SECRETARY-GENERAL APPEALS FOR CALM, URGES FULL RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

AFTER FIJI COURT RULES 2006 REMOVAL OF ELECTED GOVERNMENT ‘UNLAWFUL’

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

The Secretary-General takes note of the ruling of the Fiji Court of Appeal, which declared, among other things, that the removal in December 2006 of the elected Government was unlawful and the appointment of the interim Government unconstitutional.  The Secretary-General appeals for calm and urges full respect for human rights, the rule of law and the judicial process.

The United Nations has also learned of the outcome of the meeting convened by Commodore Voreque Bainimarama on 9 April 2009, which included a number of political parties, while excluding a number of major ones, and the position taken at that meeting with regard to the President’s Political Dialogue Forum, to be jointly mediated by the United Nations and the Commonwealth.

The United Nations, in consultation with the Commonwealth, will be reviewing its role in mediating a national dialogue in light of these developments and the prior understanding that the dialogue must be broad-based, inclusive, time-bound and without prejudice as to its outcome.

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For information media • not an official record