ABSTRACT
New Caledonia has been a French possession since 1853 and is one of two French territories that the United Nations (UN) considers to be “non-self-governing.” Though purportedly universal, the UN’s approach to decolonization has alienated some communities for whom independence is not the most desirable political outcome. Indeed, the examples of New Caledonia and French Polynesia are illustrative precisely because they demonstrate the shortcomings of the one-size-fits-all model of decolonization set forth by the UN. In a 2016 statement to the UN Fourth Committee (the Special Political and Decolonization Committee), Polynesian president Edouard Fritch dramatically stated:French Polynesians are neither oppressed nor second-class citizens. The chapter explores different visions of colonial oversight at the UN and the way these visions intersected or clashed with opposing perspectives. It considers the way in which the process of decolonization both did and did not alter the fabric of the UN itself, and, more specifically, its policies toward the remaining colonial empires.
