Edited by Caroline Gravelat

“We, the children of the country, the children of the peace accords, were born with peace, we want to live through peace and we hope to die in peace”, this is the message addressed, in the Great Hut at the Maison de la Nouvelle-Calédonie (New Caledonia House) in Paris on 2 June 2021, by New Caledonia’s young people to New Caledonia’s political leaders who had come to Paris to discuss exiting the Noumea Accord with France’s governmental authorities.

The Noumea Accord signed on 5 May 1998, following and in keeping with the 1988 Matignon-Oudinot Accords and the famous handshake between Jean-Marie Tjibaou and Jacques Lafleur which put an end to several years of bloody conflict, established a new political structure for a transitional period of 15 to 20 years and set out the terms and conditions for the emancipation of this French Pacific territory. The Accord is intended as a “prerequisite for re-establishing a social contract between all the communities living in New Caledonia” characterized by “shared sovereignty with France, on the path towards full sovereignty”. Often cited as a model of peace-building in a divided society, a source of inspiration in many similar situations around the world, New Caledonia’s self-determination process is once again a focus for international community attention. On the eve of New Caledonia’s 3rd and final self-determination referendum as provided for by the Noumea Accord, the University of New Caledonia has taken on the task of offering insight and information in English via a multidisciplinary work covering the areas which best represent the varied facets which make contemporary New Caledonia unique.

Designed, encyclopedia-like, to instruct and enlighten, this collection of articles explores the fields of history, political and legal science, economics and geography, together with the humanities and social science. “Understanding New Caledonia” aims to interest anyone and everyone wishing to gain greater insight into this complex and multifacetted country in the making.

 

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ISBN: 979-10-91032-20-9