Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Leaders have approved a new roadmap to support the Front de Libération Nationale Kanak et Socialiste (FLNKS) and called for a fresh, Kanaky-designed pathway to self-determination for Kanaky-New Caledonia.
The decision was taken at the margins of the 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Koror, Palau, where MSG Leaders reaffirmed their support for the United Nations Fourth Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism, running from 2021 to 2030.
Leaders called on France, as the administering power, to meet its responsibilities towards Kanaky-New Caledonia in line with the UN Charter and relevant UN General Assembly resolutions on decolonisation and self-determination.
The MSG Leaders recalled the 2024 MSG Tokyo Statement and urged France to “faithfully, impartially and honestly” discharge its responsibilities in relation to Kanaky-New Caledonia.
They also called for accelerated action consistent with Article 73 of the UN Charter and UN General Assembly Resolutions 1514 and 1541, while recalling commitments under the 1998 Nouméa Accord, which recognises the rights of the indigenous people of Kanaky-New Caledonia.
As part of the new roadmap, Leaders approved the MSG Roadmap for Support to the FLNKS and reaffirmed their commitment to coordinated diplomatic engagement in support of a peaceful and internationally recognised decolonisation process.
This includes engagement through the UN General Assembly and the Special Committee on Decolonisation.
A key decision is for the MSG Secretariat, in consultation with MSG Permanent Representatives in New York, to commission an independent legal scoping study on a possible request for an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice.
The study will examine how a question could be framed under Article 96(1) of the UN Charter concerning the obligations of the administering power in the decolonisation of Kanaky-New Caledonia.
It will also consider issues surrounding the third referendum held on 12 December 2021 and the determination of the electorate entitled to participate in any future act of self-determination.
The study is to be presented to the 2027 MSG Leaders Meeting for consideration and decision.
The Leaders also took note of the FLNKS report that violence continues under the current arrangements and called for a renewed Pacific Islands Forum Troika mission to help prevent further violence.
The call comes following the lapse of the Bougival and Matignon-Oudinot processes and the seating of a new Congress in New Caledonia.
MSG Leaders said the existing processes no longer provide a viable post-Nouméa pathway.
They called instead for “a new process that is Kanaky in design and Melanesian in spirit.”
The Leaders also recalled the historical role of the Pacific Islands Forum in supporting La Cause Kanak’s engagement with the UN Special Committee on Decolonisation.
They called for the MSG position to be formally recognised and supported at the 55th PIF Leaders Meeting and for Kanaky-New Caledonia’s self-determination to remain a standing agenda item at every PIF Leaders Meeting.
The MSG said this should continue until the UN General Assembly determines that the territory has attained a full measure of self-government under Chapter XI of the UN Charter.
The decisions strengthen the MSG’s regional diplomatic push on Kanaky-New Caledonia and place renewed emphasis on decolonisation, self-determination and a Pacific-led political pathway following the breakdown of the latest dialogue processes.
