President Ilham Aliyev Criticizes France’s Colonial Policies, Calls for Decolonization and Climate Justice

President Ilham Aliyev has criticized France’s destructive policies in its overseas territories, including New Caledonia and French Polynesia, which, despite being recognized as self-governing territories by the United Nations, continue to suffer under colonial rule.

At the Summit of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) held as part of COP29 on Wednesday, President Aliyev pointed out that French Polynesia has endured severe environmental degradation due to 193 nuclear tests conducted by France.

He emphasized that France is responsible for land contamination and the damage inflicted on overseas territories, including the 17 nuclear tests carried out in Algeria during the colonial era, which caused significant harm to the planet’s ecosystem.

Addressing crimes in the so-called overseas territories, President Aliyev also condemned recent human rights violations by France. He noted that during protests in New Caledonia, many civilians were killed or injured by “the regime of President Macron”.

This summer, New Caledonia, a French overseas territory colonized in the 19th century, was shaken by fierce protests sparked by proposed legislative changes from Paris. At least eleven locals were killed during the protests. The changes, approved by the French parliament, aimed to grant voting rights to French residents who have lived in the territory for 10 years. This sparked fear among the indigenous Kanak people, who make up over 41% of the population, that their political influence would be further diminished.

The protests, the worst since the 1980s, engulfed the capital, Nouméa, of New Caledonia, a group of islands situated between Australia and Fiji. The French government deployed 3,500 troops to help police control the unrest.

During its colonial rule, France frequently engaged in acts of ethnic cleansing and genocide in Algeria, but it has yet to issue an apology or provide reparations for these actions.

Between 1954 and 1962, during Algeria’s War of Independence, France reportedly committed numerous atrocities against Algerians both within Algeria and in France. Algerians who resisted French rule endured severe abuses, including systematic torture, often leading to deaths that were falsely reported as suicides.

It is estimated that French colonization led to the deaths of up to 1.5 million Algerians. In 1962, after 132 years of French domination, a ceasefire agreement was reached, and Algeria achieved independence.

Between 1960 and 1966, the French colonial regime conducted 17 nuclear tests in the Algerian Sahara. Four of these were atmospheric detonations, while the remaining 13 were underground tests. These tests resulted in significant environmental contamination in North Africa, particularly in the desert sands.

On Wednesday, Baku also hosted a COP29 side conference titled "End Colonialism for Peace and a Green Planet!" The Baku Initiative Group, an international non-governmental organization advocating for decolonization and human rights, gathered activists from island states under French colonial rule for the event.

The speakers emphasized that their primary objective was to deliver a message to Paris. The activists voiced their opposition to France’s colonial rule over their countries and called for its end. They also urged the United Nations to include colonized nations in the list of territories eligible for decolonization. Additionally, the protesters demanded climate justice for their communities.