Statement by Hon. Richard, Ariihau TUHEIAVA
"Question of French Polynesia"
Special Committee on Decolonization
United Nations
21st June 2013
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Members of the Special Committee,
Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen,
On behalf of the Group "Union for Democracy"
(UPLD) of French Polynesia, I thank you for this opportunity to address the
full Special Committee on Decolonization of the United Nations for the first
time since the consensus adoption on 17th May 2013 by the
General Assembly of resolution 67/265 re-inscribing French Polynesia on
the U.N. List of Non Self-Governing Territories culminating some 35 years of
intense efforts started by the Honorable Oscar Temaru, Leader of our
sovereignty Party, to achieve this goal.
We wish to thank all relevant member
States for the support provided for the re-inscription of French Polynesia, and
express our deep appreciation to the Non-Aligned
Movement for its expressed support
in its Heads of Government´s 2012 final communiqué, and to the members of the Pacific
Small Islands Developping States (PSIDS) Group for their sustained effort
in bringing about this positive outcome.
This resumed international
oversight of the self-determination
process of French Polynesia has come after the unilateral de-listing in 1947,
without a General Assembly resolution, of both New Caledonia and French
Polynesia. The General Assembly corrected the omission of New Caledonia from
the UN list in 1986 with its adoption of resolution 41/41 of that year.
It is only by way of resolution 67/265
dated 17 May 2013 that similar correction has now been made for French
Polynesia.
Mr. Chairman,
In our statement to this year's Regional Seminar in
Quito, we made the point that the genuine act of self-determination for the Ma’ohi people of French Polynesia is consistent not only with the
U.N. Charter but also with relevant
international instruments, in particular the International Covenant on
Civil and Political rights; the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights, and the U.N. Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
among others.
Accordingly, the operationalization of the resolutions of the General Assembly which
call for links to be established between the Special Committee on
Decolonization and the various human
rights U.N. bodies would be
most useful. The recent recommendation of the report on Decolonization in the Pacific, presented to the U.N. Permanent
Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) last month, to convene an expert group meeting on decolonization
in conjunction with the Special Committee is most useful, and is consistent
with earlier calls by the General Assembly for special mechanisms in the
decolonization process such as a Special
Rapporteur to advance implementation
of the mandate.
Mr. Chairman,
The Noumea Accord which governs the
self-determination process of New Caledonia, formally recognizes the rights of
the Kanak people in determining the political future of the territory through
realistic voter eligibility criteria for participation in the process. It basically means that not all
the current inhabitants of New Caledonia are qualified to vote in the upcoming
self determination referendum in New Caledonia planned between 2014 or 2018.
Thus, a minimum established residency period of 20 years in New Caledonia was approved by both French Government
and Parliament in 1999. In this regard, the European Court of Human Rights has confirmed the legality of this
eligibility criteria in "Mr. Py vs. France" court case in January
2005.
In this connection, Mr. Chairman, we
wish to emphasize four relevant points :
First: If the process is to proceed to a genuine act of
self-determination exercised by the Ma'ohi people of French Polynesia, then a
similar eligibility criteria must be also employed in
French Polynesia as has been in the case in New Caledonia. It is essential that
relevant act of self-determination in French Polynesia not be unduly influenced
by the participation of recent settlers whose right to self-determination had
long been exercised in Europe.
Therefore, such eligibility criteria in
French Polynesia is critical for the achievement of a fair, equitable and genuine self determination process to be realized, and is supported by the General Assembly Plan of
Action of the full implementation of the Decolonization Declaration as contained in Resolution
35/118 of 1980.
At the time being, we must advise this
Committee that the electoral system in French Polynesia is under the full
control of the Administrative power that holds its electoral code voted by the
French Parliament in Paris. In this regard, and by virtue of articles LO 227-1,
LO 227-2 and LO 11 of the French electoral code. :
any French citizen is qualified to vote, and even to run for each local
elections, in French Polynesia upon arrival
in this territory and formal registration on our electoral List ;
any European Union citizen officially
living in France, including in French Polynesia, is qualified to vote in this
territory, upon simple registration, after 6
months of residency;
From a strict legal perspective, these rules apply to all elections
in French Polynesia, with no distinction. In the case of a self-determination referendum in our territory, such French legislation is totally inconsistent with UNGA Resolution 35/118 of 1980.
Second, The French Constitution which is
unilaterally applied to our territory, as one 'French Overseas Collectivity' under the French official
terminology, has effectively downgraded
our status as 'Peoples.' Accordingly,
the revision of the French Constitution adopted 28 March 2003 changed that
designation from 'Peoples' to 'Populations' with no consultation of the indigenous Peoples of all French Overseas
territories.
Hence, such furtive
constitutional change has rationalized the inclusion of settlers in our
self-determination process - which is inconsistent with same Resolution
35/1118.
Third,
we wish to point out that the mandate of the U.N. General Assembly on the
decolonization of French Polynesia can only be achieved through the development
of an authentic political education
programme on the legitimate options
of political equality with direct support of the United Nations in all stages
of the process. The U.N. role in political education has been consistently
supported by General Assembly resolutions, and U.N. support has been evident in
referenda processes, most recently in Tokelau, in Timor Leste, and even in the
former Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.
Indeed, a self-determination process with sufficient time and relevant education
programme for the people to understand the implications of each legitimate
political status option is essential to
the process, before a self determination
referendum is held.
Thus, any attempt to expedite a
self-determination referendum process with the intention of whether overpromoting one political option or decredibilizing another one, is clearly
inconsistent with the relevant General Assembly resolutions.
Four, we wish to mention that the only
provision of the French Constitution that covers the issue of the
self-determination referendum, in its Article
53 paragraph 3, remains vague and subject to unilateral authority from the
Administrative Power. Indeed, there is a lack of clear process and operational
guidelines as to :
* Who is qualified to initiate or request
a self-determination referendum ? Under which legal criteria ?
* What authority is entitled to draft
the question ?
*What authority is approving the terms
of reference and guidelines of the elections ?
*What authority is monitoring and
coordinating the elections ?
* What is the official timeframe ?
* What authority is entitled to approve,
and subsequently, to implement the referendum results ?
* What authority is requesting for the
revision of the French Constitution ?
* Etc.
Clearly, the current language of the
French Constitution is not providing for sufficient guarantees that a fair, equitable and informed process of
self-determination is offered to the Maohi People of French Polynesia.
Mr. Chairman,
We emphasized
these four points in the context of the recent advocacy by the recently elected
territorial authorities that the French expedite the organization of a
referendum in our territory on 'independence, yes or no ?', without regard
for proper voter eligibility criteria, and aimed at retaining the present
colonial arrangements by default.
We reiterate that this is an unacceptably
distorted process, and is radically inconsistent with the established and
internationally recognized precedents for the self-determination of New
Caledonia.
Such recognized precedents include :
1. the conduct of a genuine political education program with direct U.N. support;
2. the setting of a reasonable eligibility criteria to vote in the self-determination referendum.
3. the achievement of selected legal, economical and social measures locally and prior to the referendum.
A major point to be understood at this juncture is that
the issue of the colonial nature of the status quo was the reason
that the General Assembly agreed to re-inscribe the territory in the first
instance (17 May 2013). This provides the international community the
opportunity to examine comprehensively
the power relationship between the territory and the administering power.
Independent
assessments which will be made available
soon to the U.N. in due course will confirm that French
Polynesia has, in fact, not achieved a full measure of self-government. In
this regard, a number of selected measures are necessary before a self-determination
referendum would take place in French Polynesia.
The following ones are not exhaustive :
* the creation and
implementation of a Polynesian citizenship, in parallel with the setting of a reasonable eligibility
criteria to vote a
self-determination referendum,
* the reform of the electoral system which resulted in the
last election finding a disproportionate distribution of seats in the
territorial Assembly.
* a United Nations assessment of the health and environmental
consequences of the French nuclear testings in French Polynesia, and fair,
effective and equitable compensation
system to the victims,
* the devolution of power
from the French to include the legal competency to own, control and dispose of natural resources, including marine
resources, in particular, deep-sea or terrestrial strategic minerals within our Economic Exclusive Zone, consistent with General
Assembly resolutions.
* the adoption of new
territorial Law in French Polynesia to ensure priority to the locals in the labour force.
* the
revision of the present land tenure
system.
* the devolution of power
from the French for control of immigration.
* the full legal
recognition of the Tahitian language as an official language.
* the necessary revision of
the current code of
communes/municipalities of French Polynesia with due respect to the
geographical, demographical and financial constraints.
* the full-recognition of
the legally-binding status of the laws voted by the Assembly of French Polynesia.
Mr. Chairman,
Before concluding, I wish to point to the nature of the
so-called “autonomous” status of French Polynesia. In the absence of U.N.
oversight of our political and economic evolution for over 66 years, a
particular type of unilateral authority by the administering power emerged through changes in the French
Constitution. and the application of these provisions through various French “autonomy statutes” – all of which retained the reins of power in Paris.
What was – and is termed – as autonomy, is in
fact nothing more than non self-governing
territorial status by another name. This is
political subterfuge of the first order, and needs to be the focus of attention
by this committee as it reviews the prevailing political arrangements. A few
examples are illustrative:
* Whereas the provision of
Article 73 of the U.N. Charter asserts the priority of the interests
of the people of the self-governing
territories, beyond those of their
administering powers, the current provision of article 74 of the French
Constitution under which French Polynesia was unilaterally placed shows that
the interests of the people are subordinated to
the particular interest of the French Republic. Therefore, the unilateral authority of the
administering power still exists and is subject to continuous political manipulation.
* Whereas the transfer of
competencies by the administrating powers the territory should be irreversible
- as in the case of New Caledonia - this
is not the case in French Polynesia where
powers and competencies are only delegated
by the French to the territory through an Organic Law of the French Parliament
in Paris. Therefore, such competencies can be extended, and just as easily
taken away, with the final determination remaining in the hands of the French
Parliament irrespective of the views of the people of the territory.
* The judicial
system in the territory remains in full control of the administering power,
including the designation and turn-over of judges. The elected members of the
institutions of French Polynesia have no say nor control on the Judicial system
in the territory.
* The electoral system applicable to French Polynesia is fully determined, adopted,
controlled and implemented by the administering power. There is absolutely no
power of the members of the House of Assembly of French Polynesia, nor the
Mayors and Council members of the 48 communes of French Polynesia, to amend or
correct the electoral rules.
* The control and ruling of external immigration - entering and exiting French Polynesia – remains fully in the hands of the administering power.
* The determination of the local currency, which is different from the EU currency, is not controlled by
the local elected government of French Polynesia. (The current currency is
still named C.F.P., for French Colony in the Pacific).
Mr. Chairman,
A recently-completed
independent assessment of self governance of French Polynesia has concluded that the so-called autonomous status of this territory, under the French Constitution, is not in compliance with the U.N. self governance
indicators that are reflected in numerous General Assembly resolutions.
These democratic deficits in the
political arrangement of French Polynesia are the basis for United Nations
review of the non self-governing territory of French Polynesia, and
recommendations for facilitating a genuine, fair and equitable process of
self-determination for our people.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I am
available to answer any questions you and your colleagues may wish to pose.
Te Aroha ia rahi
(Greetings).
