Tough decisions need to be made for Pacific ACP States - Dep. SG of Pacific Islands Forum

                       

PACIFIC ISLANDS FORUM SECRETARIAT

SECRETARIAT OF THE PACIFIC COMMUNITY

PACIFIC ACP TRADE AND FISHERIES MINISTERS MEETING

10-11 April 2014

Level 9 Conference Room, Suvavou House

Suva, Fiji

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS

by

ANDIE FONG TOY
DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL

PACIFIC ISLANDS FORUM SECRETARIAT

Hon. Fonotoe Nuafesili Pierre Lauofo, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade, Commerce, Industry andLabour for Samoa;

Hon. Edward Nipake Natapei, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and External Trade for Vanuatu;

Hon. Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, Attorney General and Minister for Industry and Trade for Fiji;

Honourable Ministers;

Your excellencies Ambassadors from Brussels and Fiji;

Ms Fekitamoeloa Katoa ‘Utoikamau, Deputy Director General of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community;

Senior Trade and Fisheries Officials from the region; and

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

The Trade and Fisheries Officials have recommended negotiating options for your deliberation to resolve the fisheries issues. However, the road ahead is not an easy one. There are many obstacles and none more greater than the European Commission’s resistance to the earlier proposals submitted by the Pacific ACP States to resolve these issues.

Welcome to Fiji, and may I commence by extending our deepest gratitude to the Government of Fiji and its people for their generous hospitality in hosting this very important meeting for our region. This meeting would not have been possible without the combined effort of a team of agencies who have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to facilitate this important gathering of Ministers. I wish to acknowledge in particular the untiring efforts of Fiji’s Ministry of Industry and Trade for organising the logistics and protocol arrangements.

May I also acknowledge with appreciation our collaboration with the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) in convening this meeting. May I also at the outset express the Secretary General’s sincere apologies that he is not able to be with Honorable Ministers over the next two days.

On behalf of the Pacific ACP region, may I take a moment to also extend to the people and Government of Solomon Islands our deepest sympathies for the tragic loss of life and the dislocation of thousands of people as a result of the recent flooding in Honiara. We understand that there has been significant damage to infrastructure and that disaster relief and recovery efforts are underway.

Honourable Ministers, this meeting is of immense strategic importance. I wish to reaffirm the message from the Honourable Attorney General and Minister for Industry and Trade. As the Pacific ACP Trade and Fisheries Ministers you will be requested to provide the Pacific ACP region with clear directions on how you wish to see the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU) conclude.

2. Last year was a very challenging year for the Pacific ACP –EU EPA negotiations as we made intense efforts to progress the conclusion of the negotiations. Let me acknowledge the enormous efforts of our Senior Officials and also the Staff of the Forum Secretariat. There were a record number of EPA-related meetings held in 2013 at the Officials and Ministerial level.

3. At the PACP meeting in December 2013 with the EU Trade Commissioner, Mr Karel De Gucht, the Pacific ACP States highlighted the importance of concluding the negotiations as a single region. Consequently, the PACP region and the EC agreed to a joint roadmap that would achieve the conclusion of the EPA negotiations this year.

4. The EU Trade Commissioner also acknowledged that it was impractical for the EU not to extend the benefits from the interim EPA into the comprehensive EPA. Since then, the Commissioner has written directly to Papua New Guinea on 30 January 2014 reiterating his views from the Honiara meeting. The region welcomes the assurances by the EU Trade Commissioner to resolve these issues.

5. I would like to acknowledge the presence of Papua New Guinea at this meeting which signifies your commitment to regional solidarity and promoting regional economic integration. I am sure that the Pacific ACP States will stand together with Papua New Guinea in ensuring that our concerns are addressed by the European Commission.

6. Honourable Ministers, at this stage of the negotiations, we must focus on concluding the EPA negotiations as a single unified region. The current EU Trade Commissioner is now acquainted with the issues of importance to Pacific ACP states in these negotiations. There are a number of developments pointing to the importance of concluding the negotiations within the next few months including the deadline for the amendment to market access regulation 1528/2009 that will come into effect on 1 October 2013, as well as the expiry of the Trade Commissioner’s term in office in September/October this year.

7. Fisheries is a key issue in the EPA negotiations which is of importance to both parties. The European Commission is continuing to insist that Pacific ACP States undertake commitments on conservation and management measures while the Pacific ACP States have a primary offensive interest in securing an extension to global sourcing provisions for fresh, frozen, chilled, smoked and dried fisheries products (HS 0304/0305).

8. The Trade and Fisheries Officials have recommended negotiating options for your deliberation to resolve the fisheries issues. However, the road ahead is not an easy one. There are many obstacles and none more greater than the European Commission’s resistance to the earlier proposals submitted by the Pacific ACP States to resolve these issues.

9. There are other contentious issues in the EPA negotiations, which are mostly redline issues for the Pacific in the area of trade in goods such as export taxes, most favoured nation, non-discrimination and development cooperation, as well as, the specific commitments the European Commission is requesting on fisheries conservation and management, particularly changes to the Vessel Day Scheme, which the region is proposing to address in a 3 year independent review.

10. Honourable Ministers, the stakes are high and your role over the next two days is to deliberate on the negotiating options that we as a region can take to Brussels for the forthcoming negotiations with the European Commission. We have reached a point in the negotiations where tough decisions need to be made and for Pacific ACP States to discuss seriously the commitments we can make to try to conclude the EPA negotiations. The expeditious conclusion of the EPA negotiations should not, however, compromise development benefits that the PACP region wishes to achieve through the EPA.

11. We must also have a broader forward looking perspective when considering the conclusion of the EPA. We must recognise that the EPA as a trade agreement may be more valuable for certain countries than others in the region. However, of mutual importance to all Pacific ACP States is our relation with the EU. At this stage we are unsure of what the nature, shape and form of a new agreement with the EU will be after the expiry of the Cotonou Agreement in 2020. Apart from being a trade agreement, the EPA is also an institutional and legal framework that can continue our engagement with the EU post-2020.

12. The region has been negotiating an EPA for 10 long years and we are stretched for time and resources. Focused discussions on the key issues over the next two days will deliver the necessary negotiating mandates and guidance with appropriate flexibility to see the negotiations through to a conclusion. At the same time, we must not lose sight of the importance of safeguarding countries’ sovereignty as well as the preservation of policy space for the future.

13. The EPA will be an agreement with an indefinite lifespan. The agreement cannot burden our future generations with the obligations from the potentially harmful provisions in the draft agreement, but instead must provide economic opportunities to achieve sustainable growth and development.

14. Honourable Ministers, apart from the EPA-related issues, you will also be receiving an update on the Aid for Trade work that has been undertaken in the region, in particular consideration of the Pacific Aid for Trade Strategy. We will also have the opportunity to discuss an update on activities related to enhancing our engagement with important trading partners such as China and the United States of America. This will be followed by an update on the developments concerning the European Union funded Pacific Integration and Technical Assistance Project (PITAP), and the Hub and Spokes Programme.

15. May I take this opportunity to extend the region’s appreciation to the European Union for the funding provided under PITAP as well as through the Commonwealth Secretariat managed Hub and Spokes Programme. These facilities have been instrumental in supporting the Pacific ACP region’s engagement in the EPA negotiations.

16. Before I close, let me very sincerely thank the Chair of the Officials meeting, Mr Shaheen Ali and all Senior Officials of the region for their hard work over the past three days in engaging in extensive discussions to develop recommendations for your consideration.

17. I wish Honourable Ministers every success in your deliberations.

Thank you.

Cyril E. King, former US Virgin Islands Governor, honoured on St. Croix

Event honors former Gov. Cyril King

BY FIONA STOKES

VIRGIN ISLANDS DAILY NEWS  

ST. CROIX - Residents in the territory paused on Monday to pay tribute to former Gov. Cyril King on the 93rd anniversary of his birth and to reflect on the political party to which he founded.

About 30 students from Ricardo Richards Elementary School, along with 20 other individuals representing the Independent Citizen's Movement and some of King's friends and family, gathered for a ceremony at Kingshill Cemetery Chapel. The service was followed by a procession to King's mausoleum, where more words were spoken of King's legacy, personality and political beliefs.

Inside the mausoleum, children sang the "Happy Birthday Song" for the late governor and with the help of family members, placed wreaths on his tomb.

The speakers at the event all reflected on King as a man who was charismatic and caring and who believed in accountability in government. Sen. Terrance Nelson, whose office has organized the event for several years, said King was a man who advocated for service to the community.

King was a man of service, he did not even complete his term, but the work that he did for the people of this territory was enough in that short time that he was heaped with praise and is still being recognized, Nelson said.

King was the second elected governor of the territory. He was born on St. Croix on April 7, 1921, received his early education at St. Ann's Catholic School and graduated from St. Mary's Catholic School in Christiansted. He was a U.S. Army sergeant and the first black person to serve on the staff of a U.S. senator.

King was appointed by President John F. Kennedy to serve as government secretary of the Virgin Islands and later was elected senator from the St. Thomas-St. John District.

He is considered a political stalwart and a community activist who served as a champion of the rights of people in the territory.

King received numerous accolades for his outstanding community service, including commander first class of the Order of the Danneborg and the Silver Bronze Cross by Queen Margaret of Denmark.

The airport on St. Thomas is named in King's honor.

*****

SEE ALSO: 

Governor de Jongh Hosts Screening and Reception for Documentary on Life of Former Governor Cyril E. King

Governor Cyril E. King Day Proclaimed in US Virgin Islands (2011)

United Nations Address of U.S. Virgin Islands Governor Cyril E. King - 1975

Reflections on the late Cyril E. King, second elected Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands

Petition Launched To Change Name Of St Eustatius Capital To Break With Colonial Past

ORANJESTAD, St Eustatius - The capital of the Dutch Caribbean island of St Eustatius is named after the royal family of the Netherlands: Oranjestad. But maybe not for much longer. A petition to change the name into something that is not linked to the island’s colonial past is being launched.

From October 10, 2010, when the Netherlands Antilles were dissolved and St Eustatius became an integrated part of the European part of the Netherlands, the Dutch influence on the island has become stronger and stronger. To the point where many inhabitants feel that the identity of their island is being crushed.

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

La estadidad como culminación del coloniaje

Opinión

Visita la foto galería (1)

	Por Dirección de CLARIDAD

Publicado: martes, 1 de abril de 2014

Si alguien tenía aún alguna duda de que la estadidad sería la culminación del coloniaje en Puerto Rico, y de que la única verdadera salida a la crisis que tenemos como nación es la soberanía, basta echarle un vistazo al informe preparado por la Oficina General de Contabilidad de Estados Unidos (GAO, por sus siglas en inglés). Por el carácter institucional y no partidista de dicho organismo adscrito al Congreso federal, podemos concluir que, mediante dicho Informe, “el americano habló” finalmente sobre el costo verdadero que tendría para Puerto Rico la anexión.

Durante los próximos días y semanas, oiremos a los propagandistas de los partidos Popular y Nuevo Progresista (PNP) cada cual explicando el contenido del informe del GAO desde su particular óptica partidista, con los mismos argumentos que tradicionalmente han usado para amarrar y avivar sus respectivas huestes electorales. Pero, aunque el GAO hizo malabares para no decir que la estadidad es peor para los intereses de Estados Unidos, las principales conclusiones y señalamientos de su informe así lo sugieren. Por ejemplo, el informe es claro en que el impacto del pago de contribuciones federales por parte de individuos y corporaciones bajo el escenario de la estadidad reduciría sustancialmente, y hasta podría cancelar, el supuesto beneficio que Puerto Rico recibiría con el aumento en las asignaciones para algunas transferencias federales.

En resumen, en la ecuación costo beneficio, Puerto Rico saldría trasquilado con la estadidad y Estados Unidos también, no sólo por la incertidumbre que representaría tal salto al vacío en los dos lados de la ecuación, sino porque en números concretos Puerto Rico perdería mucho más de lo que ganaría, afectándose especialmente los sectores que trabajan y producen en el País, aumentando aún más los niveles de dependencia de nuestra población, lo que obligaría al Tesoro federal a destinar varios miles de millones más para subvencionar un estado principalmente improductivo y pordiosero.

Según el GAO, bajo la estadidad las transferencias federales a Puerto Rico aumentarían en unos $5 mil millones, infinitamente menos que los $20 mil millones que los llamados profetas de la estadidad han pronosticado en sus cálculos más fantasiosos. Peor aún, este dinero adicional iría destinado a incrementar el consumo, principalmente en los renglones de salud, vivienda, y alimentos, por lo cual la base productiva continuaría estancada -que es precisamente la que debe revitalizarse para que la economía eche a andar- y más familias puertorriqueñas se sumirían en la pobreza y la dependencia. Si se cierran y se van las corporaciones foráneas a causa del aumento contributivo, y Puerto Rico pierde los empleos que aún hoy produce dicho sector, se perdería buena parte de la base productiva que aún nos queda. Por otro lado, si se imponen contribuciones federales a corporaciones e individuos en Puerto Rico, se le asestaría un golpe mortal a nuestra maltrecha economía, y se limitaría profundamente la capacidad de recaudos del Gobierno de Puerto Rico para dar servicios a la población.

Hay bases para señalar que si el GAO, por sus propios medios, llegó a estas determinaciones, es hora de que el pueblo puertorriqueño despierte a la verdad de que la estadidad es un mito cuidadosamente cultivado para la ventaja política del PNP, pero realmente no tiene futuro porque no le representa ningún beneficio económico ni político a Estados Unidos. Incluso la infraestructura de comunicaciones y radares que tienen aquí para la vigilancia electrónica de sus supuestos enemigos, podría ser trasladada a otro lugar de la región con costos considerablemente menores para el gobierno de Estados Unidos.

La posibilidad de la estadidad para Puerto Rico es sólo un espejismo para consumo mediático que hasta ahora han sostenido ciertas voces en el Congreso de Estados Unidos, aliados del PNP por razones de financiamiento político. Ahora dicho mito se estrella ante las conclusiones de este informe que nos revela que la estadidad no sería la panacea promulgada por sus ideólogos, sino la culminación más abyecta y empobrecedora de la política colonial de Estados Unidos en Puerto Rico. Si los pronósticos de los expertos en opinión pública en Estados Unidos se cumplen y el Partido Republicano logra controlar el Senado y la Cámara de Representantes en las elecciones congresionales de este año, como se vaticina, este informe del GAO sería la herramienta perfecta para que dicha mayoría Republicana, enemiga acérrima de los programas de beneficio social y aterrada ante el avance de las minorías hispanas, entierre para siempre la posibilidad de la estadidad para Puerto Rico.

Por otro lado, Puerto Rico no puede continuar como una colonia bajo la cláusula territorial del Congreso de Estados Unidos. Esa incertidumbre mantiene vivas las aspiraciones y la movilización de los anexionistas hacia la estadidad o al menos, hacia que Puerto Rico pase a un limbo como territorio incorporado de Estados Unidos, perpetuando la crisis y perdiendo nuestros mejores talentos que seguirán abandonando el País en busca de empleos y una mejor calidad de vida en otro lugar.

En esta circunstancia, a Puerto Rico le queda sólo el camino de la soberanía para salvarnos de la postración económica que representan la colonia y la anexión, y poder refundar, sobre unas nuevas bases y con los sectores trabajadores de nuestro pueblo, la Nación productiva y próspera que podemos y merecemos ser.

Also see:

Adiós a la estadidad

UNESCO provides technical statistical assistance to Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico and other U.S. dependencies are all eligible for associate membership in UNESCO and other United Nations specialized agencies, according to an expert study of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC/CEPAL).   

UN helping PR on education statistics

Caribbean Business

The United Nations Education, Scientific & Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is helping Puerto Rico produce standardized statistics on education funding and spending that can be compares to other jurisdictions and countries.

UNESCO personnel are in Puerto Rico this week rendering technical assistance in an effort headed by the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics. The UNESCO officials are Juan Cruz Perusia, regional adviser for Latin America and the Caribbean with the agency’s Statistics Institute, and Héctor Alejandro Vera, a specialist with the program.

Work meetings are taking place all week at the State Department headquarters in Old San Juan.

“We welcome our colleagues from UNESCO and appreciate their time and dedication for this government effort that give us a vital and reliable to establish public policies on education funding and allow us to compare Puerto Rico with other places in terms of this important issue,” said Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics Executive Director Mario Marazzi.

The goal of Marazzi’s government agency is to assure that Puerto Rico’s numbers are complete and include UN databases.

UNESCO previously provided technical assistance to Puerto Rico in 2010 to establish basic education data including school and post-secondary enrollment. That work can bee seen on the UNESCO Statistics Institute’s website at www.uis.unesco.org.

“We had decided to postpone the statistics on funding and spending for a future visit because the methodology to create them is significantly more complex,” Marazzi said. “But we can’t wait anymore. If Puerto Rico continues without statistics to compare how much we invest compared with other countries we will be flying blind when trying to map our education system.”

Levée de l'immunité parlementaire du sénateur Gaston Flosse

PARIS, 2 avril 2014 - Le bureau du Sénat a levé mercredi l'immunité parlementaire du sénateur Gaston Flosse, déjà poursuivi dans plusieurs affaires et qui vient d'être mis en examen pour détournement de fonds publics, a-t-on appris de sources parlementaires.

12 membres du bureau ont voté pour, les 14 autres n'ont pas pris part au vote, ce qui revient de fait à une majorité des votes exprimés. Le bureau a ainsi accédé à la demande du juge d'instruction d'un placement en garde à vue de M. Flosse, également président de la Polynésie française.

Dans l'hypothèse de sa mise en examen, le bureau a également autorisé la mesure de contrôle judiciaire qui consiste à lui interdire de communiquer avec les autres personnes mises en examen ou impliquées dans l'affaire.

La demande de levée de l'immunité parlementaire du sénateur Flosse, 82 ans, a été faite début mars à l’initiative du juge Stelmach.

Le magistrat instructeur estime nécessaire de faire entendre Gaston Flosse, sous le régime de la garde à vue, au sujet des conditions de la passation, en 2004 à la société SMPP-Sogeba, de lots du chantier pour la construction du centre hospitalier de Taaone. 

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Northern Marianas legislature approves Second Political Status Commission

lonelyplanet.com

Political status bill now heads to governor

By Haidee V. Eugenio

Reporter

Saipan Tribune

By a vote of 6-1, the Senate passed Thursday a House bill creating a Second Marianas Political Status Commission that would examine whether the CNMI people still desire “continuing in a political union” with the United States under the Covenant. The bill now heads to Gov. Eloy S. Inos for action, just days after the CNMI marked the 38th year since it became a part of America.

Sen. Pete Reyes (Ind-Saipan) and floor leader Ray Yumul (Ind-Saipan), both U.S. armed forces veterans, abstained from voting. Sen. Paul Manglona (Ind-Rota) voted “no.”

“I don’t have a problem in the CNMI’s relationship with the United States right now but I don’t have a problem with this process [of review], too,” Reyes said at the Senate session.

House Bill 18-112, HD1, authored by Rep. Felicidad Ogumoro (R-Saipan), passed the House on Dec. 19.

Press secretary Angel Demapan, when sought for comment, said yesterday that the governor’s position on changing the CNMI’s relationship with the U.S. is separate from the intent of the bill.

“The bill will basically examine whether the people of the CNMI want a relationship different from the current. Governor Inos will take a look at this bill once it reaches his desk,” Demapan told Saipan Tribune.

In the House, members debated at length the CNMI’s political relationship with the United States and federal control over local minimum wage, immigration, and certain areas for military uses before passing HB 18-112, HD1.

Proponents of the bill said it “doesn’t hurt” to re-examine the CNMI-U.S. political relationship, while others said Covenant Section 902 discussions could be the better venue. Still, others said instead of passing a bill creating a commission, the Legislature should place the question on the ballot for voters to decide, before creating a commission.

The 16-page bill seeks to create a Second Marianas Political Status Commission, which will have broad authority to review, study, examine, and conduct public political education and awareness to assist the commission in accomplishing its responsibilities.

Specifically, the commission would examine the present political relationship between the Northern Marianas and the United States.

It would also determine whether the CNMI people are still in favor of continuing in “political union” with the U.S. pursuant to the Covenant, and whether or not they prefer some other political status options that would enable them to fulfill their hope and aspirations of full, meaningful, and a well-defined self-government status.

Under the bill, the governor has to reprogram money to fund the commission up to $100,000.

Voter registration irregularities promoted by French authorities threaten to de-legitimise upcoming New Caledonia elections

cia.gov

"Voter registration irregularities have allowed thousands of ineligible French persons to register to vote in the upcoming elections while thousands of indigenous Kanaks have been mysteriously omitted from the voter rolls by French authorities who exercise total control over the electoral process of the colony. This scenario has major implications for the future self-determination of the Kanaky people, and makes a mockery of  the trilateral Noumea Accord which established an agreed voter eligibility criteria. This is now being violated.  The recent United Nations mission expressed serious concern over what is taking place during their visiting mission in March. But it is unclear whether the French authorities will make the necessary corrections since most of the newly 'eligible' voters would select candidates who wish to retain the French colonial status that France supports so that it can continue to exploit Kanaky marine and terrestrial resources of the territory. Such exploitation of natural resources in non self-governing territories is a clear violation of international law, but the French simply ignore such legal obligations. I am afraid that French manipulation of the electoral system in the territory threatens to de-legitimise the upcoming elections, and has serious implications for a successful process of self-determination for the Kanaky people."

  

"-  an international human rights defender  

FLNKS Wants Thousands Struck Off New Caledonia Voter Rolls

Radio New Zealand International

Pro-independence group files over 7,000 challenges to names

WELLINGTON, New Zealand.  New Caledonia's pro-independence FLNKS movement has lodged more than 7,000 court cases to demand that thousands of voters be struck off the roll for next month's provincial election.

Voting will be restricted to long-term residents in line with the decolonisation process which, after the election, opens the way for a possible independence referendum.

The FLNKS insist that people who arrived in New Caledonia between 1988 and 1998 are only allowed to vote if they were also enrolled in 1998.

Special commissions assisted by magistrates from France's highest court have been revising the rolls for a month and refuse to remove any voter, which has now prompted the court action.

The FLNKS says in its submission that neither the law nor the constitution is changed by any declaration on the subject, even if it is by the prime minister.

The loyalists are fiercely opposed to the FLNKS stance and have formed an association to assist those threatened to be removed from the roll.

See also:

United Nations sends mission to New Caledonia to investigate French electoral manipulation in upcoming New Caledonia election

French manipulation of New Caledonia electoral list threatens legitimacy of territorial elections

*****

1 April 2014

General Assembly GA/COL/3262

Department of Public Information • News and Media Division • New York

Special Committee on Decolonization

2nd Meeting (AM)

VISITING MISSION TO NEW CALEDONIA ‘GENERALLY WELL RECEIVED’,

ITS LEADER TELLS SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON DECOLONIZATION

Although greeted with some initial suspicion, a recent visiting mission to New Caledonia was generally well received, the Special Committee on Decolonization heard today.

Amadu Koroma ( Sierra Leone), who led the mission, reported that it took place from 10 to 15 March and was followed by a meeting with French Government officials in Paris on 17 March.  He said that some interlocutors initially questioned the mission’s motives given that provincial elections were due to take place in May.  However, the members believed they were able to win “hearts and minds” with the message of neutrality and shared objectives for a peaceful electoral process.

Once on the ground, Mr. Koroma reported, the mission’s programme went through last minute revisions to include meetings with those who had initially questioned the visit.  Members emphasized that they did not promote the national or regional interests of the Member States that composed the mission, although they understood the reasons for their concerns.

Through the visit, the mission discovered there were issues with the special electoral list, which would have a profound impact on who was considered a resident for voting purposes in the upcoming elections.  There was a marked lack of a unified interpretation of relevant legal provisions that determined who should be included on that list.  There were also concerns about the lack of sufficient time for completing the detailed and thorough work involved in reviewing the list, as well as the lack of important information on people’s arrival dates in the territory, settlement and initial registration.

The mission also determined that specialized training for Administrative Review members was imperative, although it had not yet taken place.  There were also concerns about challenges in reaching voters in hard to reach and isolated places.  Other items of concern included an alleged increase in the circulation of small arms, insufficient training opportunities for the Kanak peoples and an influx of immigrants.  During the trip, mission members also visited a university, where they met with student representatives who expressed their desires for peace.

The mission was organized ahead of upcoming provincial elections, regarded as the first stage of a referendum to elect a new Congress, which would oversee the last phase of the implementation of the Noumea Accord.  The Noumea Accord provides a timetable under which New Caledonia has gradually gained increasing autonomy from the French Government.

Following that presentation, the representative of Papua New Guinea noted that efforts were underway to finalize the mission report.  The referendum depended on ensuring that the special list was correct and that those who were supposed to vote actually voted.  It was incumbent upon the administering Power to ensure that the list was accurate.

The Special Committee then approved, as orally revised, the Guidelines and rules of procedure for the Pacific regional seminar (document A/AC.109/2014/17*), which would take place in Fiji from 20 to 23 May.  The Committee’s delegation would be composed of the Chair, his adviser and eight other Committee members; including members of the Bureau and four Committee members, to be selected from four regional groups: the African Group, Asia Pacific Group, East European Group, and the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States.

Nicaragua’s delegate indicated that her Government would like to participate in the regional seminar, if there was no other candidate put forward from her region.

On the issue of invitations to the seminar, the Chair said the Bureau had agreed the Committee should maintain its practice of extending invitations to select experts and non-governmental organizations.  Elected and appointed officials of Non-Self-Governing Territories would also be invited and invitations would also be extended to other Member States, administering Powers, specialized United Nations agencies, as well as regional organizations.

The representative of Papua New Guinea requested that the Chair encourage the administering Powers to participate in the regional seminar, as they had not been very active in years past.

The Committee — formally known as the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples — reviews the political, social and economic conditions in the 17 United Nations-listed Non-Self-Governing Territories.  It also organizes regional seminars to discuss the challenges of decolonization and works to ensure that the United Nations assists in the process of resolving them.

The following delegations are Committee members: Antigua & Barbuda; Bolivia; Chile; China; Congo; Côte d'Ivoire; Cuba; Dominica; Ecuador; Ethiopia; Fiji; Grenada; India; Indonesia; Iran; Iraq; Mali; Nicaragua; Papua New Guinea; Russian Federation; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Sierra Leone; Syria; Timor-Leste; Tunisia; United Republic of Tanzania; and Venezuela.

Remaining on the list of Non-Self-Governing Territories are the Falkland Islands (Malvinas)[1], French Polynesia, Gibraltar, New Caledonia and Western Sahara, as well as American Samoa, Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Guam, Montserrat, Pitcairn, Saint Helena, Tokelau, Turks and Caicos Islands and the United States Virgin Islands.

Following the regional seminar, the Committee will next meet in June.

* *** *

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[1] A dispute exists between the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Malvinas).

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African Union committed to support self-determination of Saharawi people

Addis Ababa, March 26, 2014 (SPS) - The Commissioner for Political Affairs of the African Union Dr. Aisha L. Abdullahi has expressed commitment of the AU to support the Saharawi people’s self-determination, hailing the well-organized life of the Saharawi refugees and the services provided to the citizens by the state in various domains.

In a press statement issued Monday about her visit to the Saharawi Republic (SADR), undertaken on March 16-18 2014, Mr. Abdullahi reiterated the African Union’s commitment “to continue to support the cause for self-determination of the Saharawi people,” expressing her satisfaction with “the well-organized life of Saharawi people, especially in the areas of women rights and welfare as well as the special attention given to the young people and culture.”

The AU Commissioner underlined that her visit to the SADR offered “an opportunity to see on the ground the resilience and unique experience of the Sahrawi state in the social and political domains as well as the various services provided to the citizens by the Sahrawi government despite the difficult conditions and the dawdling donor support.

She then announced a contribution of the African Union of a token amount of USD 100,000 in support of women empowerment activities in the Saharawi refugee camps.

During her 2-day visit to the Saharawi Republic (SADR), Dr. Aisha L. Abdullahi met with several officials in the Saharawi state including Mr. Abdelkader Taleb Omar, prime minister, Mr. Khatri Addouh, speaker of the Saharawi National Council (parliament), Mr. Mohamed Salem Ould Salek, minister of foreign affairs and Mr. Abdulrahman Abdallah, minister of African affairs, Mrs. Khadija Hamdi, minister of culture, Mr. Mohamed Lamine Bouhali, minister of national defense, Mr. Bah Dih Chikh Mohamed, the then minister of justice, Mr. Mohammed El-Ouali Akik, minister of occupied territories and community abroad, Mrs. Al-Azza Brahim, governor of the Wilaya of Bujodour, Mr. Hamma Bunia, governor of El Aaiun, Mrs. Fatma Mahdi, secretary general of the Saharawi Women Union, and Mr. Bouhabeini Yahya, president of the Saharawi Red Crescent.

She, moreover, met with the UN Humanitarian Country Team operating in the Saharawi refugee camps as well as the representatives of international organizations.

During this visit, the Commissioner visited some facilities in the Wilaya of El Aaiun, of which the Water Filtration Center, vocational training center for women, and children with disabilities’ center.

She also witnessed the closing ceremony of the school year and participated in handing out gifts to excelling students at the state level. (SPS)

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Polisario Front urges European Court of Justice to annule EU-Morocco Fisheries Agreement

Luxembourg, March 26, 2014 (SPS) - The Polisario Front has presented last week, through a law firm, to the European Court of Justice a recourse providing for the annulment of the fisheries agreement, signed in 2013 between the EU and Morocco, said Mr. Mhamed Khaddad, member of the POLISARIO National Secretariat.

In this recourse, Polisario Front recalled to the legal status of Western Sahara as a non-self-governing territory, whose partial occupation by Morocco constitutes a violation of the right of peoples to self-determination enshrined in the Articles 1 and 2 of the UN Charter and in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice.

The Polisario Front called on the European Court of Justice to annul such agreement and to reject any decision or cooperation with Morocco affecting the international status of the territory of Western Sahara.

On November 2012, the Polisario Front filed an appeal in the same court against the EU-Morocco Agreement on agricultural, processed agricultural and fisheries products.

The Official Journal of the European Union published the appeal in February 2013 and the proceedings are already underway with the memoranda submitted to the Court by the European Council and Commission. (SPS)

Possible implications of the U.S. 'pivot' to the Pacific?

OP-ED: The Elephant vs. the Shark
By Lawrence Wilkerson
The Obama administration's nebulous "Pacific Pivot" is setting the stage for a superpower conflict in East Asia.
Lawrence Wilkerson was Secretary of State Colin Powell’s chief of staff as well as associate director of the State Department’s Policy Planning staff, where he was responsible for East Asia and the Pacific. Before serving at the State Department, Wilkerson served 31 years in the U.S. Army. He is a contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus.

The Obama administration’s “Pacific Pivot” will make it more difficult than ever for countries of the region to stay neutral in an emerging rivalry between the United States and China. Credit: U.S. Navy/public domain

WASHINGTON, Mar 25 2014 (IPS) - To pivot, according to the venerable Oxford English Dictionary, means “to turn as on a pivot.” Which takes us to the noun, which seems more appropriate for describing the Obama administration’s Pacific policy: “That on which anything turns; a cardinal or central point.”

The problem, however, is that finding a cardinal or a central point in the administration’s Pacific policy is extremely difficult. What is clear is only a verb tense.

At the climax of this awesome conflict, the massive land power will confront the formidable sea power.

The United States is turning from more than a decade of war – ineffective and costly – in western Asia to a more important and strategic region, eastern Asia, plus the waters that approach it. Perhaps the central point of the pivot is Asia, and the United States is switching from one end to the other.

The “Pacific,” however, suggests a broader turn, although new allies and commitments in the Indian Ocean seem to balance if not outweigh those in the Pacific Ocean. India is the most potent example, a country located more or less at a central point.

If geographical and policy clarity is lacking, so is clarity around security, and in particular military security. Muddling matters more, U.S. Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel on Feb. 25 outlined a resource approach that implied that China is the number one challenge for the United States, therefore land forces will subsidise sea and air forces.

READ THE FULL OP ED HERE.

Montserrat Premier Meade Presents 2014-2015 Budget

Restoring Growth

Expanding Opportunities

Presented by 

Honourable Premier Reuben T Meade

delivered in the

Montserrat Legislative Assembly

24th  March 2014 

Youtube.com

INTRODUCTION

1.                       I have the honour of presenting this budget address at a time when the challenges facing our island continue to be very significant. I am also mindful that in the next few months we will exercise one of our most fundamental rights, that is, to elect a government to continue the developmental process.  This budget statement must therefore be a report of our stewardship over the past four and a half years and also an indication of our policies and programs to support our vision for the next five years.

2.                       It is a vision that carries with it huge political, economic and social programmes. It is also being presented at a time when the more prosperous nations of the world are struggling to maintain a stable socio-economic environment. Over the last four and a half years, the people of Montserrat under MCAP's administration have been on a mission.  It involved the challenge not only of stabilizing the economy but also establishing a platform for recovery and growth.

3.                       This vision has had the overwhelming support and confidence of our development partners. This is evidenced by the increase in budgetary and development resources that we have been able to negotiate with our two major development partners, namely Her Majesty’s Government and the European Union.  The local public servants and the business community have also provided critical support in delivering improved service.

4.              Let me take this opportunity to thank all the Montserratians and those who have made Montserrat their place of residence for their continued support and interest in the development of our land.  It is so easy to allow the challenging economic environment to undermine the reputation and friendly atmosphere for which Montserrat is renowned.  The MCAP Administration invites all to pause and reflect on the progress that has been made so far.

READ FULL BUDGET ADDRESS HERE.

Another stolen generation: how Australia still wrecks Aboriginal families

John Pilger

The mass removal of Indigenous children from their parents continues unabated – where is the outrage?

The tape is searing. There is the voice of an infant screaming as he is wrenched from his mother, who pleads, "There is nothing wrong with my baby. Why are you doing this to us? I would've been hung years ago, wouldn't I? Because [as an Aboriginal Australian] you're guilty before you're found innocent." The child's grandmother demands to know why "the stealing of our kids is happening all over again". A welfare official says, "I'm gunna take him, mate."

This happened to an Aboriginal family in outback New South Wales. It is happening across Australia in a scandalous and largely unrecognised abuse of human rights that evokes the infamous stolen generation of the last century. Up to the 1970s, thousands of mixed-race children were stolen from their mothers by welfare officials. The children were given to institutions as cheap or slave labour; many were abused.

Described by a chief protector of Aborigines as "breeding out the colour", the policy was known as assimilation. It was influenced by the same eugenics movement that inspired the Nazis. In 1997 a landmark report, Bringing Them Home, disclosed that as many 50,000 children and their mothers had endured "the humiliation, the degradation and sheer brutality of the act of forced separation ... the product of the deliberate, calculated policies of the state". The report called this genocide.

READ THE FULL REPORT HERE.