Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 10, Number 9, 1 September 1993 — South Pacific Commission and New Zealand Trip [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

South Pacific Commission and New Zealand Trip

by Abraham Aiona, Vice Chairman Trustee, Maui On behalf of OHA, I was recently able to attend a session of the South Pacific Commission (SPC) and a meeting of its Committee of Representatives of Governments and Administrations in Noumea, New Caledonia. The South Pacific Commission

belongs to the people of the Pacific I and the 27 member I countries. In 1947 I the SPC was | formed by the ! A 11 ied Powers to | help develop their 1 dependent territo- a ries and colonies in I the Pacific. The I commission has •

grown immensely from that time. As the people became involved in their governmental affairs, independence became a reality for several member countries, later admitted to the SPC as sovereign members. Others are still dependent on the major powers

such as the U.S., United Kingdom, France, New Zealand, Australia and the Netherlands for eeonomie and social support. The South Pacific basin is home to five million people in 22 island countries scattered over 30 million square kilometers. These Pacific island members benefit from the commission's technical assistance, advisory services, information and clear-

inghouse services, I and small grants aid. They ean participate in all of the conferences, regional eonferences and technieal meetings, and take courses. Eaeh request must have official governmental approval transtn thp mm.

mission*s secretariat. The Secretary General, who is normally an international civil servant, is elected by the South Pacific Commission and is at the "helm" of the organization. He has two directors who help him manage almost 200 staff officers,

and most of them are based at the headquarters in Noumea. They also have branch programs in Fiji and the Solomon Islands. There are two official languages; French and English. The annual budget is approximately $22 million.

As I look at how things have progressed in the short time that I have been involved with these people, I notice the strong bond

among all of us here, whether Micronesian, Polynesian, Melanesian — even haole or pakeha — who are working for the betterment of their own people. All of this is a tremendous effort, and I hope that someday in the near future Hawai'i may enter as a member from OHA or as the sovereign nation of Hawai'i. This is a goal I will continue to strive toward. I was also fortunate to attend the 18th meeting of the Committee of Representatives of Governments and Administrations, and was able to speak to the group about the question of sovereignty and the authority of the state to grant sovereignty to us. Nations that have sovereignty today were able to work with foreign powers that colonized their islands and, through a long process, were able to pursue sovereignty working with the eolonial power and the United Nations. I was able to testify before the SPC plenary session about OHA to let them know where we were coming from and the impact of the legislation

passed by our last Legislature, including the bill for a Hawaiian Sovereignty Advisory Commission as well as the ceded land settlement of $136.5 million. It is fantastic, the hospitality, the closeness of the people, whether we are from Micronesia, Melanesia, or Polynesia or from other parts of the world. It is important and helpful to link up with these people. There seems to be a lot of strong sentiment toward us becoming a member. However, they view us as part of the U.S., that is one of the major eolonial powers along with Australia, France, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, and since the U.S. is being represented, they feel that Hawai'i is a part of that entity. Onee we establish a sovereign entity or plan ahead, we should make every effort to have OHA be considered a part of the organization because we will be able to contribute to their programs in the way of expertise and knowledge.

Nations that have sovereignty today were able to work with foreign powers that colonized their islands and through a long process, were able to pursue sovereignty working with the eolonial power and the United Nations.