Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama highlighted Fiji’s commitment to global peace and sustainable management of natural resources in his remarks at the high-level meeting to commemorate the United Nations 75th anniversary yesterday.
“For 50 years, Fiji’s contribution to the United Nations has been driven by genuine care for those less fortunate than ourselves and uncompromising passion for the protection of our natural world,” he said.
“Fijian peacekeepers have defended the defenceless in the world’s most conflict-ridden regions.
“Our oceans diplomacy spearheaded the United Nations Law of the Sea –– of which Fiji was the first signatory.
“Today, we light the way towards the sustainable management of the ocean and its resources. “Fiji was the first country to ratify the Paris Agreement as well as the first small island state to lead the climate negotiations as president of COP23.
“Today, we are among the nations committed to net zero emissions by 2050.”
However, he said, all the hard-earned social progress that had been made was being stripped back by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Months into economically devastating lockdowns and border closures, a COVID-19 vaccine is still only guaranteed for those who can afford it. Five years post-Paris, global temperature rise is still projected to rocket past the two, three, or even four-degree mark, our ocean ecosystems are acidifying, and a sixth mass extinction event is already underway.”
Mr Bainimarama said all nations stood a better chance of overcoming global challenges if they stood in solidarity.
