Disputes - international:
none
Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for South American drugs bound for the US and
Europe; money-laundering center
This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007
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@New Caledonia
Introduction New Caledonia
Background:
Settled by both Britain and France during the first half of the
19th century, the island was made a French possession in 1853. It
served as a penal colony for four decades after 1864. Agitation for
independence during the 1980s and early 1990s ended in the 1998
Noumea Accord, which over a period of 15 to 20 years will transfer
an increasing amount of governing responsibility from France to New
Caledonia. The agreement also commits France to conduct as many as
three referenda between 2013 and 2018, to decide whether New
Caledonia should assume full sovereignty and independence.
Geography New Caledonia
Location:
Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia
Geographic coordinates:
21 30 S, 165 30 E