Historic Deal Reached on New Caledonia's Political Future

After 10 days of intense negotiations in France, New Caledonia’s pro- and anti-independence parties have signed a landmark agreement establishing a new political status: a “State of New Caledonia” within the French Republic. The deal introduces dual citizenship (New Caledonian and French), gradual transfer of powers, and reforms to the long-disputed electoral roll. A public referendum on the agreement is set for February 2026.

Provincial elections have been postponed to May–June 2026 to allow time for ratification and public consultation.

While political leaders praised the deal as a path to peace and stability, many now look toward the Kanak people’s response in the coming months. Will this agreement meet their long-standing aspirations for self-determination and sovereignty?

We also await the position and role of Pacific leaders—how they will respond to this decision, and how they will carry it forward to ensure that the rights of the Indigenous Kanak people to live free and with dignity are fully upheld, protected, and guaranteed in this new political chapter.

#FreeKanaky #Kanaky #NewCaledonia #KanakyLivesMatters #FLNKS #decolonisation  #politicalKanaky #franceinthepacific

PM secures peacekeeping deal, backs Kanaky at MSG Summit

Prime Minister (PM) Jotham Napat says Fiji has agreed to include Vanuatu police officers in future United Nations peacekeeping missions, while Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) leaders have reaffirmed their strong and united support for Kanaky’s push for independence during the recent MSG Leaders’ Summit in Suva.

“I have requested that if every contingent of Fiji, that if they provide 100, if it is possible to give 10 to Vanuatu, and he have agreed with this idea,” PM Napat said yesterday after returning to Port Vila.

He said this is a government-to-government arrangement and all selected police officers will be trained at Black Rock, a regional training institution in Fiji.

the leaders have instructed the Secretariat to develop its concept, and even to the extent where if it needs for us to make one of the legislation where it covers travelling within MSG, then this have to be done,” Napat said.

He added that leaders acknowledged other MSG activities including the Melanesian Cup and the Cultural Festival hosted recently in Vanuatu.

“In 2026, Fiji will be the host. This has taken the full support of the MSG leaders.”

Climate action and Vanuatu's role

PM Napat said climate change was also part of the leaders’ discussion, and Vanuatu was commended for its international leadership.

“They continue to encourage every member within MSG to continue pursue this idea, took it to different level of platform, and they commend Vanuatu for the initiative that we have taken to spearhead loss and damages and also idea in terms of ICJ.”

Fisheries and trade agreements

He said MSG leaders also tasked the Secretariat with developing new concepts around fisheries and marine resource development.

“This is because within Melanesian we have more resources in our EEZ, and also when you look at population and land mass, MSG have seen to be globally have a lot of resources but weight is with us. This is why the idea to create different avenues on how to benefit from it.”

On trade, Napat said the MSG Secretariat has been asked to revisit current agreements.

“The leaders requested the Secretariat to revisit our trade agreement again to see what we can work on and improve—to give fair distribution and at the same time allow different country so that they can trade, and this is part of our trade agreement.”

Maritime Boundary with Fiji

PM Napat also held a bilateral meeting with the PM of Fiji, Sitiveni Rabuka, to discuss unresolved maritime boundaries between the two countries.

“We have sorted our maritime boundary with Solomon Islands already, but with Fiji not yet. When I support this idea, the Prime Minister of Fiji welcomes this idea, and he wanted for us to do it like how we do it with the Solomon Islands—with the culture of Melanesia,” he said.

“This is a very positive note because we have been waiting for since Fiji have signed a treaty with France and Australia in 1983. This is very difficult to us since every time we come to discuss our boundary with France it has been challenging.”

“But I think the road that the PM of Fiji indicated in the bilateral is that yes, we will sort this out in the Melanesian way. And then that give us an advantage to deal with our maritime boundary with France.”

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Historic win: UN human rights committee report raises France’s human rights violations in Kanaky

Pacific solidarity has driven historic UN recognition of France’s human rights violations in the struggle for self-determination and decolonisation in New Caledonia, a leading human rights activist says.Viro Xulue, a human rights and Indigenous law officer for Drehu customary council of New Caledonia attended the 42nd session of the UN Human Rights Committee in October, which examined reports of violations of human rights by France, including the self-determination of Māohi Nui and Kanaky.The committee’s subsequent report was concerned about the lack of progress made on the self-determination of the people of French Polynesia and made some recommendations.

Xule said the HRC confirmed all the concerns raised and he was grateful that José Manuel Santos Pais, the vice-chair was impartial and neutral in discussion.He said it was amazing to be acknowledged as an indigenous people for the first time.“The French don’t recognise the indigenous people, they talk about the ethnic minority. They don’t want to recognise us as indigenous.”

‘Big and historic’

“It’s really big and historic for us. It’s a big surprise and we’re really proud,” Xule said.“It was really amazing because it was the first time for Kanak indigenous people to be there for the Human Rights Committee.”The appearance before the Human Rights Committee came months after riots in New Caledonia as Framce tried to alter the Noumea Accords to allow more French residents to vote on an independence referendum. In October France announced that the electoral reform proposal would not go ahead.After a successful report to the Human Rights Committee Xulue said the next step was the UN General Assembly at which he will help Fiji and PNG include the Human Rights Committee recommendations in a resolution, as Fiji and Papua New Guinea had proposed a resolution to the UN Decolonisation Committee in June regarding a mission to Kanaky on the question of New Caledonia.Asked if that Fiji and Papua New Guinea support showed Pacific solidarity, he agreed.“Yeah, we have big Pacific solidarity but, specifically, it started with all the Indigenous people in the Pacific. All of us, we really stand together, we help each other.”

Thanked te iwi Māori

He also thanked the Pacific Conference of Churches as it had helped fund travel to New York and Geneva. And he also thanked te iwi Māori.“Māori people have sent their warriors to help me, that’s why I’m really thankful. In our legend, the water is coming from Aotearoa. It’s your role to help Kanak people, it’s the role of Māori people because it’s our legend coming from our ancestors.“When we want to have water, we ask the god who lives on Aotearoa, the long white cloud, to bring water to our people. And if we want to connect with our ancestors and gods, we asked the Aboriginal people with the big snake, the rainbow serpent, to help us connect with our god.“It’s really powerful and it was the rule for Māori people to help Kanak people and we need to connect again, our spirit.”

Committee told France to respect constitutional irreversibility

The Human Rights Committee report raised several areas of concern.The third referendum on independence during Covid-19 while Kanaks were in customary Indigenous mourning was shown through high abstention - 56.13 per cent did not vote.The Human Rights Committee said France did not respect the right of indigenous Kanak to be consulted to obtain their free, prior and informed consent.It recommended France respect the principle of constitutional irreversibility set out in article 5 of the Noumea Accord, which guarantees the integrity of the decolonisation process.It also raised the issue of prison conditions, the over-representation of Kanaks incarcerated, and the need to take alternative measures for Indigenous convicts to serve sentences i communities rather than overcrowded prisons.France is required to submit its response by November 2027 to the committee’s 14 recommendations on the excessive use of force by law enforcement officers, freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly.Eleven Kanaks were killed in the uprising earlier this year and two French gendarmes.

Freedom of expression concerns

There were some concerns over freedom of expression with journalists being subject to arbitrary arrests and excessive use of force when covering demonstrations. The report said the state must ensure journalists could cover protests without undue restriction or risk to personal safety.The committee was concerned by what it said was a significant increase in the number of defamation proceedings aimed at intimidating, silencing and financially exhausting journalists, human rights defenders and trade unionists.It said since the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel last October 7 several political, trade union and community leaders had been prosecuted for “condoning terrorism” when they pointed out the context in which the acts were committed.Finally, the committee was also concerned about the temporary closure of a major social media platform in response to unrest in New Caledonia in May.On the right to peaceful assembly the committee discussed peaceful demonstrators being arbitrarily arrested, and their demonstrations banned by authorities on basis of an alleged threat to public order. This included demonstrations supporting Palestinians.

Where to next?

Xulue said it was a historical step for Kanaky as the Human Rights Committee’s recommendations enabled a request for a UN special rapporteur (human rights expert) investigation in New Caledonia, which could be used for support at the UN Decolonisation Committee.The next step was to implement the recommendations proposed for indigenous groups, integrating them into their institutions, particularly within customary councils but he said the French government must do the same.Last week the president of the French parliament, the National Assembly, and the president of the French Senate were in Kanaky. Xulue said he didn’t know the aim of the mission but was worried they were preparing the next step in an attempt to bury the Noumea Accord.“The indigenous people, we don’t want to bury the Noumea accord because the Noumea Accord is the process of the decolonisation, for the sovereignty of Kanaky.”Indigenous representatives will participate in the 2025 Indigenous Forum and Decolonisation Committee, and the UN Committee Against Torture in May 2025, addressing what he called the first and second civil wars in New Caledonia (which were in the 1980s and earlier this year). The French refer to them as “the events” and civil unrest.Xulue emphasised, “The struggle is not finished.”The Human Rights Committee said the next constructive dialogue with France was planned for 2032 in Geneva.

MSG LEADERS CONVERGED FOR CAUCUS MEETING AHEAD OF 53rd PIFLM

PORT VILA, VANUATU (2 September 2024): The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Leaders' Caucus was successfully convened in Nukua’Alofa, Tonga, within the margins of the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting to develop joint positions on issues of specific relevance and of particular concern to the Group.

In his opening remarks, the MSG Chair and Prime Minister of Vanuatu, Hon. Charlot Salwai Tabimasmas, welcomed and thanked his colleague MSG Leaders for availing themselves to participate in the Caucus. 

He emphasised that side meetings as such, on the margins of the PIF meetings, provide valuable opportunities to discuss issues of specific interest to the MSG Group, enabling the development of common approaches and positions to take to the PIF. 

“Collectively we can prosecute and advance our interests and issues more effectively when we are seated at the PIF table. As we are all aware, PIF is made up of diverse groups of members whose views on issues, that we want to push, are often not the same as ours. Together we are stronger,” he stated. 

Referring to the caucus agenda, the Chair said that while many issues will be brought up for discussions at the PIF, some of them are specific to the MSG alone, like New Caledonia for instance, a foundational issue for the MSG. 

“No other grouping in the PIF has invested so much time, effort and resources on this issue than the MSG. MSG must continue to be in the driver’s seat on this issue as the effected indigenous people, the non-self-governing peoples of that non-self-governing territory are the KANAKS, and they are members of the MSG,” he stated. 

“The Ocean of Peace is an initiative of one of our members, Fiji, and we need to ensure that we all collectively support it at the PIF. The Ocean of Peace concept builds on the Efate Declaration on Mutual Respect, Responsibility, Cooperation, and Amity (The Efate Declaration on Security) that we signed on 24 August 2023. In many respects, the Udaune Declaration on Climate Change that we adopted last year also complements the broad concept captured in the Ocean of Peace initiative,” the Chair commented. 

On the Pacific Policing Initiative (PPI), the Chair said that while it is another important initiative that is going to be discussed at the PIF meetings, this collective approach to policing is ironically not a new concept to the MSG. 

“We have been pushing for self-help collective policing agreement/arrangements for a long time. Our 2016 MSG Security Strategy contains this, our 2013 MOA to Enhance Police Cooperation calls for this and the 2015 Framework Agreement for the MSG Formed Police Unit tries to operationalize the idea of collective approach to policing. 

“I make these points to remind us that we need to make sure that this PPI is framed to fit our purposes and not developed to suit the geo-strategic interests and geo-strategic denial security postures of our big partners,” he said.

As well, the Chair reiterated the importance of the welfare of the interests of Melanesians in West Papua and the other Papuan Provinces in Indonesia, as an ongoing concern for the peoples of the region. 

“In this regard, the MSG Leaders Dialogue with the President of Indonesia is a project of great importance that must be pursued,” he added. 

The Director General of the MSG Secretariat, Leonard Louma, in his introductory remarks provided further clarification on the agenda items including highlighting some of the salient features and background on the issues.  

Given the time constraints, the MSG Chair sought the understanding of the Leaders to amend the provisional agenda so more focus could be spent on the New Caledonia issue, which would entail more time to be given to the FLNKS to provide a comprehensive brief on the New Caledonia dossier to the MSG Leaders.  

The Chair suggested that other issues on the provisional agenda could be dealt with in more detail in the next MSG Leaders’ Summit proper.

KOMUNIKE PIF 53, 2024 TONGA, DUA WILAYAH KONFLIK DI PASIFIK

 KALEDONIA BARU.

59. Para pemimpin mencatat pembaruan tentang situasi di Kaledonia Baru oleh Presiden Pemerintah Kaledonia Baru, Louis Mapou yang Terhormat, dan menegaskan kembali kelanjutan mereka menyerukan ketertiban dan stabilitas untuk menang serta komitmen berkelanjutan mereka untuk memberikan dukungan seperti yang diperlukan untuk Kaledonia Baru.

60. Para pemimpin menegaskan kembali komitmen untuk menyebarkan Forum Troika Plus tingkat tinggi Misi ke Kaledonia Baru sejalan dengan permintaan Pemerintah Kaledonia Baru dan mencatat kesepakatan Negara Prancis dan Pemerintah Kaledonia Baru dengan Syarat referensi untuk Misi Forum Troika. Para pemimpin mendukung Kerangka Acuan untuk misi.

WEST PAPUA (PAPUA)

61. Para pemimpin mengingat kembali keputusan mereka dari tahun 2019 dan 2023 dan mencatat pembaruan dari Utusan Khusus.