Declarations

2010 MILDA MEETING, MELE VILLAGE, VANUATU

The declaration of the 2nd annual meeting of the Melanesian Indigenous Land Defence Alliance, held at Mele Village in Port Vila, Vanuatu, 14-19 June, 2010. Written in response to increasing threats to customary land systems posed by the land reform agendas of international financial institutions, aid agencies, governments and elites within our own countries, the second annual meeting of the Melanesian Indigenous Land Defence Alliance (MILDA) affirms its commitment to indigenous control of customary land systems. Recognising that the threats to customary land are directed against the Melanesian Pacific as a region, our intention is to unite and organize on a regional basis, to defend the continued control of Melanesian communities over their land, sea, water, air and natural resources. We assert that the customary land systems are the basis of life and community in Melanesia.

Established in 2009, MILDA is an alliance of groups and individuals united by a shared vision, a common cause, and a commitment to working together. Our members are fieldworkers and community members, women’s representatives and mothers, fathers and grandfathers. We include church leaders and traditional leaders, academics, regional NGOs and international supporters. We first came together last year in Madang, PNG, and following from that we came together this year in Port Vila, Vanuatu. We came from Papua New Guinea, Bougainville, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji and Australia, and were privileged to have traditional chiefs with us. We came to share experiences, stories and skills, and strategize a regional response to the persistent pressure for registration and leasing of customary land.

Land has always been of the highest value to the lives of our peoples, and so it will be for generations to come. In all Melanesian traditions, land is regarded as a non-alienable resource that cannot be parted with. The relationship which we have with our land is special and unique, and cannot be accounted for through Western systems of value. The Melanesian definition of land is inclusive. Land extends from the surface of the ground to the centre of the earth. It stretches above us to the limits of the sky. It includes the waters of our rivers, streams and creeks. It includes our oceans. The land has belonged to us – and we to it – since time immemorial.

Land is our mother and the source of life for our people. Land secures life, fosters and strengthens relationships that sustain our society. It embodies the link to our past, present and future and therefore sustains everything we do. MILDA members reaffirm the sanctity of land. The meeting asserted the following:

1. We are opposed to any form of alienation of land from customary landowners, whether by outright sale or through leases which remove landowners’ capacity to effectively control, access and use their land.

2. We believe that the ways in which land is used and distributed should be determined by Melanesian custom, and not Western legal systems.

3. We assert the value of traditional economy, which promotes self-reliance amongst our people and communities, and we are opposed to actions and policies which encourage the dependency of Melanesian peoples on others, including the state.

4. We reject all policies which require that customary land be registered as a precondition for business or development activities, and demand that Melanesian governments cease all pressures for customary land registration, whether voluntary or involuntary.

5. We oppose all foreign programs, bribes and inducements to bring about customary land registration in Melanesia.

6. We call for a total overhauling of the current land administration in Melanesia to weed out corrupt land dealings and fraudulent titling. All customary land taken by these means should be returned to customary owners.

The Melanesian Indigenous Land Defence Alliance resolved that it will meet again next year in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.

2014 MILDA MEETING, LELEPA, VANUATU

The declaration of the 3rd meeting of the Melanesian Indigenous Land Defence Alliance (MILDA), held at Natapao Village on the island of Lelepa, Vanuatu, 10-11 March 2014.

In response to continued and increasing severity of threats to customary land systems posed by the land reform and other foreign development agendas of international financial institutions, aid agencies, governments and elites within our own countries, the third meeting of the Melanesian Indigenous Land Defence Alliance (MILDA) re-affirms its commitment to indigenous control of customary land systems and Melanesian development goals. We are united and organized as a region to defend the continued control of Melanesian communities over their land, sea, water, air and ancestral heritage, recognising that the threats to customary land are directed against the Melanesian Pacific as a region. We re-assert that the customary land systems are the basis of life and community in Melanesia.

MILDA is an alliance of groups and individuals with a shared vision and commitment to working together united by a common cause to protect our indigenous land extending from the surface of the ground to the centre of the earth and underneath the sea, including our ecosystems, biodiversity, intangible cultural heritage, the waters of our rivers, streams and air. Our members comprise church and traditional leaders, fieldworkers, community members including men, women, youths, children and people with special needs, academics, regional NGOs and international supporters.

Land has and always will be of the highest value to the lives of our peoples, and so it will be for generations to come. In all Melanesian traditions, land is regarded as a non-alienable resource that cannot be parted with. The relationship which we have with our land is special and unique, and cannot be replaced by foreign value systems. The Melanesian definition of land is collective and inclusive. We are custodians of the land since time immemorial.

Land is our mother and the source of life for our people. Land secures life, fosters and strengthens relationships that sustain our society. It embodies the connections to our past, present and future and therefore sustains everything we aspire to. MILDA members, hailing from the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Fiji, Kanaky, Papua New Guinea, Maluku, Solomon Islands, West Papua, and Vanuatu, reaffirm the sanctity of land.

We declare the following:

1. As Indigenous Peoples of Melanesia we are committed to upholding and safeguarding our Melanesian indigenous traditional and cultural heritage, customs, values and beliefs.

2. We acknowledge and support the value and use of Traditional Resource Management, Traditional Knowledge and vernacular language in the sustainable management of, and cultural links with, the environment and natural resources.

3. We oppose any form of alienation of land and sea from customary landowners, whether by outright sale, leases or acquisition which remove landowners’ capacity to effectively control, access and use their land and sea.

4. We believe that the ways in which land is used and distributed should be determined by Melanesian custom, and not by foreign systems.

5. We assert the value of our traditional economy, which promotes self-reliance amongst our people and communities, and we oppose actions and policies which promote the dependency of Melanesian peoples on others, including the State.

6. We say NO to all policies which require customary land be registered as a precondition for business or development activities, and demand that Melanesian governments and aid donors cease all pressures for customary land registration, whether voluntary or involuntary.

7. We are opposed to any form of experimental seabed resource extraction from our seas.

8. We oppose all foreign programs, bribes and other methods that take away the right to self-determination over our lands, reflective in Article 3 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, including customary land registration, foreign land grabbing, and extractive industries in Melanesia.

9. We call for a total review of the current land administration in Melanesia to eliminate corrupt land dealings and fraudulent land practices. All customary land acquired by these means should be returned to the rightful ancestral inheritors.

2016 MILDA MEETING, BUALA., YSABEL ISLAND

In response to continued and increasing severity of threats to customary land and sea systems, posed by the land reforms, and deep sea exploration and seabed mining and other foreign development agendas of international financial institutions, aid agencies, governments and elites within our own countries. The fourth meeting of the MILDA re-affirms its commitment to indigenous control of customary land systems and seas in relation to Melanesian ways. We recognise that external threats to customary land and seas are directed against the Melanesian Pacific as a region. We, therefore, are united and organized as a region to defend the continued control of Melanesian communities over our land, sea, water, air and ancestral heritage. We re-assert that the customary land and sea systems are the basis of life and community in Melanesia.

MILDA is an alliance of groups and individuals with a shared vision and commitment to working together united by a common cause to protect our indigenous land extending from the surface of the ground to the centre of the earth and underneath the sea, including our ecosystems, biodiversity, and intangible cultural heritage, the waters of our rivers, streams and air. Our members comprise of traditional leaders, community members including men, women, youths, children and people with special needs, churches, academics, regional NGOs and international supporters.

The Melanesian definition of land is collective and inclusive which includes the sea. Land has and always will be of the highest value to the lives of our peoples, and so it will be for generations to come. In all Melanesian traditions, land is regarded as a non-alienable resource that cannot be parted with. The relationship which we have with our land and sea is special and unique, and cannot be replaced by foreign value systems. We are custodians of the land and sea since time immemorial.

Land, including the sea, is our mother and the source of life for our people. Land secures life, fosters and strengthens relationships that sustain our society. It embodies the connections to our past, present and future and therefore sustains everything we aspire to. MILDA members, hailing from the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Fiji, Kanaky, Papua New Guinea, Maluku, Solomon Islands, West Papua, and Vanuatu, reaffirm the sanctity of land and sea.

We declare the following:

1. As Indigenous Peoples of Melanesia we are committed to upholding and safeguarding our Melanesian indigenous traditional and cultural heritage, customs, values and beliefs.

2. We acknowledge and support the value and use of Traditional Resource Management, Traditional Knowledge and vernacular language in the sustainable management of, and cultural links with, the environment and natural resources.

3. We oppose any form of alienation of land and sea from customary landowners, whether by outright sale, leases or acquisition which remove landowners’ capacity to effectively control, access and use their land and sea.

4. We believe that the ways in which land and sea is used and distributed should be determined by Melanesian custom, and not by foreign systems.

5. We assert the value of our traditional economy, which promotes self-reliance amongst our people and communities, and we oppose actions and policies which promote the dependency of Melanesian peoples on others, including the State.

6. We say NO to all policies which require customary land be registered as a precondition for business or development activities, and demand that Melanesian governments and aid donors cease all pressures for customary land registration, whether voluntary or involuntary.

7. We say NO to all legislative changes with respect to land and sea resources that takes away rights and control from our people and give exclusive rights and control to governments and foreign investors.

8. We further call for review of current and new legislative changes with respect to land and sea resources in Melanesia that does not favour our people and Melanesian Ways.

9. We are opposed to any form of experimental seabed resource extraction (including exploration activities) from our seas.

10. We oppose all foreign programs, bribes and other methods that take away the right to self-determination over our lands, reflective in Article 3 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, including customary land registration, foreign land and sea (ocean) grabbing, and extractive industries in Melanesia.

11. We call for a total review of the current land administration in Melanesia to eliminate corrupt land dealings and fraudulent land practices. All customary land acquired by these means should be returned to the rightful ancestral inheritors.

2017 ARAWA MEETING, BOUGAINVILLE

The declaration of the 5th meeting of the Melanesian Indigenous Land Defence Alliance (MILDA), held at Arawa, Central Bougainville, 14-18 August 2017

In response to continued and increasing severity of threats to customary land and sea systems posed by land reforms, land/sea mining, other large-scale resource extraction projects, and other foreign development agendas of international financial institutions, aid agencies, governments and elites within our own countries, the fifth meeting of the Melanesian Indigenous Land Defence Alliance (MILDA) re-affirms its commitment to indigenous control of customary land/sea systems in relation to Melanesian ways. We recognise that external threats to customary land and seas are directed against the Melanesian Pacific as a region. We, therefore, are united and organized as a region to defend the continued control of Melanesian communities over our land, sea, water, air and ancestral heritage. We re-assert that the customary land / sea systems are the basis of life and community in Melanesia.

MILDA is an alliance of groups and individuals with a shared vision and commitment to working together united by a common cause to protect our indigenous land/sea extending from the surface of the ground to the centre of the earth and underneath the sea, including our ecosystems, biodiversity, and intangible cultural heritage, the waters of our rivers and streams, and our air. Our members comprise of traditional leaders, community members including men, women, youths, children and people with special needs, churches, academics, regional NGOs, and international supporters.

The Melanesian definition of land is collective and inclusive and includes the sea. Land has and always will be of the highest value to the lives of our peoples, and so it will be for generations to come. In all Melanesian traditions, land is regarded as a non-alienable resource that cannot be parted with. The relationship which we have with our land and sea is special and unique, and cannot be replaced by foreign value systems. We are custodians of the land and sea since time immemorial.

Land, including the sea, is our mother and the source of life for our people. Land secures life, fosters and strengthens relationships that sustain our society. It embodies the connections to our past, present and future and therefore sustains everything we aspire to. MILDA members, hailing from the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Fiji, Kanaky / Nouvelle Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Maluku, Solomon Islands, West Papua, and Vanuatu, reaffirm the sanctity of land and sea.

We declare the following:

1. As Indigenous Peoples of Melanesia we are committed to upholding and safeguarding our Melanesian indigenous traditional and cultural heritage, customs, values and beliefs.

2. We acknowledge and support the value and use of Traditional Resource Management, Traditional Knowledge and vernacular language in the sustainable management of, and cultural links with, the environment and natural resources.

3. We oppose any form of alienation of land and sea from customary landowners, whether by outright sale, leases or acquisition which remove landowners’ capacity to effectively control, access and use their land and sea.

4. We believe that the ways in which land and sea are used and distributed should be determined by Melanesian custom, and not by foreign systems.

5. We assert the value of our traditional economy, which promotes self-reliance amongst our people and communities, and we oppose actions and policies which promote the dependency of Melanesian peoples on others, including the State and foreign aid agencies.

6. We say NO to all policies which require customary land be registered as a precondition for business or development activities, and demand that Melanesian governments and aid donors cease all pressures for customary land registration, whether voluntary or involuntary.

7. We say NO to all legislative changes with respect to land and sea resources that take away power and control from our people, and give exclusive rights and control to governments and foreign investors, and call for a review of legislative changes that have undermined our indigenous power over our land/sea and our Melanesian Ways.

8. We oppose all foreign programs, bribes and other methods that take away the right to self-determination over our lands, reflective in Article 3 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, including customary land registration, foreign land and sea (ocean) grabbing, and extractive industries in Melanesia.

9. We are opposed to any form of experimental seabed resource extraction (including exploration activities) from our seas.

10. We call for a total review of the current land and sea administration in Melanesia to eliminate corrupt dealings and fraudulent practices. All customary land and sea acquired by these means should be returned to the rightful ancestral inheritors.

11. We reaffirm the rights and freedom of all Melanesian peoples, specifically Bougainville, Kanaky / Nouvelle Caledonie, and West Papua, to exercise the full process of self-determination towards referendum for independence without interference from outside influence.

12. We reaffirm the power and principles of Bougainvillean MATRILINEAL heritage and its vital role in the self-determination process towards the referendum for independence.

2019 MILDA MEETING TAKARA, VANUATU

The Takara Declaration 2019 MILDA is an alliance of groups and individuals with a shared vision and commitment to working together, who are united by a common cause to protect our indigenous land, which extends from the surface of the ground to the centre of the earth and underneath the ocean, and includes our air and sky, the waters of our rivers and streams, and our ecosystems, biodiversity, and intangible cultural heritage. The 7th meeting of the Melanesian Indigenous Land Defence Alliance (MILDA) took place from 25 to 29 November 2019 in Takara Village, Shefa Province, Vanuatu. At that meeting, some 80 representatives of indigenous communities and organizations throughout Melanesia (including the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Fiji, Kanaky, Papua New Guinea, Maluku, Solomon Islands, West Papua, and Vanuatu) unanimously re-affirmed MILDA’s decade-long commitment to indigenous Melanesian control over customary land and ocean systems under our customary laws and in accordance with our Melanesian ways. Those present at the meeting included indigenous leaders, community members (including men, women, young people, children and people with special needs), churches, academics, regional NGOs and international supporters.

This document, titled ‘The Takara Declaration 2019’ represents the points of consensus that emerged among everyone attending the meeting in response to the continued and increasing severity of the grave threats to our customary land and ocean systems posed by land reform schemes, the industrialization and militarization of our seas and seabeds, and other non-indigenous ‘development’ agendas and initiatives promoted by international financial institutions, aid agencies, commercial enterprises, governments and non-governmental organizations, as well as by governmental and other officials and elites within our own countries.

We recognise that these threats to customary land and ocean are directed against the Melanesian Pacific as a region, and therefore we pledge to remain united and organized as a region to defend and promote the continued control of Melanesian communities over our land, seas, water, air and ancestral heritage. We re-affirm that our customary land and ocean systems are the basis of our lives and communities as Melanesian peoples, and therefore they are the foundation of our survival and well-being today, and the continued survival and well-being of our future generations.

We assert that Melanesian definitions of land are inclusive of the ocean, and that we have been the custodians of our land and ocean since time immemorial. In all of our Melanesian traditions, the relationship that we have with our land and ocean is special and unique, and cannot be replaced by foreign value systems without putting our well-being, our communities, our languages, our ways of life and our continued existence on the planet in danger of extinction. Our customary relationship with land, ocean and sky gives us complete food, housing, work and social security, it fosters and strengthens the networks that hold our societies together, and it embodies our connections to the past, present and future, thereby sustaining everything that we aspire to.

As MILDA members hailing from the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Fiji, Kanaky, Papua New Guinea, Maluku, Solomon Islands, West Papua, and Vanuatu, we reaffirm that our customary stewardship over land and seas under our customary laws has successfully preserved them for future generations, that our traditional customs, values and beliefs have secured the well-being of all members of our societies, and that our rich heritage of networking and community-building has guaranteed peace and social harmony in our traditional societies.

Therefore, we declare that:

i) We acknowledge and support the value and use of our indigenous resource management systems, indigenous knowledges and indigenous languages in the sustainable management of, and the maintenance of cultural links with, our environment and our natural resources;

ii) We promote the production and consumption of indigenous food for resilience and the survival of Melanesian peoples;

iii) We oppose agendas, initiatives, policies and actions which promote the dependency of Melanesian peoples on others, including the State;

iv) We promote indigenous Melanesian systems of science, research, teaching and learning to bring about greater generation-to-generation transmission of, understanding of and appreciation for our indigenous knowledges, practices and languages;

v) We oppose any form of alienation of land and ocean from customary landowners/land stewards, whether by lease, by outright sale or by any other form of acquisition, which remove customary landowners’/land stewards’ capacity to effectively control, access and use their land and ocean. How land and ocean are used and distributed should be determined by Melanesian custom, and not by any foreign or non-customary system of law or governance;

vi) We commit to nurturing and supporting young indigenous Melanesian leaders and defenders of Melanesian life ways.

In accordance with Article 3 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) which states that:“Indigenous peoples have the right to selfdetermination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development”, we further declare that:

i) We support the right to self-determination of the indigenous peoples of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Kanaky and West Papua;

ii) We promote security of information and personnel against threats from oppressive and/or suppressive agencies, systems, groups or individuals within our governments;

iii) We say NO to all policies that require customary land to be registered as a precondition for business or ‘development’ activities, and demand that Melanesian governments and aid donors cease and desist from exerting any pressure whatsoever toward ‘customary’ land registration or any other form of land registration, whether voluntary or involuntary;

iv) We say NO to all legislative acts and amendments with respect to land and resources that take away any rights, power and control from our people, and put any rights, power and control in the hands of any foreign or domestic government and/or investor. We call for the systematic review of all existing and proposed legislation with respect to land and resources in Melanesia that does not favour our people and our Melanesian ways, especially our stewardship over land and land-based resources;

v) We say NO to any form of industrialization and militarization of our ocean. We call for the systematic review of all existing and proposed legislation with respect to oceans and resources in Melanesia that does not favour our people and our Melanesian ways, especially our stewardship over the ocean and ocean-based resources; and

vi) We call for a total review of past and current land administration procedures and practices in Melanesia to expose and eliminate all fraudulent acts such as bribery and mismanagement. This should be done in order to completely do away with any form of corrupt land dealing in the present and future and to remedy the effects of such dealings in the past. All customary lands that have been registered, leased, transferred, subdivided, mortgaged, sold or otherwise acquired by fraudulent means should be returned to their rightful ancestral landowners/land stewards