Hears statements from political leaders of the territory
Statement to the Special Political and Decolonization Committee
(Fourth Committee)
Mr. Oscar Manutahi Temaru
Leader
Tavini Huira’atira —
Union pour la démocratie
8th October 2014
"We are pleased that as a newly-listed territory the broad range of decolonization resolutions has become applicable to our territory in particular, the operative paragraph which recognizes the "inalienable rights of the people of the non self-governing territories to their natural resources," and their right to establish and maintain control over the future development of those resources...."
*
Mr. Chairman, distinguished delegates,
I present to you and the members of the Fourth Committee the warmest regards from the people of Ma’ohi Nui/French Polynesia. We wish to thank you again for your help in our re-inscription on the U.N. list of non self-governing territories with the adoption of Resolution 67/265 of 17th May 2013, and the subsequent adoption of Resolution 68/93 on 11th December 2013 on the "Question of French Polynesia."
On 17th May 2014 - exactly one year after the re-inscription - thousands of our people moved throughout the towns and villages of Tahiti in a coordinated march in commemoration of this historic event which has provided us with the opportunity to engage in a process of self-determination under the watchful eye and with the technical support of the United Nations.
There, in a prominent ceremony, the permanent memorial to our re-inscription was unveiled symbolizing the relentless efforts of our people and a major milestone for a struggle that I started here, in New-York in 1978, as a simple citizen of my country to petition against the French nuclear testing, trying to gain international support for our struggle to overcome colonialism in our country.
Mr. Chairman,
We are pleased that as a newly-listed territory the broad range of decolonization resolutions has become applicable to our territory. In this regard, we take note of the draft resolution (L.9) adopted last June by the Special Committee on Decolonization (C24) on the Implementation of the Decolonization Declaration with its varied provisions, in particular, the operative paragraph which recognizes the "inalienable rights of the people of the non self-governing territories to their natural resources," and their right to establish and maintain control over the future development of those resources."
This language mirrors longstanding text of U.N and Law of the Sea resolutions, and U.N. legal opinions, and the applicability of this doctrine is critical to the disposition of our marine resources comprising some five million square kilometres of ocean. Studies from Japan, and official report from the French Senate from April 2014 clearly establish that vast amounts of minerals and rare earth lie on the seabed of Maohi Nui.
In view of this clear authority the rule of law must prevail since the powers unilaterally exercised by the French State are used to limit the territory's scope and authority in relation to these resources. France is member of the International Seabed Authority. All our independent brothers and cousins from the South Pacific are also members of I.S.A. We are not. We therefore fully expect that in the course of the self-determination process our internationally recognized ownership and control of the resources is given effect.
Technology to reach these seabed resources is already available. Our administering power is already in the process of planning exploitation and has established a special committee on strategic minerals (COMES) in which we again have no say. Without real recognition of our ownership on these resources, and without control over immigration, we are bound to become the powerless spectators of yet another pillaging, as has been the case for over 30 years during the French exploitation of phosphates on the island of Makatea in our Tuamotu archipelago.
Job seekers from France will flock to our islands, and easily saturate our job market, leaving our People and our children with only the scraps. This very sad scenario has already happened throughout the history of mankind. Since our brothers from Kanaky/New Caledonia are here today, they know firsthand that this is exactly what has happened in their country when vast amounts of Nickel were discovered.
Mr. Chairman,
This perspective raises two issues that need the full attention of the United Nations. The first one is that of the control of immigration which currently is only exerted by the administering power. The second is the need to clearly define voters’ eligibility rules in the context of our self-determination process.
Thank you, te aroha ia rahi.
**********
Statement to the Special Political and Decolonization Committee
(Fourth Committee)
Mr. Richard Ariihau TUHEIAVA
Tavini Huiraatira No Te Ao Ma’ohi-F.L.P. Party
8 October 2014
"A stakeholder statement to the Universal Peer Review of France, conducted in the Human Rights Council in 2013, concluding that 17 years after the last French nuclear test was held in the Pacific, our people are still "living with the legacy of hundreds of nuclear tests."
*I
Mr. Chairman, Excellencies, distinguished delegates,
I have the honour to address the Fourth Committee on behalf of the Tavini Huiraatira No Te Ao Ma’ohi-F.L.P. Party created in 1977 to claim and advocate for the freedom and independence of the People of French Polynesia/Ma’ohi-Nui.
Through you, we would like to thank the General Assembly for the re-inscription of French Polynesia/Ma'ohi-Nui by Resolution 67/265.
We also commend the General Assembly for the adoption of Resolution 68/93 on the Question of French Polynesia, and particular draw attention to its OP 5 which requested a “Report on the environmental, ecological, health, and other impacts as a consequence of the thirty-year period of nuclear testing in the territory”.
While we appreciate the effort made in completion of this Report, we are disappointed that it was published, perhaps strategically, almost a month after the Special Committee on Decolonization had completed its work last June 2014, providing no opportunity for the substantive committee to review the findings. The people of our non-self governing territory were also deprived of a chance to provide their views on the Report.
In this very first opportunity to express our views on the text, we have concluded that the Report is far from comprehensive, and is rather a compilation of replies from just two U.N. agencies out of some 22 requests made by the Secretary-General. Of these replies was a reference to a 1996 International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) study which had painted quite a rosy picture that the impact to the health of the Ma’ohi people was negligible. This finding has been proven to be vastly premature.
In apparent contradiction to the 1996 IAEA study, a subsequent document of the U.N. Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation found “that the testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere involved unrestrained releases of radioactive materials to the environment locally, regionally and globally (depending on the altitude of the explosion), causing the largest collective dose thus far from man-made sources of radiation."
The Report does make important reference to a stakeholder statement to the Universal Peer Review of France, conducted in the Human Rights Council in 2013, concluding that 17 years after the last French nuclear test was held in the Pacific, our people are still "living with the legacy of hundreds of nuclear tests."
In effect, the Report, as called for in Resolution 68/93, barely scratches the surface. Instead, it offers but a mere glimpse of the long term health and ecological impacts experienced today by thousands of our people who have yet to be given reparatory justice for this blatant disregard of humanity perpetuated on the people of our country. Therefore, a follow-up in depth examination within the appropriate mechanism of the U.N. system is the next logical step.
Mr. Chairman,
Fortunately, we can draw attention to the Independent Report on the French Nuclear Testing in French Polynesia completed by renowned scientists and published in January 2014. This Independent Report provides a thorough analysis of the impacts of nuclear testing on the people of French Polynesia/Ma'ohi-Nui, and its publication as a document of the General Assembly would be most useful in advancing the knowledge of member states on this question.
We are confident that this Independent Analysis, along with the Independent Assessment of Self-Governance Sufficiency, would be especially useful to the deliberation of member States, and we call on interested member states to so introduce these analyses as official documents.
We take particular note of the organic link between the impact of nuclear testing in French Polynesia/Ma’ohi-Nui, and the draft resolution before the Fourth Committee on the "Effects of Atomic Radiation" with reference to the important work of the U.N. Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation.
We respectively request the assistance of the General Assembly in recommending that the Scientific Committee consider the inclusion of French Polynesia in its programme of work. The clear evidence of considerable environmental, health, social and economic impacts to French Polynesia/Ma'ohi-Nui warrants that this issue be examined by the international community in far greater detail.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
*******
Statement to the Special Political and Decolonization Committee
(Fourth Committee)
Mr. Moetai BROTHERSON
8th October 2014
*
Mr. Chairman, distinguished delegates,
In the great city of Faa’a of which I am honored to be deputy mayor, a permanent memorial to our re-inscription testifies as solemn acknowledgement of the support provided by the international community, including our brother Pacific countries, who stood with us as we pursued this important step towards the exercise of our right to self-determination.
As a deputy mayor in French Polynesia’s biggest city, I am the daily witness to the unilateral definition and application of both the electoral laws, and the organizing laws ruling the daily operations in our communes. Today, all communes are facing daunting problems due to the application of the Code Général des Collectivités Territoriales that, contrary to what was achieved in Kanaky/New Caledonia does not take into account our specific needs and constraints and is nothing more than a copy and paste version of what is applied to the metropolitan French communes.
The same applies at our territory level where electoral laws are defined, voted, updated and applied unilaterally from Paris, without any need for local consent. The government and president of our territory are validated, controlled, judged and dismissed by France who even has the unilateral power to disband our parliament as has been the case in in 2004 and 2007.
Mr. Chairman,
We are now under the purview of the United Nations decolonization process pursuant to Chapter 11 of the Charter which highlights the responsibility of the administering powers to prepare the territories for full self-government consistent with international law. We fully expect that France, as the administering power, will live up to its international legal obligations in this regard.
It is regrettable, however, that the administering power has failed to transmit information on our territory this year pursuant to its obligation under Article 73 (e) of the U.N. Charter. The international community cannot simply countenance such pretense as if the consensus resolution of re-inscription had never been adopted. If countries are allowed to pick and choose which parts of the U.N. Charter they would implement, and which parts they would not, then their aggressive claims of adherence to the international ‘rule of law’ in other international scenarios ring particularly hollow.
We therefore appreciate the clear reference from the C24 to the failure by the administering Power to submit information on our territory. We fully expect France to meet its international legal obligations in transmitting information on French Polynesia as they did following a similar delay in transmission of information on New Caledonia one year after its re-inscription in 1986.
Mr. Chairman,
Time will come when France will engage in the process and we look forward to that. However we remain conscious that information transmitted by an administering power regarding one of its territories to be decolonized can be biased. Visiting missions from the UN to French Polynesia are therefore indeed highly needed and anticipated.
The People of Ma’ohi Nui are looking up to the United Nations with high hopes that, true to its roots and mission, it will ensure that a fair self-determination process is put into place in our country. These visiting missions, providing the United Nations with first-hand information and the ability to meet with all local parties involved are seen as an essential part to achieving this process and they also have been referenced to in previous resolutions and statements by member states.
Mr. Chairman,
In a world of violence and wars, we cherish the peaceful yet determined path that has been ours in this decolonization process. With the help of the United Nations, we intend to remain on this path.
Thank you, mauruuru, te aroha ia rahi.
