Baku Initiative Group hosts video conference on Kanak People’s independence struggle

The Baku Initiative Group (BIG) organised a video conference titled “The Struggle of the Kanak People: International Law and Prospects for Decolonisation” to highlight the ongoing fight of the Kanak people for independence.

The conference opened with the performance of the Kanak national anthem and brought together leaders of independence movements and political parties from French overseas territories, including Kanaky (New Caledonia), Corsica, French Guiana, Réunion, Maohi Nui (French Polynesia), Guadeloupe, and Martinique, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.

Participants discussed the right to self-determination, shared experiences from their respective regions, and emphasised the need for international solidarity and support mechanisms to advance their causes. Speakers highlighted the importance of such platforms in addressing both colonial and post-colonial challenges in overseas territories and in organising effective independence movements.

The conference also focused on the situation following the Nouméa Agreement. Representatives of the Kanak people reiterated their rejection of the agreement, stating that any dialogue with France should be based solely on recognition of independence.

Leaders from the Baku Initiative Group, the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front, Nazione (Corsica), the People’s Union for the Freedom of Guadeloupe, the International Movement for Reparations in Guadeloupe, and Progressive Multicultural New Caledonia held extensive discussions on coordinated actions.

The meeting concluded with an agreement to pursue joint initiatives during the upcoming United Nations General Assembly session.

The Kanak people are the indigenous inhabitants of New Caledonia, a French overseas territory. They have long sought independence, advocating for their right to self-determination. Despite the 1998 Nouméa Agreement, which aimed to gradually transfer powers from France and included provisions for autonomy, many Kanaks reject its outcomes, arguing that it falls short of full independence. Recent efforts, including the Bougival Agreement, have been met with resistance from Kanak representatives, who insist that any dialogue with France must be based on recognition of their independence.

By Vugar Khalilov