SUVA (Pacnews) — New Zealand’s National’s foreign affairs spokesman Murray McCully has taken a swipe at the United Nations for its “unprincipled” stance in allowing Fijian peacekeepers to remain in its forces.
He called for a dramatic shift in the seriousness and scale of aid efforts in the Pacific, urging that money earmarked for far-flung places be diverted to New Zealand’s neighbors.
In a prepared speech given to the United Nations Association of New Zealand in Tauranga, McCully said the lack of leadership shown by the U.N. during the recent Fiji coup was a “serious disappointment.”
“The purpose of peace-keeping operations is to uphold the rule of law. For the U.N. to continue to use, on peacekeeping duties, military personnel who have overthrown their own government, is unprincipled and wrong.”
Before last year’s coup, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned that Fiji would be asked to withdraw from international peacekeeping operations if a coup took place.
But Fiji still has about 300 troops in Iraq, guarding the United Nations compound in Baghdad.
Peacekeeping was an important career development path for Fijian soldiers and the wages they earn are a vital component of the economy. The New Zealand government has urged the U.N. to take a principled approach on the matter.
McCully also criticized the scatter-gun approach to international aid, saying aid programs in the greater Mekong region, the Palestinian Authority, Nicaragua and China should be axed and diverted to New Zealand’s Pacific neighbors.
New Zealand has been criticized by aid agencies for being “miserly” in its contributions to foreign aid.