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1 [1] (May 6, 2025)

handle is hein.crs/ckislnadn0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Inforrning the legislive debate since 1914 S May 6, 2025 The Cook Islands and Niue: States in Free Association The Pacific Islands region comprises a variety of polities including fully independent nations, overseas territories, and self-governing states in Free Association with other nations. Successive U.S. presidential administrations and some Members of Congress have identified U.S. national security interests in the region, including maintaining free and open waterways; supporting U.S. diplomatic engagement, economic development, and sustainable fisheries; addressing climate change; and maintaining strong economic and security ties. U.S. policymakers also have aimed to address security and other threats posed by the People's Republic of China (PRC, or China) in the region. The Biden Administration established diplomatic relations in 2023 with the Cook Islands and Niue, Pacific Islands Countries (PICs) that share maritime borders with the U.S. Pacific territory of American Samoa. Both are in Free Association with New Zealand, their former colonial state. Those new relationships and other developments in the region may prompt Congress to oversee U.S. engagement with the Cook Islands and Niue on issues such as foreign assistance, security, and natural resource partnerships. Political Status of Free Association New Zealand assumed colonial administration for the Cook Islands and Niue from the United Kingdom in 1901. During the 1960s, New Zealand considered alternative political futures for the islands as part of a broader global sentiment for self-determination during that period. This culminated in both the Cook Islands and Niue declining options for total independence or full-integration with New Zealand, opting instead for Free Association. Passed in New Zealand's parliament, the Cook Islands Constitution Act of 1964 and the Niue Constitution Act of 1974 established the basis of self-government and Free Association. Through these acts, and subsequent agreements, the Cook Islands and Niue remain part of the Realm of New Zealand and share the same Head of State, King Charles III. New Zealand affords citizenship to people born in the Cook Islands and Niue (offering freedom of movement to and from New Zealand), but the Cook Islands and Niue govern their own domestic affairs. Niue also receives economic and administrative assistance from New Zealand as per the stipulations of its constitution. Neither the Cook Islands nor Niue are members of the United Nations, but are full members of regional and international organizations, such as the Pacific Islands Forum. New Zealand, in practice, provides foreign affairs and defense assistance when requested by those governments, but in the capacity of an agent rather than a policy developer. As stated in a 1994 introductory note to the Constitution of the Cook Islands, the exercise by New Zealand of certain responsibilities for the defence and external affairs of the Cook Islands does not give New Zealand any rights of control. The Joint Centenary Declaration between the Cook Islands and New Zealand, signed in 2001 and reaffirmed in 2015, sets out the principles of the relationship and states the two countries shall consult regularly on foreign affairs matters with a view to formulating common policies on important foreign affairs issues. They also will consult regularly on defence and security issues and advise each other of any risks that may affect either or both Signatories. Figure I. The Cook Islands and Niue Source: CRS. The Cook Islands The Cook Islands originally were inhabited by the Cook Island Maori (a Polynesian ethnic-group related to the New Zealand Maori ethnic group) in what are now the 15 islands that comprise the country. The capital of Avarua is located on the most populated island of Rarotonga. An estimated 90,000 Cook Islanders live in New Zealand, outnumbering the under 17,000 residents of the Cook Islands.

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