Pacific churches reject US call to end UN decolonization mandate

Pacific churches reject US call to end UN decolonization mandate

msc

Tue, 10/20/2026 - 16:25

The Pacific Conference of Churches, in a message on 19 October, rejected a US call to end the mandate of the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization.

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Rev. James Shri Bhagwan, PCC general secretary (right), and Dr Sivendra Michael, Fiji’s permanent secretary for Environment and Climate Change.

Photo: Marcelo Schneider/WCC

“ Decolonisation is complete when the peoples still on the list have freely determined their future,” the message reads. “ The Fourth International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism ends in 2030; this is a time to accelerate the work, not abolish it.”

The right of peoples to self-determination is not a matter of opinion, emphasized the message. “ The International Court of Justice, most recently in its 2019 Chagos advisory opinion, has treated Resolution 1514 as declaratory of the customary right to self-determination,” the text reads. “ To call the foundation of the UN decolonisation process ‘ non-binding ’ is to tell colonised peoples that their rights are optional.”…