"Niue Constitution Act The ""Schedules"" of the Niue Constitution Act 1974 form the Niue constitution. It stipulates the make-up of the executive branch of the government, the legislative branch, and the judicial branch. The Niue Constitution Act 1974 is the supreme law of Niue; any other Niue law that is inconsistent with the Niue Constitution Act 1974 will be deemed to be invalid. Its granting by the New Zealand Parliament in 1974 is celebrated yearly as Niue's independence on ""Constitution Day"" on 19 October. The road towards self-government for Niue started with the UN Decolonisation Committee putting pressure on New"
"a freely-associated state as equivalent to independence for the purposes of international law. As such, Niue is a member of some UN specialised agencies (such as UNESCO, and the WHO), and is invited, alongside the other non-UN member state, the Cook Islands, to attend United Nations conferences open to ""all states"". Niue is subdivided into 14 ""villages"" (municipalities). Each village has a village council that elects its chairman. The villages are at the same time electoral districts; each village sends an assemblyman to the Parliament of Niue. A small and democratic nation, Niueans hold legislative elections every 3 years. In"
"differs from an associated state, such as the Federated States of Micronesia (in free association with the United States) and Cook Islands and Niue (which form part of the Realm of New Zealand). There are two kinds of associated states: in case of Micronesia, association is concluded by treaty between two sovereign states; in case of Cook Islands and Niue, association is concluded by domestic legal arrangements. The relation between the Crown dependencies of the Isle of Man and the bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey in the Channel Islands and the United Kingdom is very similar to a federate relation:"
"Geography of Niue Niue is a small island in the South Pacific Ocean, to the east of Tonga. It has an area of 260 square kilometres, and a coastline of 64 km. It claims an exclusive economic zone of 200 nm, and a territorial sea of 12 nm. It is one of world's largest coral islands. Niue's climate is tropical, modified by south-east trade winds. Cyclones pose a natural hazard. The terrain consists of steep coastal cliffs made from limestone and a central plateau. The lowest point is at sea level, and the highest is an unnamed point near Mutalau"
"other members to form the Cabinet of Ministers, the executive arm of government. The other two organs of government, following the Westminster model, are the Legislative Assembly and the Judiciary. General elections take place every three years, most recently on 6 May 2017. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. There is a High Court and a Court of Appeal, with appeals to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. Niue is a raised coral atoll in the southern Pacific Ocean, east of Tonga. The geographic co-ordinates are . There are three outlying coral reefs"
"the Sea, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Ottawa Treaty and the Treaty of Rarotonga. The country is a member state of UNESCO since 26 October 1993. Traditionally, Niue's foreign relations and defence have been regarded as the responsibility of New Zealand. However, in recent years Niue has begun to follow its own foreign relations, independent of New Zealand, in some spheres. It established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China on 12 December 2007. The joint communique signed by Niue and China is different in its treatment of the Taiwan question from that agreed by"
"of American Samoa. This is a list of the extreme points of Niue, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location. Geography of Niue Niue is a small island in the South Pacific Ocean, to the east of Tonga. It has an area of 260 square kilometres, and a coastline of 64 km. It claims an exclusive economic zone of 200 nm, and a territorial sea of 12 nm. It is one of world's largest coral islands. Niue's climate is tropical, modified by south-east trade winds. Cyclones pose a natural hazard. The terrain consists"
"adopted an official flag. However, a 1985 territorial decree permits the official use, alongside the French tricolour and the French Polynesian flag, of the official flag of the archipelago on which the flags are displayed. Four of the archipelagos have adopted such official flags. The two that have not are the Leeward Islands and the Windward Islands. Niue is a nation that is in free association with New Zealand. It has no first-order administrative subdivisions. The Pitcairn Islands are a territory of the United Kingdom. There are no administrative subdivisions. Samoa is divided administratively into eleven districts. None of them"
"Associated state An associated state is the minor partner in a formal, free relationship between a political territory with a degree of statehood and a (usually larger) nation, for which no other specific term, such as protectorate, is adopted. The details of such free association are contained in United Nations General Assembly resolution 1541 (XV) Principle VI, a Compact of Free Association or Associated Statehood Act and are specific to the countries involved. In the case of the Cook Islands and Niue, the details of their free association arrangement are contained in several documents, such as their respective constitutions, the"
"been recognised as sovereign states by some countries, and maintain diplomatic relations under their own name. Moreover, the Secretary General of the United Nations has determined that the admission of the Cook Islands and Niue into the World Health Assembly means that they have been accepted as states by the international community. However, even though both the Cook Islands and Niue behave as sovereign states in international law, their constitutional statuses within the Realm of New Zealand (i.e., for matters of New Zealand domestic law) is different from that of a fully independent state, considering that all of Niue's and"
", and Niue . While their respective relationships with New Zealand, as well as their small size, make them rather unusual states, it has been argued that their status is far from unique. According to Dumienski (2014) both the Cook Islands and Niue can be seen as microstates, which are defined as: ""modern protected states, i.e. sovereign states that have been able to unilaterally depute certain attributes of sovereignty to larger powers in exchange for benign protection of their political and economic viability against their geographic or demographic constraints."" Both the Cook Islands and Niue, as well as such states"
"Niue, which are both associated states of New Zealand, are not members of the UN, but are members of specialized agencies of the UN such as WHO and UNESCO, and have had their ""full treaty-making capacity"" recognized by United Nations Secretariat in 1992 and 1994 respectively. They have since become parties to a number of international treaties which the UN Secretariat acts as a depositary for, such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and are treated as non-member states. Both the Cook Islands and Niue have"
"of those areas have agreed to allow the United States to provide defense; the U.S. federal government fund grants an access to U.S. social services for citizens of these areas. The United States benefits from its ability to use the islands as strategic military bases. The Cook Islands and Niue have the status of ""self-government in free association"". New Zealand cannot legislate for them, and in some situations they are considered sovereign states. In foreign relations both interact as sovereign states, and they have been allowed to sign on as a state to UN treaties and bodies. New Zealand does"
"members: three sovereign states (Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu), two self-governing states in free association with New Zealand (the Cook Islands and Niue), an unincorporated territory of the United States (American Samoa), an overseas country of France (French Polynesia), and a nation that is also a dependency of New Zealand (Tokelau). Observers New Zealand In September 2011, Niuean Premier Toke Talagi had noted that ""we consider New Zealand and Hawaii, for example, as being part of the Polynesian Triangle so they could very well be part of the members of this Polynesian Group"". Tuilaeapa, while also acknowledging that New Zealand was"
"2003, Niue became the first country in the world to provide state-funded wireless internet to all inhabitants. Niue Island Organic Farmers Association is currently paving way to a Multilateral Environmental Agreement (MEA) committed to making Niue the world's first fully organic nation by 2020. A leader in green growth, Niue is also focusing on solar power provision, with help from the European Union. Niue aims to become 80% renewable by 2025. On the other hand, Niue currently deals with one of the highest rates of greenhouse gas production per capita in the world (behind only Kuwait and Brunei). In 2015,"
"Every independent country in Oceania currently maintains diplomatic and economic relations either with the People's Republic of China or with the Republic of China (Taiwan). The establishment of diplomatic relations between Niue and China followed a number of discussions between the two sides. In 2004, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao sent a telegram to Niue PM Young Vivian to convey his sympathy on Niue suffering windstorm. In April, 2006, Premier Wen met with PM Young Vivian during the conference of “China-Pacific Island Countries Economic Development & Cooperation Forum” held in Fiji. Niuean Prime Minister Young Vivian and the Chinese Foreign Minister,"
"within the Exclusive Economic Zone, with no land area: Besides these, Albert Meyer Reef, (20°53′S, 172°19′W, almost long and wide, least depth , southwest) is not officially claimed by Niue, and the existence of Haymet Rocks (26°S, 160°W, ESE) is in doubt. Niue is one of the world's largest coral islands. The terrain consists of steep limestone cliffs along the coast with a central plateau rising to about above sea level. A coral reef surrounds the island, with the only major break in the reef being in the central western coast, close to the capital, Alofi. A notable feature is"
"Zealand). There are two kinds of associated states: in the case of Micronesia, association is concluded by treaty between two sovereign states; in the case of the Cook Islands and Niue, association is concluded by domestic legal arrangements. The relations between the United Kingdom and the Crown dependencies, i.e. the Isle of Man and the bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey in the Channel Islands, are very similar to a federate relation: the Islands enjoy independence from the United Kingdom, which, via The Crown, takes care of their foreign relations and defence – although the UK Parliament does have overall power"
"links the four separate autonomous countries. The three countries Aruba, Curaçao, and St.Maarten don't have statehood but do have Dutch nationality and passport in common with the Netherlands. All four countries, including the State of the Netherlands, have separate constitutions, governments and parliaments, but Aruba alone has its own national currency and Central Bank. In contrast to the Free Association of the Cook Islands and New Zealand, the Kingdom is still fully responsible for diplomatic affairs, citizenship and defence, while the Cook Islands have an ACP status. The Council of Ministers of the Kingdom as a whole consists de facto"
"a member of Interpol or of the International Hydrographic Organization. Vanuatu has been a Commonwealth republic since 1980, when the Anglo-French Condominium of the New Hebrides became independent. Vanuatu claims Matthew Island and Hunter Island east of New Caledonia Foreign relations of Vanuatu Vanuatu maintains relations with more than 65 countries, and has a small network of diplomatic missions. Australia, France, Republic of Korea, New Zealand and the People's Republic of China maintain embassies, high commissions, or missions in Port Vila. The British High Commission closed in 2005 after maintaining a presence for almost a century. The government's main concern"
"on October 19, 1974, after a constitutional referendum. In 1992, the UN recognised both states' right to establish diplomatic relations with other countries. Since then, both the Cook Islands and Niue have been allowed to attend UN-sponsored conferences open to ""all States"" as well as sign and ratify UN treaties open to ""non-member states"". New Zealand has formally allowed the Cook Islands to independently conduct its own foreign affairs since April 6, 2001. Niue was granted this power in 2007. The ""Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs"" records that in 1988 ""New Zealand stated that its future participation in"
"a close relationship with the U.S., perhaps akin to a concept known as ""free association."" Free association generally implies negotiated legal, economic, or defense ties between two independent nations. Three former territories – the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau – are currently engaged in free association with the United States. (Following World War II, the U.S. administered all three of those territories on behalf of the United Nations, although they were never U.S. territories per se but United Nations Trust Territories.) Based on current compact agreements with the Republic of"
"international agreements would no longer extend to"" Niue and the Cook Islands. The Cook Islands and Niue were granted membership of UNESCO by 1993 and of the World Health Organization by 1994. Also by 1994, the UN Secretariat had ""recognized the full treaty-making capacity ... of Niue"". As of 2016, the Cook Islands, Niue, and Kosovo are the only states that participate in UN specialised agencies, but which are not member or observer states of the UN itself. Additionally, the Republic of China on Taiwan participates in the World Health Organization as Chinese Taipei. As of 2016, the Cook Islands"
"notable matter is that the Joint Communique signed by Niue and China is different in its treatment of the Taiwan question from that agreed by New Zealand and China. New Zealand ""acknowledged"" China's position on Taiwan but has never expressly agreed with it, but Niue """"recognizes that there is only one China in the world, the Government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China and Taiwan is an inalienable part of the territory of China."""" Critics have asked whether Niueans can continue to benefit from free association with New Zealand and"
"settlement, at 68 m. The island's natural resources are fish and arable land. Land use in 1993 was as in the following table: A current environmental issue is increasing attention to conservationist practices to counter loss of soil fertility from traditional slash-and-burn agriculture. Niue is a party to the following international agreements regarding the environment: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification. Niue has signed but not ratified the Law of the Sea agreement. Niue has signed a treaty with the United States in which the parties delimited the east–west maritime boundary between Niue and American Samoa. Niue is south"
"have a free association agreement with New Zealand and many of its citizens have become citizens of New Zealand. Now the Island country has a democracy and is governed by a legislative assembly consisting of 20 members. Niue is the smallest democracy in the world. The History of Papua New Guinea can be traced back to about 60,000 years ago when people first migrated towards the Australian continent. The written history began when European navigators first sighted New Guinea in the early part of the 16th century. Portuguese explorers first arrived from the west and later Spanish navigators from the"
"Federated States of Micronesia–Palau relations The Federated States of Micronesia and Palau share very good relations, as they are both bound by Compacts of Free Association with the United States. Palau decided not to join Micronesia when it became independent in 1986, due to language and other cultural differences. Palau became independent in 1994. Micronesian citizens may stay one year in Palau without a visa and a Palauan citizen may stay in Micronesia indefinitely without a visa. The two countries support each other as well as the United States and the Marshall Islands, another country in free association with the"
"October 2010. Curaçao and Sint Maarten gained autonomy as non-independent countries within the Kingdom, like Aruba did in 1986, and the three remaining islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba became special municipalities of the Netherlands itself. Cook Islands is a member of the Pacific Islands Forum and as such is part of the ""Umbrella Agreement"" including Australia and New Zealand, called the ""Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations"" (PACER). This agreement includes the future creation of a free trade area amongst the 14 ACP Forum Islands Countries (FICs) called the ""Pacific Island Countries Trade Agreement"" (PICTA), without Australia and"
"their own name. Tokelau remains an autonomous dependency of New Zealand. The Chatham Islands—despite having the designation of ""Territory""—is an integral part of the country, situated within the New Zealand archipelago. The territory's council is not autonomous and has broadly the same powers as other local councils, although notably it can also charge levies on goods entering or leaving the islands. Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten are autonomous countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, each with their own parliament. In addition they enjoy autonomy in taxation matters as well as having their own currencies. The French constitution recognises three"
"not consider them to be constitutionally sovereign states due to their continued use of New Zealand citizenship. Both have established their own nationality and immigration regimes. Tokelau (a dependent territory of New Zealand) voted on a referendum in February 2006 to determine whether it wanted to remain a New Zealand territory or become the third state in free association with New Zealand. While a majority of voters chose free association, the vote did not meet the two-thirds threshold needed for approval. A repeat referendum in October 2007 under United Nations supervision yielded similar results, with the proposed free association falling"
"depend mainly on family and island-related factors. In Niue, political parties have never played an important role. There is, at present, no political party, and candidates to elections therefore run as independents. The only party ever to have existed, the Niue People's Party, disbanded in 2003. The United Arab Emirates is a de jure nonpartisan authoritarian state since all political parties were outlawed. The Federal National Council (al-Majlis al-Watani al-Ittihadi) is the UAE's parliamentary body and consists of 40 members, representing the Emirates, half appointed by the rulers of the constituent states and the other half elected to serve two-year"
"Nauru Nauru ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Nauru () and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country in Micronesia, a subregion of Oceania, in the Central Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Kiribati, to the east. It further lies northwest of Tuvalu, north of the Solomon Islands, east-northeast of Papua New Guinea, southeast of the Federated States of Micronesia and south of the Marshall Islands. With residents in a area, Nauru is the smallest state in the South Pacific, smallest republic and third-smallest state by area in the world, behind only Vatican City"
"as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). During recent consultations, Niue developed Terms of Reference for a Human Rights Committee which will be responsible for examining the country's human rights obligations arising from international law. Niue is party to treaties signed and ratified by New Zealand prior to 1988, including the following: In 1988, New Zealand submitted a Declaration to the United Nations, stating that treaty obligations it subsequently entered into were to no longer bind Niue. Noting that it had become a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO),"