FID condemns Bougival Accord as insufficient for Kanak self-determination rights

The International Decolonisation Front (FID) has issued a formal statement expressing serious concerns over the recently signed Bougival Accord between France and the political representatives of Kanaky (New Caledonia). 

The FID warns that the agreement falls short of fully guaranteeing the Kanak people's right to self-determination and fails to uphold key principles of international law, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

The Bougival Accord is an agreement signed on July 12, 2025, in the city of Bujival near Paris between France and the political forces of Kanaky (New Caledonia). This document defines a new political framework for the status of New Caledonia and provides for its recognition as a special status autonomous entity called the "State of New Caledonia" while remaining part of France.

According to the agreement, Kanak residents will have both French citizenship and the newly created "Caledonian citizenship." Additionally, the document includes issues such as the gradual expansion of the state's sovereign rights, particularly the complete transfer of state powers in defence, security, and other areas. However, a positive result in the referendum scheduled to be held in New Caledonia in 2026 is an essential condition for the agreement to enter into force.

The International Decolonisation Front draws attention to the Noumea Accord signed in 1988 before the Bougival Accord, noting that this treaty created the initial legal foundations for self-governance and political participation for the indigenous Kanak people, laying the groundwork for future independence opportunities.

However, in May 2024, as a result of acts of violence carried out by French law enforcement agencies, the Kanak people demanding their right to freedom were subjected to serious pressure, and 14 civilians lost their lives. These tragic events and subsequent political processes show that the current situation has led neither to sustainable peace nor to the full recognition of the Kanak people's sovereignty. Thus, the decolonisation process has not yet been completed and fully realised.

The FID specifically emphasises that the theory of "shared sovereignty" reflected in the Bougival Accord, as well as the concept of "dual citizenship," are not sufficient to ensure the Kanak people's right to self-determination. It highlights that the inalienable and sovereign right of the Kanak people to self-determination is fully legally guaranteed both in France's own Constitution and in the UN Resolution 1514 (XV), considered a fundamental document of international law.

"If the agreement uses the expression of a new stage on the path to decolonisation and freedom, it is unacceptable at this stage to maintain dependency relationships while only limiting to institutional arrangements in order to fully achieve independence, and this carries a necessary and fundamental character in the principles of self-determination in international law. The transfer of state powers such as defense, currency, security, public order, justice, law enforcement, and budget control to New Caledonia will only be possible with a resolution adopted by a two-thirds or three-fifths majority in the New Caledonia Congress and after the completion of consultations with the participation of the local population," the document states.

The FID declares that although New Caledonia "closely participates" in defence, security, and financial policy in close cooperation with France, the main powers continue to be exercised by the executive bodies of the French Republic. No matter how close this intensive form of "close participation" is based on cooperation, it does not replace full state sovereignty. The recognition of New Caledonia within the national integrity of the French Republic should be implemented not in the form of limited autonomy, but on the basis of independence prospects as a fully sovereign state based on the right to self-determination.

The FID firmly states that the status of New Caledonia should be determined not within the limited autonomy framework of the French Republic, but as a fully sovereign state status based on the right to self-determination. The unhindered exercise of self-determination by the Kanak people, in accordance with the principles of full transparency and honesty, is one of the fundamental norms of international law.

In conclusion, the International Decolonisation Front calls on France to strictly adhere to the basic principles of international law, especially the rights to self-determination and freedom from colonialism. The document reiterates that it is necessary to resolutely advance the decolonisation process, and at this stage, the Kanak people should be recognised as a fully sovereign people by the international community, regardless of their existing political relations with France.

The International Decolonisation Front was established on July 17-18, 2024, in Baku, with the support of the Baku Initiative Group and organised by the People's Union for the Liberation of Guadeloupe (UPLG). The FID was created with the participation of representatives from more than 17 political parties and independence movements from regions suffering from the colonial policies of France and the Netherlands.

The main goal of this international organisation is to strengthen the fight against colonial policies, to develop joint cooperation between different countries and organisations in the direction of international recognition and implementation of the right to self-determination of colonised peoples.