Corti: Organized by the Corsican independence movement "Nazione," the 44th edition of the "International Days" event was held in Corti city, Corsica, from August 7-9, the Baku Initiative Group (BIG) said in a statement.
According to Azerbaijan State News Agency, the event brought together representatives of the International Decolonization Front (IDF), which was established in Baku in July 2024 with the support of the BIG. The IDF unites political parties and movements fighting for the independence of the Overseas Territories under the colonial rule of France and the Netherlands. The event concluded with the IDF adopting the Corte Declaration.
The declaration mentions that the same colonial exploitation mechanisms that infringe upon the fundamental rights and sovereignty of indigenous peoples are being applied across all different geographical areas under the rule of France. The document condemns Paris's targeted economic policies, arguing that they exploit local resources, increase the cost of living, and lead to mass unemployment, compelling young people to leave their homelands, emigrate, or rely on social welfare.
The declaration emphasizes that French authorities have used unlawful force against peaceful activists and anti-colonial resistance movements, criminalizing their dissent. It also highlights that official Paris is fostering an environment of impunity by covering up serious environmental and humanitarian scandals, such as the chlordecone pesticide poisoning that affected tens of thousands in Martinique and Guadeloupe.
Furthermore, the IDF demands that France cease attempts to strip these peoples of their national and political identity, criticizing efforts to reduce them to rightless island communities through agreements and processes like the Bougival Agreements in New Caledonia and the Beauvau process in Corsica.
Referring to UN General Assembly Resolution 75/123 regarding the eradication of colonialism, the Front announced plans for further global expansion of its legal, diplomatic, and political steps. It aims to ensure the inclusion of the Overseas Territories living under French colonialism in the UN list of countries to be officially decolonized and to continue this collective strategy.