A/HRC/18/35/Add.6 IV. Rights of the Kanak in the context of decolonization and international protections for indigenous peoples 14. With the Nouméa Accord, New Caledonia is advancing in a process that falls within the United Nations decolonization regime. The General Assembly (resolution 65/113) welcomed the developments that have taken place in New Caledonia further to the Nouméa Accord. The Accord provides the domestic framework for the process by which decolonization will take place. It explicitly embraces Kanak indigenous identity, but also affirms the legitimacy of the presence of the French and other groups in the territory. 15. At the same time, the Kanak people benefit from specific international protections for indigenous peoples which find expression in the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; these protections buttress and complement the key principles of the Nouméa Accord. France, along with an overwhelming majority of United Nations member States, voted in favour of the Declaration when it was adopted by the General Assembly on 13 September 2007. While the Declaration envisages primarily the rights of indigenous peoples in the context of independent countries, its principles apply with equal force in New Caledonia, as acknowledged to the Special Rapporteur by the Government of France. 16. The Special Rapporteur notes the centrality of the right of self-determination to both the decolonization and indigenous rights regimes, self-determination being affirmed as a right of all peoples in General Assembly resolutions 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960 and 1541 (XV) of 15 December 1960, which promote the decolonization of non-self-governing territories, and as a right of indigenous peoples in particular in the 2007 Declaration. As made evident by the Declaration, the exercise of the right to self-determination by indigenous peoples, such as the Kanak, is not necessarily fulfilled by decolonization of the entire broader territory in which they live alongside others. 17. As New Caledonia prepares for the post-2014 referendum on the status of the territory, it will be crucial for both Kanak and non-Kanak citizens to appreciate that selfdetermination has many aspects beyond and apart from statehood or the formal political status of New Caledonia as a whole. Having apparently drawn broad support from among the Kanak people, the Nouméa Accord can itself be seen as a step in their exercise of selfdetermination; and the question of New Caledonian sovereignty that is anticipated by the Accord will fundamentally shape the context in which Kanak self-determination will be expressed in the future. However, the right of the Kanak people to self-determination as an indigenous people, along with other rights affirmed in the Declaration, has distinct significance. Likewise, the affirmation of Kanak identity and the related principles in the Nouméa Accord will continue to resonate with meaning, whatever the decision on sovereignty of New Caledonia as a whole. V. Human rights issues 18. The Special Rapporteur is convinced that the Nouméa Accord and the processes it has advanced represent significant steps towards reversing historical trends of oppression against the Kanak and establishing conditions for them with dignity in New Caledonia. Yet it is evident that the Kanak people face ongoing challenges to maintain and develop on their own terms the multiple aspects of their cultural identity, to fully participate in political processes and government, to improve the economic and social conditions of daily life, and to be free from discrimination. The Special Rapporteur heard repeatedly that the Nouméa Accord is not adequately or completely implemented in relation to these issues, and that dominant political actors in New Caledonia and French government officials do not 7