News

Reframing the French Indo-Pacific: The French Southern and Antarctic Lands

As Emmanuel Macron wrapped up his visits to Vietnam, Indonesia, and Singapore – where he delivered the keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue at the end of May – the French president reaffirmed the Indo-Pacific’s strategic importance for both France and Europe. In a context of growing geopolitical uncertainty and renewed unilateralism, Macron emphasized France’s commitment to a stable, multipolar order grounded in international law, freedom of navigation, and inclusive multilateralism – an international posture shared with key partners such as India, Japan, and ASEAN. Building on this common strategic vision, and as the only remaining European Union (EU) member state with sovereign territories in the Indo-Pacific, France seeks to position its diplomacy not only as a national actor but also as a standard-bearer for European engagement in the region. The exercise of sovereignty is precisely what underpins France’s specificity and credibility as a resident power. The French Indo-Pacific overseas collectivities (FIPOCs) – La Réunion, Mayotte, les TAAF (or South Antarctic Lands), New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna, French Polynesia, and Clipperton – which together have a population of 1.65 million inhabitants, play a central role in the construction and elaboration of a [credible strategy.](https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/en_dcp_a4_indopacifique_022022_v1-4_web_cle878143.pdf)

UN experts say Mauritius-UK deal fails to guarantee rights of Chagossians

UN experts on Tuesday called for the suspension of a recently signed agreement between the UK and Mauritius, warning that it fails to safeguard the rights of the displaced Chagossian people. The bilateral deal, signed on May 22, transfers sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia, to Mauritius, marking a formal step toward completing the country’s decolonization. But UN experts said the agreement lacks guarantees for the Chagossians’ right to return, effective remedy, and cultural protections. “By maintaining a foreign military presence of the United Kingdom and the United States on Diego Garcia and preventing the Chagossian people from returning… the agreement appears to be at variance with the Chagossians’ right to return,” the experts said in a statement. They also questioned whether the proposed £40 million (over $54 million) Trust Fund would meet standards for “effective remedy and adequate, effective, and prompt reparation,” as the agreement currently omits restitution, satisfaction, and guarantees of non-repetition. The experts criticized the absence of provisions enabling access to cultural sites or safeguarding the Chagossians’ heritage. They urged both governments to renegotiate the deal, saying: “We call for the ratification of the agreement to be suspended and for a new agreement to be negotiated that fully guarantees the rights of the Chagossian people.”

Tyler Oroanu is set to amplify young voices in New Zealand Youth Parliament

Photo: Supplied via PMN ([pmn.co.nz](https://pmn.co.nz)) In less than a month, over 150 young people from across New Zealand will gather in Wellington for Youth Parliament, and Tyler Oroanu will be among them. He will represent Labour MP Jenny Salesa at the two-day event in Parliament. Speaking on Pacific Mornings, Oroanu shares that his passion for politics developed during the Covid-19 lockdown. “I’ve always been like an eternal politics nerd,” Oroanu says. “There were quite a few people encouraging me to put my hand up when applications came around for Youth Parliament. I wasn’t convinced I was going to get it.” Oroanu is driven to represent the voices of young people, particularly Pacific youth from his home community of Panmure-Ōtāhuhu. “My opinion has always been that if I’m not going to do it, I don’t know who else will.”

French Senate to vote on post-cyclone ‘refoundation’ bill for Mayotte

The French Senate is poised to approve a landmark bill aimed at revitalising the overseas department of Mayotte, signalling a renewed commitment to a region grappling with multiple crises. The draft programme bill, which sets out nearly €4 billion in state investment over the next seven years, marks what the government calls an “historic step” in the reconstruction and future development of the Indian Ocean archipelago. More than five months after Cyclone Chido [wreaked havoc on Mayotte](https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20241223-day-of-mourning-in-france-for-mayotte-destroyed-by-cyclone), the government is seeking to rebuild not just infrastructure, but trust and hope. Located between the Comoros and Madagascar, Mayotte is France’s 101st department and its poorest. The bill being discussed tackles [wide-ranging issues](https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20241231-french-pm-bayrou-unveils-mayotte-standing-reconstruction-plan) from healthcare and education to housing, security, and migration.

Changing legal obligations on climate action

**Photo Source:** Image via [Islands Business](https://islandsbusiness.com/news-break/changing-legal-obligations-on-climate-action/) – all rights and credits belong to the original publisher. Pacific Small Island Developing States and other developing nations are mobilising to call for new international legal norms, to ensure that industrialised nations meet their obligations on climate, development and oceans protection. As governments gather in France for this month’s [UN Conference on the Ocean](https://sdgs.un.org/conferences/ocean2025), Vanuatu and other PSIDS have been seeking international court rulings on the responsibility of states for climate action. From 2021, Vanuatu led an international campaign calling on the UN General Assembly to request an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on climate change and human rights. In March 2023, the General Assembly formally asked the ICJ – the world’s highest court in The Hague, Netherlands – to clarify states’ obligations around climate change and the consequences of breaching these obligations. Laat year, the court received submissions from nearly 100 governments and international organisations, then held hearings and arguments over two weeks in December. The ICJ judges are now considering their ruling, which will be released this year – possibly in coming months.

UN court backs Equatorial Guinea in Gabon dispute over islands in oil-rich waters

The United Nation’s top court has sided with Equatorial Guinea in a row with Gabon over three islands in potentially oil-rich waters. The two Central African countries have been arguing over the isles – Conga, Mbanié and Cocoteros – since the early 1970s. The islands are virtually uninhabited but are in a maritime zone thought to contain significant oil deposits. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Equatorial Guinea’s claim – based on a 1900 treaty dividing up French and Spanish colonial assets – should be honoured. The court dismissed Gabon’s central argument – that a more recent treaty, the 1974 Bata convention, had switched the islands’ sovereignty in its favour. In a final and binding ruling, the ICJ said Conga, Mbanié and Cocoteros were held by Spain, and then passed to its former colony Equatorial Guinea at independence in 1968.

The Cabildo de Gran Canaria (the island’s government) presented its work on climate change mitigation and adaptation in Poland

Through the Department of Environment, Climate, Energy and Knowledge, the Cabildo de Gran Canaria has presented at the fourth Forum of the European Union’s Climate Change Adaptation Mission, being held these days in the Polish city of Wrocław, the work that the island corporation and the Gran Canaria Island Energy Council (Consejo Insular de la Energía (CIEGC) in Spanish) are carrying out to advance climate change mitigation and adaptation and their associated risks. The meeting was attended by the Environment, Climate, Energy and Knowledge Councilor of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, Raúl García Brink, invited by the European Union along with the island Energy Director, Alexis Lozano, and he shared with attendees the projects being developed on the Island through European programs such as Natalie or Life Costa Adapta, as well as the technical assistance that has been received from the Climate Change Adaptation Mission.

African islands under threat: what to do about Trump’s withdrawal from climate change agreement

President Donald Trump’s [executive order withdrawing](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/putting-america-first-in-international-environmental-agreements/) the US from the [Paris Agreement](https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/paris-agreement) raises the question of the implications for small African Indian Ocean island states. The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It entered into [force](https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement#:%7E:text=The%20Paris%20Agreement%20is%20a,force%20on%204%20November%202016.) in November 2016 and aims to limit global temperature rises below 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels. The executive order, “[Putting America First in International Environmental Agreements](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/putting-america-first-in-international-environmental-agreements/)”, signifies the intention of the US to withdraw from this agreement.

Advancing Sustainable Development for Islands Worldwide