BAN KI-MOON DISPATCHES POST-COUP FACT-FINDING MISSION TO FIJI

BAN KI-MOON DISPATCHES POST-COUP FACT-FINDING MISSION TO FIJI
New York, Apr 20 2007 1:00PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is sending a fact-finding mission comprising political, electoral, human rights and development experts to Fiji next week to assess the situation in the Pacific island nation in the wake of last December's coup d'état.

Mr. Ban is dispatching the mission in response to the Security Council's call for the restoration of democracy and a peaceful resolution of political tensions, his spokesperson said in a <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=2529">statement issued today at UN Headquarters in New York.

The aim of the mission, which is scheduled to arrive in Fiji on Sunday, "is to gain a first-hand assessment of the situation in Fiji through broad consultations with the interim authorities, representatives of all political parties and civil society," the statement added.

The team is also slated to hold talks with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and the resident diplomatic community in the capital, Suva.

Led by Jehangir Khan of the UN Department of Political Affairs, the mission will include electoral and political experts, as well as representatives from the UN Development Programme (<"http://content.undp.org/go/newsroom/">UNDP) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (<"http://www.ohchr.org/english/">OHCHR).

The mission comes after the Secretary-General, the Security Council and other UN officials condemned the military coup on 5 December last year and urged that a peaceful restoration of the democratically elected government take place as soon as possible. Fiji has had four coups since 1987.
2007-04-20 00:00:00.000

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