United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization Undertakes Visiting Mission to New Caledonia, 9-18 March

The United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization will undertake an Official Visiting Mission to New Caledonia and Paris, France from 9 to 18 March.

The Visiting Mission will be composed of Ecuador, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Sierra Leone (Chair).  It is based on the mutual agreement reached between the Government of France, as the administering Power in New Caledonia, and the United Nations under its Charter mandate on the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples and subsequent relevant General Assembly resolutions specifically related to New Caledonia.

The objective of the Visiting Mission to New Caledonia is to discuss with all relevant stakeholders in New Caledonia, including the French Government, New Caledonia's provincial electoral process, especially the technical issues related to the electoral lists for the provincial elections in May, as well as to uphold the spirit and letter of the 1998 Noumea Accord in this process.  The findings of the Visiting Mission will be presented to the Special Committee on Decolonization.

Under the United Nations Charter's specific provision on the Declaration on Decolonization and relevant General Assembly resolutions, the Special Committee is tasked to oversee implementation of the Declaration and to carry out related General Assembly decisions.

These include to examine the political, economic and social situation in the Non-Self-Governing Territories; and to dispatch visiting and special missions to the Non-Self-Governing Territories in accordance with the relevant resolutions on decolonization, including assessing the wishes and aspirations of their inhabitants.

The Special Committee Chair thanked the Government of France for agreeing to the Visiting Mission to New Caledonia and for the ongoing valued cooperation and frank dialogue.  New Caledonia’s Territorial authorities were commended for their assistance in the preparations.

The Visiting Mission looks forward to a constructive engagement with the Government of France and all other relevant stakeholders.  The Special Committee reaffirms the General Assembly’s invitation to all the parties involved to continue promoting a framework for the peaceful progress of the Territory towards an act of self-determination in which all options are open and which would safeguard the rights of all sectors of the population, according to the letter and the spirit of the Noumea Accord.