Baku Initiative Group organises conference at UN headquarters

The conference entitled “Towards Independence and Fundamental Freedoms: C24's Role in Ending Colonialism” has been held at the UN headquarters in New York.

The event was held within the annual meeting of the Special Committee - C24 created in connection with the implementation of the UN Declaration on the Granting of Independence of Colonial Countries and Peoples, the Azerbaijani media reports.

The conference was organised on the initiative of the Baku Initiative Group (BIG).

The officials from the territories colonized by France and the Netherlands, as well as representatives from Corsica, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Maohi Nui (French Polynesia), Kanaki (New Caledonia), as well as Saint Martin, Bonaire, and over 40 officials, leaders of independence movements, experts in decolonization, MPs and researchers from the US, France, Brazil, the Union of the Gambian Islands and the Netherlands attended the conference.

The memory of civilians killed by French police and gendarmerie in New Caledonia was observed by a minute of silence at the conference.

The views on the negative consequences of assimilation and its negative impact on the culture, religion, and language of the indigenous population were exchanged during the first panel of the conference.

Foreign Minister of New Caledonia Mickael Forrest spoke about the bloody crimes in the history of colonialism of mankind, France’s abuse of its status as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and the occupation policy pursued towards New Caledonia in gross violation of the norms and principles of international law.

“France has been ignoring the demands of international organisations and peoples fighting for independence for many years and continues the policy of neo-colonialism,” he added.

The minister thanked BIG for supporting the liberation struggle of peoples who suffered from colonization over the past period.