Top politicians in New Caledonia say the two key accords of the past 30 years have allowed it to turn the page of violence to one of peace and prosperity.
Photo: AFP
The statement was made by the remaining seven members of a group formed at the behest of the French prime minister Edouard Philippe to look at New Caledonia's future after the November independence referendum.
The pro- and anti-independence leaders signed the text of their stocktake and will now send it to Mr Philippe.
It said the 1988 Matignon Accords and the 1998 Noumea Accord had established the right to self-determination, the full recognition of the Kanak identity, shared institutional responsibilities and New Caledonia's integration into the region.
It noted that a fundamental outcome of the Noumea Accord was that the indigenous people's demand to self-determination of the 1970s had been transformed into a Caledonian right to self-determination.
The statement said access to New Caledonian citizenship was still to be finalised but setting up restricted electoral rolls had contributed to the emergence of a New Caledonian identity.
It said there had been a significant rise in the level of education although inequalities persisted.
Over the past 20 years, it said the difference in development between the Southern Province and the Northern province, as well as the Loyalty Islands province, had been reduced.
