Tokelau , an island 500 km north of Samoa , was originally inhabited by Polynesians from neighboring groups of islands.
In 1889, the islands adopted a British protectorate .
Since 1916 they became part of the British colony of Gilbert Island and Ellis .
In 1925, the islands were placed under the control of New Zealand .
Tokelau is currently owned by New Zealand, governed by the Tokelau Act (1948), as amended during the period 1963-1999. According to this document, New Zealand provides the defense of the islands.
Since 2002, the Tokelau authorities, together with the UN Committee on Decolonization and the New Zealand authorities, have developed a plan for the creation of an independent state on the basis of a cooperation agreement with New Zealand . The Parliament of Tokelau voted for independence, while the Parliament of New Zealand and the United Nations postponed the decision on this issue until a referendum was held among the population of the islands.
Tokelau’s proposal for self-determination in the form of free association with New Zealand was submitted to a referendum on February 11, 2006, which was supervised by the UN . Under the terms of the referendum, 66% of the votes (615 people) had to be obtained in favor of a free association, but only 60% of those who had voted supported such a decision. The second referendum, held from October 20 to October 24, 2007 in the presence of UN observers, contrary to the expectations of an almost 100% result, gave only 64.5% of the votes in favor (having gained only 16 votes to the required 2/3). Thus, Tokelau retained the former status of a Non-Self-Governing Territory under external control.