KE AUPUNI UPDATE - MARCH 2026
The UN and Self-Determination
In early March I was in Papeete, Tahiti to attend a Global Consultation on Self-Determination and Decolonization. There were representatives from around the world gathered to listen to the independence efforts of Tahiti, New Caledonia, West Papua and Hawaii. We also heard from Guam and American Samoa. Every situation has differences and similarities.
This was the first time someone from Hawaii gave a report on the situation of Hawaii in the context of the UN’s self-determination process.
The United Nations was formed in 1945 with two lofty mandates to reform the world. Its primary mandate was to be a venue to settle international disputes through peaceful means — no more wars... especially no more devastating World Wars.
The UN’s second most important mandate was to decolonize the world. At that time 75% of the nations of the world was under the rule of about 8 colonial powers! Thus, the UN adopted self-determination and decolonization as another major priority.
In 1946 the UN General Assembly collected the names of colonies and territories to be decolonized and placed them on a list of Non-Self-Governing Territories. Then they adopted procedures by which those captive nations could freely choose their future form of governance. About 100 colonies and possessions were on that list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.
Although Hawaii should not have been on the list because it was technically still a sovereign country — not a colony or territory of the US — the US went ahead and placed Hawaii on that decolonization list. No one questioned or objected because everyone at the time, even the people of Hawaii, thought Hawaii was a territory of the United States.
By the mid-1950s, decolonization under watch of the UN was in full swing with many former colonies gaining independence. The US became nervous about the possibility of losing two highly valued territories, Hawaii and Alaska, to decolonization. So, the US contrived a scheme to take Hawaii and Alaska off the list. The US did it by faking decolonization.
In 1958 and 1959, the US conducted referenda (called “statehood plebiscites”) in Alaska and Hawaii. But they rigged the vote to assure the outcome favored statehood. First, there was no previous education or discussion to inform the people of options other than statehood. Second there was no provision on the ballot for any choice other than statehood, and third, only US citizens were allowed to vote.
After the fake plebiscites, the US then admitted Alaska and Hawaii into the Union as the 49th and 50th states. The US then reported the results to the UN General Assembly saying the US, as a protective power under the UN Charter had fulfilled its “sacred obligation” and the political status of both Alaska and Hawaii were settled based on the free, prior and informed consent of the people. The record shows that this was not true in Hawaii, especially that not a single Hawaiian national voted in the plebiscite.
The United Nations General Assembly, however, without verifying how the plebiscite was conducted, accepted the United States’ report and passed UNGA Resolution 1469 certifying that the political status of Alaska and Hawaii had been settled and Alaska and Hawaii were to be henceforth recognized by the UN and all its member states as the 49th and 50th states of the United States.
This is how the UN’s decolonization process was hijacked by the US to secure its claim to Hawaii. It is the UN’s erroneous validation of the US report saying the people of Hawaii overwhelmingly consented to Statehood that stands in the way of a free Hawaii today.
Aloha ʻĀina —
“Love of country is deep-seated in the breast of every Hawaiian, whatever his station.” — Queen Liliʻuokalani
Ua mau ke ea o ka ʻāina i ka pono.
The sovereignty of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.
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For the latest news and developments about our progress at the United Nations in both New York and Geneva, tune in to Free Hawaii News at 7 PM, the first Friday of each month on ʻŌlelo Television, Channel 53.
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Malama Pono,
Leon Siu
Hawaiian National
