PIDF Secretary General (middle) with PGA Ambassador Thomson (right) and Acting Fiji PRUN Luke Daunivalu (left) at the Fiji UN Mission in NY
The United Nations General Assembly on 13/12/16 granted Observer Status to the Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF) through a consensus amongst all the 193 Member States adopting the resolution without a vote.
In addition to its 193 member states, the United Nations General Assembly may grant observer status to an international organization, entity or non-member state, which entitles the entity to participate in the work of the United Nations General Assembly and maintain missions at the UN Headquarters.
The PIDF’s application for Observer status was spearheaded by Fiji’s Mission at the UN and endorsed by the UN Sixth Committee before final approval this week by the UN General Assembly.
Speaking about this latest achievement by the PIDF, PIDF Secretary General Mr François Martel stated:
“We are very pleased that the UN has granted Observer status to the PIDF. This follows the successful registration by the UN Treaties Division of the PIDF Charter on October 6th October 2015.
This is a major achievement for the PIDF. As you know the PIDF Charter was only approved by PIDF members on 4th September last year 2015 in Suva at the GPH. In a space of about a year we have successfully registered our Charter with the UN and now have being admitted as a UN Observer.
We are therefore grateful to all those countries who co-sponsored our resolution to the Sixth Committee of the UN and later to the UN GA itself. We are grateful to all 193 members of the UN who adopted by consensus the resolution. We are especially grateful to Fiji for leading this process which began when the Prime Minister of Fiji was our Chairman.
In our presentation to the UN early this year we had stated why we should be granted Observer status.
The justifications were as follows:
- Legally constituted international organization
- Expanding Pacific membership
- A forum for Pacific leadership
- Inclusive multi-stakeholder membership
- A collective south-south voice for Pacific Small Islands Developing States and Territories (PSIDS&T)
- The regional counterpoint for Pacific Small Islands Developing States (PSIDS) UN Missions
- Regional counterpoint for UN High Level Political Forum (HLPF)
- Convergence of development agenda
Now the UN with its latest decision has recognized that the Pacific Islands Development Forum’s mandate, membership and operations is in keeping with the principles and objectives of the UN and will contribute to the realization of various global frameworks and the global development agenda.
We are deeply humbled by this show of confidence in such a young organization not only by the UN but by our own members themselves who have supported us in this quest. We are committed to working with everyone bring about the transformative change the people of the Pacific deserve and have asked us to lead. We can now take this call to the world through the UN.”