The Government has strongly denounced the failure by the United States of America embassy to provide the Chief Justice, Justice Anthony Gates with the visa to represent Fiji at the ninth session of the Assembly of State Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
This meeting will be held from tomorrow to December 10 at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
Attorney General Mr Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said the invitation to this meeting was extended to Fiji by the International Criminal Court.
“As you are aware in recent times and in particular in the past year, Fiji has ratified through the Bainimarama Government and made a number of changes that took place regarding our penal code, which is now the Crimes Decree,” Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said.
“Earlier this May, also after 10 years of the review of the Rome Statute was held, which I attended with Mr Luke Daunivalu, Fiji’s deputy representative to the United Nations and Fiji in fact was commended for the number of changes that had been brought about.
“We have now modernised our laws and made it internationally compatible. We have for example, brought in new offenses of genocide crimes against humanity, trafficking in persons and children, people smuggling, piracy, slavery and sexual servitude.”
The Attorney General added that given such an advanced accomplishment with respect to its laws, which numerous other countries were yet to achieve, it was imperative that Fiji was suitably represented by our senior-most judicial officer.
“As such, the Fijian Government at the invitation of the ICC, had nominated the Chief Justice to represent Fiji at this important meeting. The ICC Secretariat, in consultation with Fiji’s representative to the UN, had already confirmed all allocated time for Justice Gates to make a presentation on behalf of Fiji on Tuesdy morning, December 7, ” Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said.
He said it was most unfortunate and gravely disappointing that Fiji was yet again frustrated in its attempts to adequately make representations to this meeting of the ICC as a result of this contemptible conduct on the part of the US Embassy.
“The Chief Justice was unable to attend this meeting because the American authorities failed to issue him with an entry visa. His application was initiated and lodged with the US embassy with sufficient time,” Mr Sayed-Khaiyum.
“While no formal message declining the visa has been issued, as usual it will be said there was insufficient time to process that application, or that the visa would have been issued eventually.”
Meanwhile, Mr Sayed-Khiayum also revealed that the Ministry of Fisheries and Forests, permanent secretary Commander Viliame Naupoto, had also not been given a visa to represent Fiji at the annual session of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, scheduled in Hawaii from December 5 to 10.
“Clearly the failure of the US embassy is specious and demeaning. In diplomatic language, the non-issuance of visa on time effectively tantamounts to a rejection. One wonders whether the same discourteous treatment would have been meted out to a Chief Justice of a more significant state than the small Pacific island country of Fiji,” the AG said.
Fiji will now be represented at this meeting by its Permanent Representative to the UN, Mr Peter Thomson and his deputy, Mr Luke Daunivalu.