A/HRC/18/35/Add.6 the European Parliament for the New Caledonia constituency, respectively; Vincent Bouvier, Delegate-General for the Overseas Territories; and Nicolas de Rivière, Director for United Nations and international organizations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Special Rapporteur also had the opportunity to interact with members of the National Consultative Commission on Human Rights (CNCDH), and the General Secretary of the Inspector General of Detention Facilities. Finally, a visit to New Caledonia House and to Quai Branly Museum (dedicated to indigenous art) was also organized. 5. The Special Rapporteur would like to thank the Kanak communities visited for their generous hospitality. He is also grateful to the officials in France and New Caledonia, especially the members of the Customary Senate, for their assistance in organizing and facilitating the visit to New Caledonia, and to the French officials for their cooperation and assistance for the visit to Paris. II. The Kanak people 6. The indigenous people of New Caledonia are the Kanak people. They are one of the ethnic Melanesian groups that inhabit a number of islands across the South Pacific. Kanak social organization is traditionally based around clans, the members of which share common ancestry and geographic origin. Historically and to a significant extent still, the Kanak people have relied on fishing, gathering, and agriculture, although today, many are employed and seek economic opportunities in the market economy. Kanak clans identify as either “land” or “sea” clans, based on the original location and occupation of their ancestors. 7. France claimed possession of New Caledonia in 1853, beginning a period of violent confrontation in which Kanak clans were forcibly displaced and lost large areas of land. The Kanak were moved onto indigenous “reserves” and came under the indigenous regime (régime de l’indigénat), a legal structure that, among other restrictions, prohibited the Kanak from leaving the reserves without permission. During this period, France actively settled New Caledonia, first by establishing a penal colony for prisoners who, upon completion of their sentences, were each given land, then by encouraging settlement by Europeans, and bringing in labourers from Asia. The Kanaks struggled against colonization in a series of bloody battles but by 1920, overpowered by the military and decimated by disease, the Kanak population had dropped to just 27,000 from around 60,000 at the time of European contact. After the Second World War, France abolished the Indigenous Code (Code de l’Indigénat) and granted French citizenship to the Kanak. 8. According to the Government of France, census data collected in 2009 placed the the Kanak population at 99,078, which is just over 40 per cent of total population of New Caledonia The Kanak are unevenly distributed among the three provinces, constituting, according to the 2009 census data reported by France, 94 per cent of the Loyalty Islands Province, 74 per cent of North Province and 27 per cent of the more densely populated South Province. These percentages are thought to be similar today. 9. While constituting the largest population group in New Caledonia, the Kanak live in relatively poor socio-economic situations (see para. 49 below). In recent years, a number of initiatives have emerged to address the disadvantaged conditions faced by the Kanak people as a result of colonization, and points of consensus have emerged among the various Kanak and non-Kanak sectors of New Caledonia society, and in France, about the future of the territory. While these hold some promise of improved conditions for the Kanak people and for overcoming the entrenched legacies of an oppressive colonial past, obstacles remain to the full enjoyment of their human rights. 5