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NEW CALEDONIA: ‘The French parliamentary elections will have an impact on our future’
CIVICUS speaks with Nathalie Tehio, president of the Human Rights League, aboutrecent protests against electoral changes imposed by the French government in New Caledonia.In May 2024, protests broke out in New Caledonia after the French parliament passed a law that would have allowed more non-Indigenous people to vote. The French government presented the measure as a democratic reform, but many Indigenous Kanaks, who make up around 40 per cent of the population, saw the prospects of independence receding. When clashes between pro-independence protesters and police led to riots, the French authorities declared a state of emergency, deployed troops and banned TikTok. The French government suspended the electoral changes, but has recently detained some pro-independence leaders, and the situation remains tense.
What is New Caledonia’s political status and what how does this mean for its governance?
The 1988 Matignon-Oudinot Accords, the 1998 Nouméa Accords and the 1999 Organic Law gave New Caledonia special status within the French Republic, transferring many powers other than those of sovereignty – the army, the police, the judiciary and the currency – as part of a scheme of ‘shared sovereignty’. A title on ‘transitional provisions for New Caledonia’ was added to the French Constitution.
This title provided for the freezing of the electorate for three planned referendums on self-determination and provincial elections, which determine the composition of the Congress that elects the government of New Caledonia. To vote in provincial elections, you have to be born before 1998 and have lived in New Caledonia for 10 years. Other elections follow French national rules.
What led to recent protests?
The Nouméa Accord provided for a gradual transfer of sovereignty, with three referendums on self-determination to be held in 2018, 2020 and 2021. The pro-independence Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) had called for the third referendum but then rejected the proposed date because of the pandemic that hit New Caledonia late. In 2021, many families were in mourning and a campaign could not be properly conducted due to restrictions.
The French government maintained the date of the referendum, and the FLNKS called for a boycott. This call was widely followed by Kanak people, resulting in a turnout of only 43.90 per cent, compared to 85.64 per cent for the second referendum in 2020. In the Loyalty Islands, 95.46 per cent of voters, mainly Kanak people, abstained, and in the Northern Province 83.38 per cent did so. Despite this, the French government recognised the results and declared the Nouméa Accord null and void, urging local politicians to reach a new agreement, specifically on the composition of the electoral body.
In the absence of an agreement, the government decided to change the make-up of the electorate by amending the constitution, allowing anyone who has lived in New Caledonia for 10 years to vote in provincial elections. This caused tensions as Kanak people, already in a minority as a result of colonisation and the nickel boom of the 1970s, saw this as a threat to their representation in institutions and the conclusion of the decolonisation process.
After the 2021 referendum, the Caledonian Union, a FLNKS member, set up a mobilisation group, the Field Action Coordinating Cell (CCAT), which has organised protests against the electoral change. The French government ignored our warnings about the dangers of forcefully passing the amendment, and protests degenerated into blockades and fires in and around the capital, Nouméa, leading to the imposition of a curfew, a state of emergency and the blocking of TikTok. The army was deployed. There are reports of police abuse and people forming anti-Kanak militias.
How did Kanak leaders react?
Kanak leaders called for calm but were not listened to, nor were traditional leaders or the president of the government.
The FLNKS refused to talk to the three senior officials who accompanied French president Emmanuel Macron on a whirlwind visit and called for a political solution to the conflict.
The president of the Southern Province and a former deputy made fiery statements on the question of links with France. Another current in the loyalist – anti-independence – camp, represented by another ex-deputy and the mayor of Nouméa, is in favour of dialogue and the search for a new institutional agreement. Some independence supporters back dialogue with this faction of the Loyalist Party. The Oceanian Awakening party, which represents people from the Wallis and Futuna islands, considers the 2021 referendum to be ‘political nonsense’ and could play a role in dialogue if the French government adopts a position of neutrality, as promised in the preamble to the Nouméa Agreement.
How is civil society promoting peace in New Caledonia?
The Human Rights League was instrumental in the signing of the Matignon Accords at a time when civil war had claimed over 90 lives. But recently the Minister of the Interior criticised us and ignored our warnings. We hope the next government will listen to voices for peace.
The unrest has so far mostly been confined to Nouméa and the surrounding communes, leaving the islands and northern provinces largely untouched. This shows that the peace process has forged links between communities. In 2022, a statue symbolising the handshake between loyalist politician Jacques Lafleur and pro-independence leader Jean-Marie Tjibaou was unveiled in the Place de la Paix (Koo We Joka). Women called for a peace rally on that square.
New Caledonian civil society, which is deeply attached to this country, can still work towards a common destiny if France respects its commitment to the decolonisation process as set out in the Nouméa Accord.
France must carry out impartial investigations to restore peace through legal channels. Both pro-independence and loyalist politicians must commit themselves to rebuilding a common destiny and fighting the social inequalities at the root of the revolt of young Kanaks.
Civil society must influence elected representatives to work towards this goal and demand impartial justice. The decision to transfer CCAT leaders to provisional detention in France, more than 17,000 km away, to the detriment of their private and family lives and their rights to defence, was followed by new riots, this time in the north and on one of the Loyalty Islands.
The French parliamentary elections will have an impact on the future of New Caledonia, and it’s vital to encourage and seek dialogue and agreement on a common destiny.
Get in touch with the Human Rights League through itswebsite and follow@LDH_Fr and@nathalietehio on Twitter.
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NOUVELLE-CALÉDONIE : « Les élections législatives en France auront un impact sur notre avenir »
CIVICUS discute avec Nathalie Tehio, présidente de la Ligue des Droits de l’Homme, desrécentes manifestations contre les changements électoraux imposés par le gouvernement français en Nouvelle-Calédonie.
En mai 2024, des manifestations ont éclaté en Nouvelle-Calédonie après l’adoption par le Parlement français d’une loi qui aurait permis à un plus grand nombre d’allochtones de voter. Le gouvernement français a présenté cette mesure comme une réforme démocratique, mais de nombreux Kanaks, qui représentent environ 40% de la population, ont vu s’éloigner les perspectives d’indépendance. Lorsque des affrontements entre manifestants indépendantistes et forces de l’ordre ont débouché sur des émeutes, les autorités françaises ont déclaré l’état d’urgence, déployé des troupes et interdit TikTok. Le gouvernement français a suspendu les changements électoraux, mais a récemment arrêté certains dirigeants indépendantistes, et la situation reste tendue.
Quel est le statut politique de la Nouvelle-Calédonie et comment cela affecte-t-il sa gouvernance ?
Les Accords de Matignon-Oudinot de 1988, l’Accord de Nouméa de 1998, et la loi organique de 1999 ont conféré à la Nouvelle-Calédonie un statut particulier au sein de la République française, transférant de nombreuses compétences à l’exception des compétences régaliennes -l’armée, la police, la justice et la monnaie- dans le cadre d’une « souveraineté partagée ». Un titre a été ajouté à la Constitution française concernant les « dispositions transitoires relatives à la Nouvelle-Calédonie ».
Ce titre prévoyait un gel du corps électoral pour les trois référendums d’autodétermination et les élections provinciales, ces dernières déterminant la composition du Congrès qui élit le gouvernement de la Nouvelle-Calédonie. Pour voter aux élections provinciales, il fallait être né avant 1998 et justifier de dix ans de résidence en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Les autres élections suivent les règles nationales françaises.
Qu’est-ce qui a déclenché les récentes manifestations ?
L’accord de Nouméa prévoyait un transfert progressif de souveraineté, ainsi que trois référendums d’autodétermination organisés en 2018, 2020 et 2021. La coalition indépendantiste, le Front de libération nationale kanak et socialiste (FLNKS), avait demandé le troisième référendum, mais a ensuite refusé la date en raison de la pandémie, qui a touché tardivement la Nouvelle-Calédonie. En 2021, de nombreuses familles étaient en deuil et la campagne électorale ne pouvait pas se tenir correctement en raison des restrictions.
Le gouvernement français a maintenu la date du référendum, que le FLNKS a appelé à boycotter. Cet appel a été largement suivi par les Kanaks, ce qui s’est traduit par un taux de participation de seulement 43,90%, contre 85,64% lors du deuxième référendum en 2020. Dans les îles Loyauté, la population, essentiellement kanake, s’est abstenue à 95,46%, et dans la province nord à 83,38%. Malgré cela, le gouvernement français a reconnu les résultats et a déclaré l’Accord de Nouméa caduc, incitant les responsables politiques locaux à trouver un nouvel accord, notamment sur le corps électoral.
En l’absence d’accord, le gouvernement a décidé de modifier le corps électoral par une réforme constitutionnelle, permettant à toute personne ayant dix ans de résidence en Nouvelle-Calédonie de voter aux élections provinciales. Cela a déclenché des tensions car le peuple Kanak, déjà minoritaire en raison de la colonisation et du boom du nickel des années 1970, voit cela comme une menace de dilution de leur représentativité dans les institutions et la fin du processus de décolonisation.
Depuis le référendum de 2021, l’Union calédonienne, membre du FLNKS, a créé la Cellule de coordination des actions de terrain (CCAT), qui a organisé des manifestations contre cette réforme électorale. Le gouvernement français a ignoré nos alertes en cas de passage en force, et les manifestations ont dégénéré en barrages et en incendies à Nouméa, la capitale, et aux alentours, conduisant à un couvre-feu, l’état d’urgence, et le blocage de TikTok. L’armée a été déployée Des témoignages font état d’exactions des forces de l’ordre et de la formation de milices anti-kanaks.
Comment les dirigeants autochtones kanak ont-ils réagi ?
Les dirigeants kanaks ont appelé au calme, mais n’ont pas été écoutés, ni les coutumiers ou le président du gouvernement.
Le FLNKS a refusé de dialoguer avec les trois hauts fonctionnaires accompagnant le président français Emmanuel Macron lors de sa visite éclair, réclamant une résolution politique du conflit.
La présidente de la province Sud et l’un des ex-députés tiennent des propos enflammés sur le rattachement à la France. Un autre courant loyaliste, incarné par le second ex-député et la maire de Nouméa, prône le dialogue et la recherche d’un nouvel accord institutionnel. Certains indépendantistes sont favorables à un dialogue avec ce courant du parti loyaliste. Le parti Éveil océanien, représentant la communauté wallisienne et futunienne, juge le référendum de 2021 comme un « non-sens politique » et pourrait jouer un rôle dans une mission de dialogue si le gouvernement français adopte une position de neutralité, comme promis dans le préambule de l’Accord de Nouméa.
Comment la société civile promeut-elle la paix et la réconciliation en Nouvelle-Calédonie ?
La Ligue des Droits de l’Homme a contribué à la signature des Accords de Matignon, à un moment où la guerre civile avait fait plus de 90 morts. Toutefois, récemment, le ministre de l’Intérieur nous a critiqués et a ignoré nos avertissements. On espère que le prochain gouvernement écoutera les voix œuvrant pour la paix.
Jusqu’à présent, les troubles se sont essentiellement limités à Nouméa et aux communes avoisinantes, les provinces des Îles et du Nord étant peu affectées. Cela montre que le processus de paix a tissé des liens entre les communautés. En 2022, une statue symbolisant la poignée de main entre Jacques Lafleur (loyaliste) et Jean-Marie Tjibaou (indépendantiste) a été inaugurée sur la place de la Paix (Koo We Joka). Des femmes ont appelé à un rassemblement pour la paix sur cette place.
La société civile calédonienne, profondément attachée à ce pays, peut encore œuvrer à un destin commun si la France respecte ses engagements dans le processus de décolonisation acté par l’Accord de Nouméa.
La France doit mener des enquêtes impartiales pour rétablir la paix par des voies légales. Les responsables politiques indépendantistes et loyalistes doivent s’engager à reconstruire un destin commun et à lutter contre les inégalités sociales, causes profondes de la révolte des jeunes Kanaks.
La société civile doit influencer les élus pour œuvrer en ce sens et exiger une justice impartiale. La décision de transfert en détention provisoire des dirigeants de la CCAT en France, à plus de 17.000 km, au détriment de leur vie privée et familiale et des droits de la défense, a été suivie de nouvelles émeutes, y compris cette fois dans le Nord et dans une des îles Loyauté.
Les élections législatives en France auront un impact sur l’avenir de la Nouvelle-Calédonie, et il est crucial que le dialogue et un accord pour un destin commun soient soutenus et recherchés.
Entrez en contact avec la Ligue des Droits de l’Homme via sonsite web et suivez@LDH_Fr et@nathalietehio sur Twitter.
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PALESTINE: ‘Lack of a political horizon leading to the liberation of Palestinians has brought us here’
CIVICUS speaks about the ongoing conflict in Gaza withAbdalaziz Alsalehi, senior researcher atthe Social and Economic Policies Monitor (Al-Marsad).Al-Marsad is a civil society organisation (CSO) that seeks to protect the rights of the most marginalised Palestinians through evidence-based policy analysis and monitoring and coalition building for advocacy, dialogue and cooperation.
What’s the current situation in Gaza and the West Bank?
The current situation is a continuation of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Crimes against Palestinian civilians have persisted since 1948 to this day. Occupation forces continue to arrest, kill and displace Palestinians within their territories.
Despite the world’s attention focusing on the attacks committed by Hamas, the 7 October events cannot be isolated from the historical context of Palestinian suffering, not just in Gaza but also in the West Bank.
Gaza has been subject to Israeli siege and control for about 16 years, while the West Bank is under a system harsher than apartheid. Life there is exceedingly challenging for Palestinians. The poverty rate in the West Bank and Gaza is over 29 per cent and the unemployment rate sits at about 27 per cent. These rates constantly go up and down due to economic instability.
But the problem is not only economic and social, it is also distinctly political. Occupying forces and settler militias commit horrifying crimes against Palestinians. In 2022 alone, 224 people, overwhelmingly male, were killed – 53 in Gaza and 171 in the West Bank. Fifty-three were children. In the same year, the Palestinian Ministry of Health recorded 10,587 injuries caused to Palestinians by Israeli occupation forces and settler militias’ gunfire. Forty-five per cent were caused by live ammunition.
Well before October 2023, attacks against healthcare facilities and providers were widespread, with 177 recorded incidents of assaults against patients, medical teams and healthcare facilities in 2022. Nine of these attacks targeted healthcare facilities, 97 targeted ambulances and 83 affected injured and sick people. Additionally, 173 incidents involved assaults on medical personnel. The nature of these attacks varied, including direct assaults with individual weapons, hindrance of the movement and work of medical teams, exposure to psychological violence and aggressive searches.
This has been the plight of Palestinians for decades, but the situation escalated dramatically after 7 October.
Between 7 October and 5 December, the state of Israel has killed at least 15,523 civilians in Gaza and 245 in the West Bank, 70 per cent of them women and children. The escalation may be a response to the Hamas attacks, but data from previous years suggests that there had already been a shift from covert to direct killing and direct forced displacement. This is apparent in the fact that through its war in Gaza, Israel has disproportionately killed children and women without achieving any of its declared goals.
What led to the current escalation of conflict?
The lack of a political horizon leading to the liberation of Palestinians has brought us here. Palestinians have been victims of occupation for decades. The continuous suppression operations and the displacement of Palestinians from their lands in the years following the 1993-1995 Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization have led to this outcome.
It is crucial to note that although it witnessed no Palestinian escalation in recent years, Israel undermined any real opportunities for Palestinian economic empowerment, aiming for an economy controlled by Israel. Additionally, there were violations against sacred sites, particularly Al-Aqsa Mosque, as part of the ‘Judaisation’ of Jerusalem. This coincides with racial segregation on external roads and ongoing settlement activities, leading up to the events of 2021 when Palestinians in the occupied territories – and within the 1948 borders – and in Jerusalem rose up against the occupation. They continue to bear the consequences of those events to this day.
All this is part of a series of events that Palestinians have been enduring since 1948 in the face of the colonial project that continues to uproot them from their land.
Some believe that the current form of the government in Israel has led to the explosion of events, but this is not accurate. The occupation has long continued unchanged regardless of changes of government in Israel.
It is worth noting that the region is changing and evolving, and global powers are undergoing radical transformations. With the war between Russia and Ukraine, the world’s attention diverted from the Palestinian cause and the ongoing oppression of Palestinians. Meanwhile, unconditional US support for Israel persists, which comes with the imposition of numerous conditions on Palestinians, who are witnessing the appropriation of their lands. These issues contribute to changes in the situation on the Palestinian front against the occupation. It cannot be conclusively determined at this moment whether changes will be in favour of Palestinians or not, but it does stir up stagnant waters.
What challenges do Palestinian voices face in sharing their stories and demands internationally?
My opinion is that western media – in the USA and Europe – is controlled by Zionist lobbies and manipulate facts and generate disinformation. Israel is also notorious for creating propaganda that serves its interests. Pro-Israel lobbies are so strong that some people fear exclusion in their societies if they voice their concerns about the situation of Palestinians.
The challenge for Palestinians today lies in reaching a wider global audience. The world is not just Europe and the USA.
Israel controls communications in occupied Palestine. When its control fails, it resorts to arresting people, and if this also fails it resorts to killing. However, Palestinians continue to convey their message to the world, and the world is beginning to open up to the truth, with part of it fully aware of what is happening in occupied Palestine. It is crucial for people in other societies to engage.
Global governance institutions should also play an active role in conveying the messages and countering the suffering of Palestinians. The current negligence by the United Nations Security Council, the World Health Organization and the Red Cross is extremely dangerous. It paves the way for a global loss of trust in these institutions.
What are the conditions for civil society in Palestine?
Civil society is besieged. For 30 years, the Israeli occupation has undermined the work of CSOs, disabling their role in promoting self-reliant development, political change and an end to the occupation in the West Bank and Gaza. In recent years, the occupation government has become more explicit in suppressing CSOs, directly closing them down, confiscating their assets and arresting their staff.
The occupation also imposes restrictions on the funding of CSOs. The political conditions on funding imposed by European and particularly US funders have led to the cessation of work by hundreds of CSOs.
But the real gap arises from the fact that funders have transformed CSOs into an operational sector without linking them to a political horizon. Billions of dollars have been spent on agriculture, infrastructure and water, with little benefit. The Palestinian Authority also believes that CSOs narrow its political space because they are often critical of it too. But the truth is CSOs play a key role in overseeing the effectiveness of economic and social programmes.
Beyond formal non-governmental organisations, civil society has essentially been destroyed, much like all civic bodies in the occupied Palestinian territories have been destroyed by the occupation. I would like to make clear that I’m speaking about civil society in its broad sense, encompassing various entities such as unions, youth clubs, political parties, collectives and social movements. This has played a crucial role in the retreat of political organisations that the occupation has fought against for decades.
What international support do Palestinians receive, and what further support do you need?
Essential sectors such as health, education and agriculture continue to suffer from a severe lack of support. The focus in recent years has been on advocacy and pressure, which is not the primary issue that needs attention to change the political reality.
Above all, action is needed towards the goal of ending the occupation, by making Israel pay the price through boycotts on the economic, academic, cultural and even diplomatic levels. Israel must also face international courts for committing war crimes.
How should the Israel-Palestine conflict be addressed?
With all due respect, the framing of the question is part of the problem. What we are witnessing is not a conflict between states, but the resilience of an entire people against occupiers who have been killing, displacing and oppressing them for decades.
When the issue is framed correctly, the answers become clearer. The problem lies in the colonial mindset: peace will only come when this is brought to an end. It is possible for Jews, Christians and Muslims to live together here as they did before 1948.
A long-discussed solution that has not yet achieved any tangible form is the two-state solution with a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders and its capital in East Jerusalem, including the return of refugees and a restoration of their material and moral rights. This could be implemented through global political pressure on Israel, boycotting the occupation until it complies with these conditions.
But over the years Israel has not even accepted a version of this solution in which Palestinians relinquish more than 75 per cent of their historical land. Which brings us back to the roots of the problem: the colonial displacement of Palestinians from their land. This is what the occupying state seeks, and this what the world, especially free nations, should act against.
Civic space in Palestine is rated ‘repressed’ by theCIVICUS Monitor.
Get in touch with Al Marsad through itswebsite orFacebook page, and follow@almarsad_ps on Twitter.
The opinions expressed in this interview are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of CIVICUS.