A People’s Mission to Kanaky New Caledonia says the French Pacific territory remains in a fragile political and social transition nearly three decades after the signing of the Nouméa Accord.

It says the pro-independence unrest in May last year has “left visible scars” — not only in a damaged economy but in trust between the territory’s institutions and the communities being served.

The mission is launching its report at a media event in the Fiji capital Suva tomorrow.

“France cannot act as both referee and participant in the decolonisation process. Its repeated breaches and political interference have eroded trust and prolonged Kanaky’s dependency,” said mission head Anna Naupa, a Pacific policy and development specialist, in a pre-launch statement.

“The Pacific must now take a principled stand to ensure the right to self-determination is fulfilled.”

The mission — organised by Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG), Eglise Protestante de Kanaky Nouvelle-Calédonie (EPKNC) and the Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC) — said regional observers had noted that the situation now hinged on whether France and Pacific leaders could “re-establish credible dialogue” that genuinely included Kanak perspectives in shaping the territory’s future.

Five key findings
According to the report, the Pacific Peoples’ Mission to Kanaky New Caledonia had identified five interlinked findings that defined the current crisis:

• Political trust has collapsed. Communities no longer view the decolonisation process as impartial, citing France’s dual role as both administrator and arbiter;
• Reconciliation remains incomplete. Efforts to rebuild unity after the 2024 unrest are fragmented, with limited Kanak participation in recovery planning;
• Youth exclusion is fuelling instability. Young Kanaks describe frustration over limited education, employment, and representation opportunities;
• Economic recovery lacks equity. Reconstruction support has disproportionately benefited urban and non-Kanak areas, widening social divisions; and
• Regional leadership is missing. Pacific solidarity has weakened, leaving communities without consistent regional advocacy or oversight.

Together, said the mission, these findings underlined an urgent need for a renewed, Pacific-led dialogue that would restore confidence in the independence process and focus on  Kanak agency.

A New Zealand academic and activist who was part of the mission, Dr David Small, said: “What we witnessed in Kanaky is not instability; it is resistance born from decades of broken promises.

“The international community must stop treating this as an internal French matter and
recognise it for what it is — an unfinished decolonisation process.”

• The People’s Mission report will be launched at the Talanoa Lounge, Itaukei Trust Fund Board, Nasese, Suva, 3-5pm, Wednesday, November 4. More information.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

A New Zealand Kanak woman, Jesse Ounei, says young people in New Caledonia feel a sense of anger and betrayal at the way France is attempting to “snuff out” any prospect of independence for its Pacific territory.

France invaded New Caledonia in 1853 and pushed the Kanak people into reservations, denying them civil and political rights for a century.

In parallel with Nga Tamatoa in Aotearoa, a resistance movement sprang up in the 1960s and 1970s driven by young people, including Jesse Ounei’s late mother Susana Ounei, and the territory has been on the United Nations decolonisation list since 1986.

Riots broke out last week after the French National Assembly moved to give voting rights to settlers with 10 years residence, which would overwhelm the indigenous vote.

Jesse Ounei told Radio Waatea host Shane Te Pou the independence movement had tried to resist the move peacefully, but once the National Assembly vote happened young people took action.

“It’s a total betrayal. Young people have grown up with a sense of identity and we understand out worth and that’s largely because of the work that was done in the 1960s, 1970s and and 1980s to reclaim our identity so we’re not unaware of our worth or our identity, or how hard done we are being so we were hopeful this was going to be it,” she said.

France ‘pulled the rug’
“But France has totally pulled the rug out.”

Ounei said she had been hearing unconfirmed reports of rightwing settler militias taking vigilante action against the Kanak population.

Asia Pacific Report says French officials have cited a death toll of at least six so far — including three Kanaks, one a 17-year-old girl, and two police officers, and 214 people have been arrested in the state of emergency.

French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Nouméa today in an attempt to create a dialogue to resolve the tensions.

An interview with Jesse Ounei and David Small. Republished from Waatea News, Auckland’s Māori radio broadcaster.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz