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Compact of Free Association

 

 
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Compact of Free Association
 
 
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The Compact of Free Association (COFA) defines the relationship that three sovereign states—the Federated States of Micronesia
Federated States of Micronesia

The Federated States of Micronesia is an island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, north of Papua New Guinea. The country is a sovereign state in Associated state with the United States....
 (FSM), the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) and the Republic of Palau—have entered into as associated state
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 nation, for which no other specific term, such as protectorate, is adopted....
s with the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
.

Now sovereign nations, the three freely-associated states were formerly part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands

The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands was a United Nations trust territory in Micronesia administered by the United States from July 18, 1947, comprising the former South Pacific Mandate, a League of Nations Mandate administered by Empire of Japan and taken by the U.S....
, a United Nations
United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, Social change, human rights and achieving world peace....
 trusteeship administered by the United States Navy
United States Navy

The United States Navy is the navy of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy currently has approximately 331,682 personnel on active duty as of 31 December 2008 and 124,000 in the United States Navy Reserve....
 from 1947 to 1951 and by the United States Department of the Interior
United States Department of the Interior

The United States Department of the Interior , also called the Interior Department, is the United States federal executive departments of the Federal government of the United States responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans in the United States, A...
 from 1951 to 1986 (to 1994 for Palau).

Under the COFA relationship, the United States provides guaranteed financial assistance over a 15-year period administered through the Office of Insular Affairs
Office of Insular Affairs

The Office of Insular Affairs is a unit of the United States Department of the Interior that oversees federal administration of several United States possessions....
 in exchange for certain defense rights.






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The Compact of Free Association (COFA) defines the relationship that three sovereign states—the Federated States of Micronesia
Federated States of Micronesia

The Federated States of Micronesia is an island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, north of Papua New Guinea. The country is a sovereign state in Associated state with the United States....
 (FSM), the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) and the Republic of Palau—have entered into as associated state
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 nation, for which no other specific term, such as protectorate, is adopted....
s with the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
.

Now sovereign nations, the three freely-associated states were formerly part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands

The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands was a United Nations trust territory in Micronesia administered by the United States from July 18, 1947, comprising the former South Pacific Mandate, a League of Nations Mandate administered by Empire of Japan and taken by the U.S....
, a United Nations
United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, Social change, human rights and achieving world peace....
 trusteeship administered by the United States Navy
United States Navy

The United States Navy is the navy of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy currently has approximately 331,682 personnel on active duty as of 31 December 2008 and 124,000 in the United States Navy Reserve....
 from 1947 to 1951 and by the United States Department of the Interior
United States Department of the Interior

The United States Department of the Interior , also called the Interior Department, is the United States federal executive departments of the Federal government of the United States responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans in the United States, A...
 from 1951 to 1986 (to 1994 for Palau).

Under the COFA relationship, the United States provides guaranteed financial assistance over a 15-year period administered through the Office of Insular Affairs
Office of Insular Affairs

The Office of Insular Affairs is a unit of the United States Department of the Interior that oversees federal administration of several United States possessions....
 in exchange for certain defense rights. The freely-associated states actively participate in all Office of Insular Affairs technical assistance activities. The U.S. treats these nations uniquely by giving them access to many U.S. domestic programs, including disaster response and recovery and hazard mitigation programs under the Federal Emergency Management Agency
Federal Emergency Management Agency

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, is an agency of the United States United States Department of Homeland Security, initially created by Presidential Order on April 1, 1979)....
.

In 2003, the Compacts between the RMI and FSM were renewed for 20 years. These new Compacts provided US$3.5 billion in funding for both nations. US$30 million was also provided to American Samoa
American Samoa

American Samoa is an Territories of the United States of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa....
, Guam
Guam

Guam , officially the Territory of Guam, is an island in the western Pacific Ocean and is an organized, unincorporated insular area of the United States....
, Hawaii
Hawaii

File:Pahoehoe and Aa flows at Hawaii.jpgThe State of Hawaii is a U.S. state in the United States, located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia....
, and the Northern Mariana Islands
Northern Mariana Islands

The Northern Mariana Islands , officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , is a commonwealth in political union with the United States, occupying a strategic region of the western Pacific Ocean....
 in "Compact Impact" funding. This funding helps the governments of these localities cope with the expense of providing services to immigrants from the RMI, FSM, and Palau. The U.S. usage of Kwajalein Atoll
Kwajalein

Kwajalein Atoll is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands . The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island....
 for missile testing was renewed for the same period. The new Compacts also changed certain immigration rules. RMI and FSM citizens traveling to the U.S. are now required to have passports. Furthermore, the U.S. Postal Service
United States Postal Service

The United States Postal Service is an Independent agencies of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States....
 was given the option to apply international postage rates for mail between the U.S. and RMI/FSM (phased in over five years). The USPS did begin implementing the change in January 2006, but decided to resume domestic services and rates in November 2007.

The renewed Compact (commonly called "Compact II") for FSM took effect on May 1, 2004, and for RMI on June 30, 2004.
Mapofttpi
The Compact for Palau expires on October 1, 2009.

See also


  • Associated state
    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 nation, for which no other specific term, such as protectorate, is adopted....
  • Suzerainty
    Suzerainty

    Suzerainty is a situation in which a region or nation is a tributary state to a more powerful entity which allows the tributary some limited domestic Wiktionary:autonomy to control its foreign affairs....
  • Protectorate
    Protectorate

    A protectorate, in international law, is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity, in exchange for which the protectorate usually accepts specified obligations, which may vary greatly, depending on the real nature of their relationship....


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