Baku Initiative Group calls on international community to take principled stand on French policy in Kanaky
Baku, May 9, AZERTAC
The Baku Initiative Group (BIG) welcomes the warning issued by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to France regarding the right of the Kanak people to self-determination and attempts to alter the electoral body in Kanaky, demanding that France immediately comply with the Committee's appeals.
According to a statement released by the BIG in support of the UN Committee's warning, the organization maintains that any political or administrative changes concerning Kanaky cannot be implemented without the consent of the Kanak people. The group emphasizes that this is not merely a political issue but a fundamental requirement under international law, the decolonization process, and the collective rights of indigenous peoples.
The statement highlights that the Noumea Accord established a crucial framework for the recognition of Kanak identity, the achievement of broader autonomy, and the determination of the Kanak people's political future. The BIG argues that unilateral interference in this framework and the questioning of guarantees enshrined in the Noumea Accord disrupt the established political-legal balance and undermine the Kanak people's ability to freely determine their future.
The Baku Initiative Group strongly condemns the steps taken by France to expand the electorate through settlers placed on the island from abroad. It asserts that interfering with the electoral body without the consent of the Kanak people should be viewed as an attempt to weaken the political will of the indigenous population, alter the demographic balance, and artificially distort the outcomes of the decolonization process.
Furthermore, the organization supports the UN Committee's call for an independent, transparent, and effective investigation into allegations of excessive and disproportionate force used by security forces during the May 2024 protests, including instances of lethal violence. The BIG also calls for international human rights mechanisms to carefully investigate concerns regarding the transfer of Kanak human rights defenders and pro-independence activists to prisons in mainland France without their consent.
The group notes that the emergence of these issues as a matter of particular concern within UN mechanisms following BIG's appeal demonstrates that the concerns raised by the organization are being recognized internationally and are eliciting a concrete response in defense of Kanak rights.
According to the BIG, initiatives put forward by France without considering the Kanak people are clear examples of contemporary colonial governance practices. The organization insists that the future of the Kanaky population should be determined not through closed-door negotiations in Paris, but with the real, equal, and effective participation of the Kanak people.
Following an alternative report submitted by the Baku Initiative Group to the UN Human Rights Committee, several critical issues were raised with France. These include addressing concerns over the deployment of the GIGN, an elite French gendarmerie unit typically reserved for counter-terrorism and hostage rescue, to Kanaky, investigating allegations of excessive force, ensuring judicial independence, protecting freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and reporting the causes of the escalation to the UN.
The Baku Initiative Group concludes by urging France to fully and promptly implement the UN Committee's appeals, respect the Kanak people's right to self-determination, remain faithful to the spirit of decolonization in the Noumea Accord, and proceed with all political processes related to Kanaky only on the basis of the free and informed consent of the Kanak people.
Finally, the Baku Initiative Group reaffirms its solidarity with the Kanak people's struggle for a just and free future and calls on the international community to take a principled position regarding France's neocolonial policies in Kanaky.
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