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Meeting with the C-24 Special Committee in New York on 15 June, Pacific Conference of Churches general secretary Rev. James Shri Bhagwan and Église Protestante de Kanaky Nouvelle-Calédonie general secretary Rev. Billy Wetewea called for urgent action to protect the Kanak people's right to self-determination.
Bhagwan and Wetewea shared testimonies with the special committee from communities who are still living with the scars of May 2024's deadly civil unrest that killed at least 13 people.
In an oral statement, Bhagwan said that the violence of May 2024 emerged from an unfinished and flawed decolonisation process, deep inequality, unfulfilled rebalancing commitments, and repeated breaches of trust. “Less than five years remain in this Fourth International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism,” he said. “Kanaky must not be carried unfinished into another decade.”
Bhagwan further noted that elections cannot substitute for decolonisation while the foundational political wound remains open.
“With provincial elections approaching, the United Nations must urgently assess the electoral environment and ensure that the poll is not used to normalise an unresolved colonial situation, but forms part of a credible and freely negotiated pathway to self-determination,” he said. “At a time when multilateralism is under threat, the United Nations must show that its findings carry consequence and that its promise to colonised peoples is more than an annual resolution.”
Kanaky is not France’s Pacific possession, he added. “Kanaky is our Pacific neighbour and family,” he said. “Its future must be freely chosen by its people.”
Wetewea affirmed the dignity of all communities. “Affirming Kanak existence does not deny the rights of others. The justice we seek is not against anyone, but for life, peace and dignity for all,” he said.
Families have lost employment and income. Children have struggled to return to school. Poverty, unequal access to education and the overrepresentation of Kanak people in prison expose a deeper political and moral crisis.
“Order without justice is not peace. Silence under pressure is not consent,” Wetewea said.
Wetewea reminded the UN Special Committee on Decolonization that it was not created simply to document colonial injustice. “It was created to end it,” he said. “Our church does not call for hatred or revenge. We call for truth, justice, and peace.”
