Baku Initiative Group urges France to respect UN warning on Kanak self-determination

The Baku Initiative Group has welcomed a warning issued to France by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination over the rights of the Kanak people in Kanaky (New Caledonia), calling on Paris to immediately comply with the committee’s recommendations.

In a statement, the group said the UN committee had confirmed that “no political or administrative change concerning Kanaky can be carried out without the consent of the Kanak people,” describing the issue as “not merely a political matter, but a fundamental requirement and right under international law, the decolonization process, and the collective rights of indigenous peoples.”

The organisation stressed that the Nouméa Accord remains a key framework for recognising Kanak identity and guaranteeing the indigenous population’s right to determine its political future.

According to the statement, any unilateral move to alter the accord or weaken its guarantees would “undermine the political and legal balance created by the Accord and weaken the Kanak people’s ability to freely determine their own political future.”

The Baku Initiative Group also condemned France’s proposed expansion of the electoral body in the territory, accusing Paris of attempting to shift the demographic balance through the inclusion of settlers from outside the island.

“Interference with the electoral body without the consent of the Kanak people must be regarded as an attempt to weaken the political will of the indigenous people, alter the demographic balance, and artificially distort the outcomes of the decolonization process,” the statement said.

The group further expressed support for the UN committee’s call for an “independent, transparent, and effective investigation” into allegations of excessive force used by French security forces during protests in May 2024, including incidents involving lethal violence.

It also raised concerns over the transfer of Kanak activists and pro-independence figures to prisons in metropolitan France without their consent, saying the issue should be examined by international human rights bodies.

The Baku Initiative Group said the concerns it had raised before UN mechanisms had now received international recognition and contributed to “a concrete response in support of the protection of the rights of the Kanak people.”

The statement accused France of continuing “colonial governance practices” in Kanaky and argued that the territory’s future “must not be determined through closed-door negotiations in Paris, but through the real, equal, and effective participation of the Kanak people.”

The organisation also pointed to issues raised with France by UN mechanisms following its alternative report to the United Nations Human Rights Committee, including the deployment of the elite GIGN gendarmerie unit to Kanaky, allegations of disproportionate use of force, concerns over judicial independence, and restrictions on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

The Baku Initiative Group called on France to fully implement the UN committee’s recommendations, respect the Kanak people’s right to self-determination, and ensure that all future political processes concerning Kanaky proceed “only on the basis of the free and informed consent of the Kanak people.”

Reaffirming its support for the Kanak independence movement, the organisation urged the international community to take “a principled stance regarding France’s neocolonial policy in Kanaky.”

By Sabina Mammadli