Fiji and the United Nations
Fiji established its Permanent Mission to the United Nations on 13 October 1970, three days after obtaining its independence from the United Kingdom. Since then, Fiji's participation in the United Nations has been notable primarily for its active role in UN peacekeeping operations, which began in 1978. List of ambassadors. The following individuals have held office as Ambassador of Fiji to the United Nations. Peacekeeping. Fiji soldiers served in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, which Fiji's Major General George Konrote commanded in 1998 and 1999. The country has also contributed to  other operations including Kosovo and Sinai, and, in 2004, Fiji was the first country to volunteer troops to protect United Nations officials in Iraq. The BBC has remarked on Fiji's "long and proud history of sending its forces to the world's trouble-spots". As of September 2004, 35 Fiji soldiers had been killed in the line of duty while serving on UN peacekeeping missions. As of April 2007, Fiji had 292 soldiers, police officers and military observers serving in United Nations peacekeeping operations in Iraq, Liberia, Sudan and Timor-Leste. Following the military coup in Fiji in December  2006, New Zealand and Australia urged the United Nations to suspend Fiji's participation in peacekeeping operations, at first to little avail. Questioned by media, a spokesman for the office of the Secretary-General stated that "[t]he United Nations is grateful for the service provided by Fijian personnel to UN peacekeeping operations over many years and for the Fijian personnel currently serving in dangerous UN assignments, including in Iraq". Fiji's military leader and interim Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama underlined his country's "proud track record in UN peacekeeping operations of professionalism, discipline, compassion and ability, training and ethics". In  September 2008, Fiji's participation in peacekeeping operations has reportedly been suspended. In April 2009, however, United Nations peacekeeping missions were still employing 282 Fijian troops, military observers or police, a fact criticised by New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully. Following lobbying from New Zealand and Australia, the United Nations announced that it would "continue to use Fijian police and soldiers in its current peacekeeping missions, but [would] not increase their numbers in future deployments". In March 2010, this led newly appointed Fiji Ambassador Peter Thomson to approach U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to express Fiji's readiness and  wish to commit further troops to U.N. peacekeeping operations. As of June 2010, "Fiji troops are [...] the only UN blue helmets in Iraq since 2004 with a 221 strong contingent". Climate change. Issues emphasised by Fiji at the United Nations in recent years have included the effect of climate change, notably on Small Island Developing States. Addressing the United Nations General Assembly in September 2008, Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama stated: Addressing the Assembly ten years later in September 2018, after Fiji had presided over the 2017 United Nations Climate Change Conference, he stated: Leadership. Under Frank Bainimarama's premiership , Fiji has sought to assume a more active and prominent role on international affairs, notably through the United Nations. In 2011, Fiji briefly sought election to the United Nations Security Council, which would have made it the first developing Pacific Island state to do so, but subsequently withdrew its candidacy. In 2013 Fiji presided over the Group of 77, an association of 134 developing countries working together for their common interests at the United Nations. Fiji was the first small island developing state to preside over the G77, and Foreign Affairs Minister Ratu Inoke Kubuabola explained: "[R]ecently, the G77 has  taken on negotiating positions in areas of climate change and sustainable development, the two areas which PSIDS focus on in New York. These are the two areas Fiji wishes to place emphasis on to ensure that the interests of all developing countries, including those of PSIDS, are effectively addressed". In 2016, Fijian diplomat Peter Thomson was elected President of the Seventy-first session of the United Nations General Assembly, becoming the first Pacific Islander to hold the post. He told the General Assembly: "We bring special perspectives on climate change and on oceans issues and you can expect me to  be vocal on those in the 71st session". Fiji presided the 2017 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP23), which took place in Bonn for practical reasons but under Fijian leadership. Under Fiji's impetus, it launched the "Talanoa Dialogue" to facilitate the implementation of efforts to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases. In 2018, Fiji became the first Pacific Island country to be elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council. Fiji's Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum emphasised Fiji's commitment to promoting "the right to education, healthcare, equal justice, adequate food, clean water, decent housing and many other  fundamental rights for human progress and dignity". 2010–11 voting record. Fiji voted in favour of Fiji abstained from voting on Fiji voted against