Int'l call upon France: New Caledonia should be freed from nuclear weapons 

The outcome statement of the 12th General Assembly of the Pacific Conference of Churches supported New Caledonia's struggle for independence from France, Report informs.

The statement reads: “We stand with the French Polynesia and New Caledonia in their struggle for sacred self-determination. We challenge past and present colonial powers in the Pacific to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). We must become more just in our approach, ensuring that God's household in the Pacific receives justice through sufficient employment, responsible leadership, and efficient use of resources. The church must reduce the financial burden on its members by converting its land to projects which benefit the people. And it must call out leaders who do not put the needs of the people first. As a Household of God, we call for women and children, the elderly, and people with disabilities to be treated with respect and dignity at all times. Accordingly, we call on all Pacific churches to adopt policies which ensure safe spaces in which women and children can worship and find comfort and support in times of need. We also call on churches to ensure access to places of worship for those who need assistance. The continued militarization of the Pacific remains an issue of concern. The Household of God in the Pacific is a region of peace. Its desecration by the legions of military conquest must cease. As guardians of Pasifika, we call on the governments of Australia, China, France, India, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, and the United States to free our region of nuclear proliferation, weapons of mass destruction, and military bases. We persist in our call for regional ratification of the Treaty of Prohibition on Nuclear Weapons and a total commitment to the Rarotonga Treaty for a Nuclear-Free Pacific. We, Pasifika churches, communities, and nations, are called into a transformation to be guardians of our islands and the ocean that connects us. We continue to condemn the dumping of nuclear and other waste in our ocean. We call on Japan to cease the dumping of contaminated water into our ocean. We call on the United States, Britain, and France to accept responsibility for the ongoing degradation of the ocean caused by their nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, the land now called Australia and Maohi Nui.”