Tuvalu and The United Nations

Tuvalu And The United Nations

Tuvalu became the 189th member of the United Nations in September 2000. At present, the country's Permanent Representative to the United Nations is Ambassador Afelee F. Pita.

Tuvalu, one of the world's smallest countries, has indicated that its priority within the United Nations is to emphasise "climate change and the unique vulnerabilities of Tuvalu to its adverse impacts". Other priorities are obtaining "additional development assistance from potential donor countries", widening the scope of Tuvalu's bilateral diplomatic relations, and, more generally, expressing "Tuvalu's interests and concerns". The issue of climate change has featured prominently in Tuvalu's interventions. Indeed, the country joined the United Nations as soon as it could afford to do so, to raise the issue to greater prominence. In June 2007, Prime Minister Apisai Ielemia wrote in the UN Chronicle that climate change was the "one issue that strikes at the heart of my nation", and added: "For this reason, Tuvalu has been very active in climate change negotiations and has actively participated in recent discussions in the UN Security Council. For a small island developing State like Tuvalu, this is a security issue of immense proportions". He called for "a new kind of Marshall Plan to secure the necessary funds to meet the costs of adaptation". Willy Telavi, who became Prime Minister in December 2010, has likewise asked the United Nations to act urgently on the issue.

Tuvalu notably played an active role in the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, attracting media attention. The Tuvaluan delegation submitted a proposed protocol which would have imposed deeper, legally binding emission cuts, including on developing nations. The proposal -dubbed by the media and by NGOs as the "Tuvalu Protocol"- was "immediately supported by other small island states, including Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago and several African states", but opposed by countries including China, India and Saudi Arabia. The disagreement caused a suspension in negotiations, and prompted supportive campaign groups to "demonstrate outside the meeting in favour of Tuvalu, chanting: 'Tuvalu is the new deal.'" Tuvalu's position was supported by, among others, East Timor, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Vanuatu, and by Papua New Guinean chief negotiator Kevin Conrad. Tuvalu and its representative Ian Fry "were the toast of the thousands of environmentalists at the conference, who held a noisy demonstration in support of the island state's position". In an article entitled "You caused it, you fix it: Tuvalu takes off the gloves", the Sydney Morning Herald noted that, by asking for a protocol that would legally bind developing countries, Tuvalu had "cracked a diplomatic axiom that has prevailed since the UN climate convention came into being in 1992: rich countries caused global warming, and it was their responsibility to fix it". The Economic Times in India noted that the Tuvaluan proposal had " take centre stage", holding up proceedings for two consecutives days until it was rejected due to opposition from larger nations. Australian Senator Christine Milne described Tuvalu as "the mouse that roared" at the Conference. Fry refused to support the final agreement reached by the Conference, describing it as "30 pieces of silver to betray our future and our people", after delivering a final plea in a speech with tears in his eyes, concluding "The fate of my country rests in your hands". The Australian’s political editor commented that, following Fry's "tear-jerking performance that prompted wild applause among the crowded Copenhagen conference floor", Tuvalu was "no longer small fry on the world stage".