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Thank you Mr. President.
I have the honour to make this statement on behalf of Australia and New Zealand.
New Zealand and Australia thank all three special rapporteurs for their reports. In the interests of time, we limit ourselves to posing a question to the Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers and his efforts to engage with the interim government of Fiji.
The domestic situation in Fiji has been of concern to many in the international community, including New Zealand and Australia, for some time now. We have been concerned by the ongoing lack of a response to the United Nations’ repeated attempts to engage with Fiji’s interim government.
This position echoes the outcomes statement of the third Pacific Islands Forum Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Fiji, which expressed concern about human rights abuses, threats to media freedom and judicial independence, and similar actions that were inconsistent with the creation of an environment in which free and fair elections could be held and Fiji’s longer-term issues resolved. Australia and New Zealand would renew their call on the interim government of Fiji to respond positively to ongoing efforts by the international community to engage with it in an objective, supportive and constructive manner.
New Zealand and Australia were interested to note a reported comment by Fiji’s Interim Attorney-General a few weeks ago in which he suggested that Fiji’s interim government was in the process of extending an invitation to the Special Rapporteur. We would be interested to learn from the Special Rapporteur whether such a communication has been received from Fiji’s interim government.
In addition, Special Rapporteur, in light of the comments in para 11 (page 5) of your report, we would be interested in your views regarding what the international community can do to encourage cooperation from the Fiji interim authorities to allow your visit to take place. We would also like to hear your views on how you would look to investigate allegations of human rights violations in respect of the judiciary in Fiji.
Thank you very much President.
