II1 © 1990 by University ofHawaii Press 88 THE CONTEMPORARY PACIFIC· SPRING I990 of the security forces since, presents a paradox.
    [Show full text]
  • H. E. Mr. Peter Thomson
    Seventy-first session United Nations The Sustainable Development Goals: General Assembly a universal push to transform our world President of the seventy-first session of the United Nations General Assembly H. E. Mr. Peter Thomson On 13 June 2016, the United Nations General Assembly elected Ambassa- dor Peter Thomson of Fiji to serve as President of its seventy-first session, which runs from September 2016 to September 2017. Ambassador Thomson took office in New York as Fiji’s Permanent Repre- sentative to the United Nations in February 2010, serving concurrently as Fiji’s Ambassador to Cuba until assumption of his duties as President of the UN General Assembly’s seventy-first session. Ambassador Thomson held office as Vice-President of the UN General Assembly in 2011-2012. He was elected as President of the Assembly of the International Seabed Authority’s 2011-2012 session and then as President of the Council of the Authority’s 2015-2016 session. For the duration of 2013, he chaired the United Nations’ largest negotiating bloc, the Group of 77 and China. From January 2014 to January 2015, he served as President of the Executive Board of UN Development Programme/UN Population Fund/UN Office for Programme Support (UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS). Between 1972 and 1987, he was a civil servant in the Government of Fiji working in the fields of rural development and then foreign affairs. His Fiji government career began as a district officer in the rural regions of Navua, Macuata and Taveuni. In 1978, he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Suva, where he took on political and overseas development assistance responsibilities before being seconded to the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat in 1979.
    [Show full text]
  • Climate Change and Health
    FIFTH MEETING CLIMATE CHANGE AND HEALTH NADI, FIJI 20 - 22 AUGUST 2019 NOTE: The views expressed in this report are those of the participants of the Fifth Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentarian Forum on Global Health and do not necessarily reflect the policies of the conveners. This report has been prepared by the World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific as Secretariat and for those who participated in the Fifth Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentarian Forum on Global Health in Nadi, Fiji from 20 to 22 August 2019. Cover Photo: WHO/Yoshi Shimizu WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION REGIONAL OFFICE FOR THE WESTERN PACIFIC FIFTH MEETING CLIMATE CHANGE AND HEALTH Hosted by the Speaker of the: PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF FIJI With support from: MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND MEDICAL SERVICES, REPUBLIC OF FIJI WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION REGIONAL OFFICE FOR THE WESTERN PACIFIC Nadi, Fiji 20 - 22 August 2019 Not for sale Printed and distributed by: World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific Manila, Philippines November 2019 FIFTH MEETING CLIMATE CHANGE AND HEALTH CONTENTS SUMMARY .................................................... 8 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................. 10 1.1 Meeting Organization 11 1.2 Meeting Objectives 11 2. PROCEEDINGS ............................................. 12 2.1 Traditional Welcome Ceremony 12 2.2 Opening Ceremony 13 2.3 SESSION 1: Highlighting Progress in Countries to Achieve Health in the SDGs 14 2.3.1 The Seoul Declaration: A Commitment to Action
    [Show full text]
  • Institute of Commonwealth Studies
    University of London INSTITUTE OF COMMONWEALTH STUDIES VOICE FILE NAME: COHP Sitiveni Rabuka Key: SO: Dr Sue Onslow (Interviewer) SR: Sitiveni Rabuka (Respondent) SO: This is Dr Sue Onslow talking to Mr Sitiveni Rabuka in Suva on Thursday, 10th April 2014. Sir, thank you very much indeed for agreeing to take part in this oral history project. I wonder if you could begin, please, by reflecting on your view of the Commonwealth, and the importance of the Commonwealth in the events of 1987 [i.e. the 14 May 1987 coup against Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra]. SR: Thank you very much, Sue. In 1987, you probably know the truth behind it. I was told, “The only way to change the situation now is to throw this constitution out of the window.” These were the words of Sir Ratu Mara. SO: You were playing golf with Ratu Mara at this particular occasion. SR: Yes. I caught up with him – they were in a group. I had made arrangements to meet with him. I got there late and when I caught up with them on the sixth tee, he said, “The only way to change the situation is to throw the constitution out of the window.” Before the fourteenth tee there is a villa where we stopped and had lunch, and that was also the end of the golf game. After lunch, I wanted to make sure that international relations were okay with him. He assured me they were okay. I said, “I’m worried about the reaction from Australia, New Zealand, America and the United Kingdom.” He said, “Leave those to me.” So, the Commonwealth came out hard in the wake of the letter that His Excellency the Governor General at the time wrote to Buckingham Palace, admitting that his position as Governor General was no longer tenable.
    [Show full text]
  • Day 1 News Bulletin of the 9Th Pacific Islands Conference On
    NEWS 2 DECEMBER 2013 | BULLETIN NO. 1 FROM THE 9TH PACIFIC ISLANDS CONFERENCE ON NATURE CONSERVATION AND PROTECTED AREAS The 9th Pacific Islands Conference on Nature Conservation Conference and Protected Areas is hosted by the Government of Fiji in partnership with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme, the Pacific Island Roundtable for Nature Conservation and IUCN Oceania. This media coverage is a partnership supported by the Pacific Media Assistance Scheme (PACMAS), SPREP, University of the South Pacific (USP), Fiji National University (FNU) and the Pacific Island News Association (PINA). Fiji President calls for ‘new culture’ of conservation to conservation and sustainable development and the daily observance of it in all our lives. Do not use our pristine environment as a rubbish dump.” Ratu Epeli reminded the participants of the uniqueness of the Pacific Islands’ common identity and challenged them to make the most of it. The five-yearly regional conservation conference brings together government representatives, NGOs, development partners, international organisations and individual communities from through the Pacific. The President also shared Fiji’s hopes PHOTO: NANETTE WOONTON PHOTO: to see that “grand coalition” broadened Fiji’s President His Excellency, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, in garland, with Attorney-General and and strengthened to include more Acting Environment Minister Hon Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum and Minister of Works Hon Timoci representatives of the corporate sector. Natuva. “We are convinced that only through an By WATI TALEBULA 2013 there was a need for a revolution in effective public and private partnership as Second year journalism student at FNU personal attitudes. well as a holistic approach to conservation, “For too long, Pacific peoples have can we tackle the complex challenges now iji’s President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau embraced one of the worst facets of before us,” Ratu Epeli said.
    [Show full text]
  • Ratu Josefa Iloilovatu Uluivuda
    February/March 2011 „Blessed be... the A Fijian Farewell: Ratu Josefa Iloilovatu Uluivuda Father of mercies Former President and Paramount Chief, Ratu Josefa and the God of all Iloilovatu Uluivuda left office on 30th July 2009. At the consolation, who age of 88 he was the world‟s oldest head of state. consoles us in all our affliction, so that we It was Josefa Iloilovatu who appointed Frank may be able to Bainimarama Prime Minister in 2007, and he also console those who overturned Fiji‟s Constitution in 2009 after the courts are in any affliction challenged the legitimacy of the military coup. with the consolation with which we Among other life-time achievements he was also a lay preacher for ourselves are many years and the Vice-President of the Methodist Church of Fiji consoled by God…‟ and Rotuma in 1997 and 1998. 2 Corinthians 1: 3-4 (NRSV) He died on 6th February 2011, a little over a month after celebrating his 90th birthday. The funeral cortege, Tuesday 15th February Suva was brought to a virtual standstill as the funeral cortege temporarily halted activities in the central area of the city. Hundreds of people lined the streets to pay their last respects as the procession slowly made its way along the main thoroughfare, the Victoria Parade. It took an hour to reach Walu Bay, where the casket was transferred to a purpose-built hearse for the journey to Iloilovatu‟s home village of Viseisei in Vuda, north-western Viti Levu. Schoolchildren, scouts, city workers, residents and curious tourists waited patiently for up to two hours for the body of Josefa Iloilovatu to pass, many of them sitting in deference to Fijian tradition that dictates that commoners cannot stand in the presence of a high chief.
    [Show full text]