Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC)Article Free Pass
Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), formerly (1947–98)
South Pacific Commission, organization founded in 1947 by the
governments of Australia, France, New Zealand, the Netherlands,
Great Britain, and the United States to advise them on economic,
social, and health matters affecting the South Pacific island
territories they administered. It is the oldest regional
organization in the Pacific and is headquartered in Nouméa, New
Caledonia. Guam and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
joined the SPC in 1951, extending the organization’s membership
to the North Pacific, but the Netherlands withdrew after it
transferred administration of Netherlands New Guinea (Irian
Jaya) to Indonesia in 1962. Britain withdrew its membership in
1996 over concerns about the direction of the organization but
rejoined two years later. By the beginning of the 21st century
the SPC had 27 members. As most of the territories gained
independence, the organization wa