THE Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) is pushing for the decolonisation of Kanaky, New Caledonia, to receive renewed and regular attention from the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), as the United Nations’ current decolonisation decade approaches its 2030 deadline.
MSG Director General Anna Naupa said the issue would be among the key matters the sub-regional bloc takes forward to the Forum following its leaders’ meeting on the margins of the 55th PIF Leaders Meeting.
Naupa said the PIF had played a critical role in the 1980s in supporting the inscription of New Caledonia on the UN list of Non-Self-Governing Territories, but had not maintained the same level of attention to the decolonisation process as the MSG.
“One of those areas that we, the MSG grouping, is taking forward is to get that recognition back on the table in front of the Pacific Islands Forum to see that this is discussed regularly,” she said.
Naupa said the MSG wanted the issue kept on the PIF agenda until the UN assessed the process towards self-government.
“We are in the fourth UN decade on decolonisation. It ends in 2030. That means we only have four years left, and yet our Kanaky brothers and sisters are still going through a very protracted process,” she said.
She said the MSG recognised that France had not been an honest broker in the decolonisation process and wanted greater regional attention to the issue.
On West Papua, Naupa said a planned fact-finding mission to Indonesia remained on the agenda for 2026, following a decision by PIF leaders in Honiara last year.
She said the PIF Secretariat was working with the MSG Secretariat and Indonesia to facilitate the mission, particularly while Indonesia holds the presidency of the UN Human Rights Council.
The mission is expected to take place before Indonesia’s term ends on 31 December 2026.
Naupa confirmed that Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape would continue as special envoys, with Vanuatu offering an additional envoy to support the effort.
“Vanuatu has offered an additional special envoy towards the effort,” she said.
Naupa said the MSG also remained focused on strengthening trade and economic integration and addressing human rights concerns in West Papua.
Asked about the absence of several Pacific leaders, she said domestic responsibilities were the reason and that their absence did not affect the MSG’s discussions.
“I believe we should not read too much into the presence or absence of leaders,” Naupa said. “Over the many years, there’s always been different levels of representation.”
