Fiji
April 2009
On 20 April the Council was briefed by the Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs on following the Fiji government’s 10 April decision to scrap its constitution. Following the briefing the president of the Council told the press that members of the Council were deeply concerned about the situation in Fiji where undemocratic decisions had been made, including the abrogation of the constitution. The members of the Council described this as a step backwards and said that the democracy process needed to be restored. The president also expressed the hope that Fiji would resume “steadfast progress towards democracy and fair elections would be held at the soonest possible time.”
December 2006
On 7 December, the Council issued a press statement expressing grave concern at the situation in Fiji and hoped that the democratically elected government would be reinstated as early as possible. On 5 December, the Fiji military commander staged a military takeover against the Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase. (Qarase eventually won two parliamentary elections giving legitimacy to his government.)