The Baku Initiative Group (BIG) has expressed strong support for official statements by the Alliance of Kanak Kingdoms and the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) opposing what they describe as the colonial-style exploitation of New Caledonia’s natural resources.
According to Report, citing BIG, the Alliance of Kanak Kingdoms and FLNKS voiced strong opposition to a strategic partnership agreement on nickel that is expected to be signed on October 20 during a visit to New Caledonia by a senior European Union delegation headed by Stéphane Séjourné, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy.
BIG said the EU’s objective in signing the agreement is to secure nickel supplies needed for its green energy transition and the production of electric vehicle batteries.
“Through this document, Europe aims to secure direct access to New Caledonia’s rich nickel deposits and reduce its dependence on strategic raw materials. However, the agreement does not provide for any real measures that would contribute to the island’s economy or mechanisms to rescue the region’s nickel plants, which are experiencing a severe crisis, and the jobs that are at risk. The document envisages turning New Caledonia merely into a source of cheap raw materials,” the statement said.
According to BIG, both Kanak organizations stated that the true owners of the lands where the nickel deposits are located are the indigenous Kanak tribes, kingdoms and citizens of the territory.
“No agreement to be signed by the EU with the local government can be regarded as legitimate or valid without the free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous population, full transparency and due consideration of local interests. Such an agreement would grossly violate the rights of a people moving toward independence,” the statement said.
The organizations also called for an independent report assessing the impact of nickel extraction on human rights, socioeconomic stability and tribal lands before any formal commitments are made.
They further demanded that the full text of the agreement, including all annexes, be made public and that indigenous customary leaders and political representatives be given a decisive voice and voting rights within the relevant working group.
The Baku Initiative Group said it firmly supports the official positions of the Alliance of Kanak Kingdoms and FLNKS against what they characterize as the colonial exploitation of New Caledonia’s natural resources.
“Any unilateral step taken against the will, opinion and interests of the Kanak people by exploiting the region’s existing economic and social difficulties is another manifestation of a colonial mindset. Europe, particularly France, has no right to decide the fate of indigenous peoples living thousands of kilometers away across the ocean or determine how they should use their own natural resources,” BIG said.
“The sovereignty and rights of the Kanak people over their resources are inviolable, and these resources belong solely to them,” the statement added.