The political status of the Cook Islands and Niue is formally defined as being states in free association within the Realm of New Zealand, which is made up of the Cook Islands, Niue, and New Zealand and its territories, Tokelau and the Ross Dependency. Despite both states acting internationally as independent countries, all Cook Islands and Niue nationals are automatically New Zealand citizens, and while both the Cook Islands and Niue have expressed a desire to become full members of the United Nations, New Zealand has said that they would not support the application without a change in their constitutional relationship, in particular their right to New Zealand citizenship.
A total of 65 UN member states have recognised the Cook Islands as a sovereign country and established diplomatic relations, whereas 28 UN member states have done so with Niue. However, New Zealand may still carry out defence and foreign affairs on behalf of the two associated states when requested.
Sovereignty and self-government
New Zealand is officially responsible for the defence and foreign affairs of the Cook Islands and Niue. The Act of the New Zealand Parliament which established self-governance mentions a role for New Zealand, but the Constitution of the Cook Islands does not. However, these responsibilities confer New Zealand no rights of control and can only be exercised at the request of the Cook Islands and Niue. The Cook Islands and Niue have been recognised as sovereign states by some countries, and maintain diplomatic relations under their own name. The United States recognises the Cook Islands as a sovereign and independent state, and has signed treaties with the Cook Islands government. 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.UN: List of Small Island Developing States
Although 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 the Cook Islands' nationals are automatically New Zealand citizens, and both have New Zealand's Monarch as their own head of state. While both the Cook Islands and Niue have expressed a desire to become a UN member state, New Zealand has said that they would not support the application without a change in their constitutional relationship, in particular their right to New Zealand citizenship. However, New Zealand has never formally opposed such an application, nor has it argued that either country would not be within its sovereign right to do so. The foreign minister of Cook Islands has stated that a referendum would be required to determine whether to join the UN. In 2025, Cook Islands prime minister Mark Brown stated that the UN had confirmed that the Cook Islands did not meet the requirements for UN membership. Additionally, in response to a push to introduce Cook Islander passports and agreements made with China, a spokesperson for New Zealand foreign minister Winston Peters stated, "Unlike Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu, the Cook Islands is not a fully independent and sovereign state", unless its status and relationship with New Zealand are changed by referendum.
Some scholars have argued that a lack of separate Cook Islands citizenship places an effective limit on the ability of the Cook Islands to act as a sovereign entity, while others have argued that the participation of the Cook Islands in international organisations (such as the Pacific Islands Forum) shows that Cook Islands sovereignty is not limited by the free association arrangement.
History Formerly dependencies of New Zealand, the Cook Islands became a state in free association with New Zealand on 4 August 1965; Niue became a state in free association on 19 October 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 6 April 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 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 2022, the Cook Islands, Kosovo, and Niue are the only state parties that participate in UN specialised agencies, but which are not member states of the UN nor observer states with the United Nations General Assembly. Additionally, the Republic of China on Taiwan participated in the World Health Assembly as Chinese Taipei from 2009 to 2016.
In September 2022, the United States announced its recognition of the Cook Islands and Niue as sovereign states during President Biden's Summit with Pacific Islands Countries (PIC) Leaders in Washington, D.C. In September 2023, recognition was declared and diplomatic relations were established. The United States also announced it intends to open an embassy in the Cook Islands and an embassy in Niue in 2024.
Positions taken by states
States with which the Cook Islands and Niue have diplomatic relations
+Relations of the Cook Islands and NiueStatus of the Cook Islands' and Niue's diplomatic outreach State 2 May 1992 30 January 1996 1993 2 August 1993 1994 27 February 2014 1994 9 January 2004 or before 1995 9 December 2014 "...Papua New Guinea... signed the agreement with Niue... on 09 December 2014..." The People's Republic of China is recognized by 179 out of 193 UN member states. The Republic of China on Taiwan, who has official relations with 12 UN member states and unofficial relations with 58 countries, has no diplomatic relations with Cook Islands or Niue. See also One China, Political status of Taiwan and Foreign relations of Taiwan. 25 July 1997 12 December 2007 May 199830 August 2012 14 July 19987 November 2023 19 October 1999 15 January 2012 or before 11 September 2001 3 February 2026 2 September 2002 5 September 2014 9 October 200312 September 2015 24 May 2005 27 August 2013 April 2008 1 August 2023 28 October 2008 7 June 2014 7 March 2011 9 August 2023 16 June 2011 4 August 2015 12 December 2011 27 September 2022 6 August 2012 6 August 2012 22 February 2013 29 May 2023 30 August 2013 June 2014 or before"The Memorandum..., increases Niues foreign relationship with international countries that include, ..., Samoa, ... and Singapore." August 2013 11 July 2022 3 September 2013 30 August 2024 Kosovo has been recognised by out of United Nations member states 18 May 2015 23 June 2015 21 August 2015 2 September 2016 3 August 2016 6 July 2021 September 2017 13 July 2020 12 July 2019 12 July 2019 20 May 2023 12 September 2023 25 September 2023 25 September 2023 18 July 1991 rowspan="40" 12 August 1995 9 February 1996 1996 29 January 1998 29 April 1999 2002 14 May 2003 6 April 2005 12 May 2008 16 August 2011 1 September 2013 3 September 2013 3 September 2013 2013 24 September 2014 18 November 2014 6 October 2017 13 October 2017 9 November 2017 5 August 2018 25 August 2018 20 September 2018 20 October 2018 8 December 2021 26 April 2022 21 November 2022 11 April 2023 8 November 2023 21 November 2023 8 March 2024 11 April 2024 21 May 2024 31 May 2024 20 March 2025 29 April 2025 14 May 2025
States that recognise the Cook Islands and Niue as sovereign states State Position Cook Islands Niue In March 2001, Germany recognized the Cook Islands as an independent state; diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on 11 September 2001.https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/service/laender/cookinseln-node/bilateral-226556
On 7 January 2026, Germany recognized Niue as an independent state; diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on 3 February 2026. In 1980, the Cook Islands–United States Maritime Boundary Treaty was signed. The United States recognised the ability of the Cook Islands to negotiate a treaty on its own only after consulting the New Zealand government regarding the exact status of the Cook Islands. In response to the United States' request the New Zealand government confirmed "the competence of the Cook Islands Government to undertake the obligations and exercise the rights under the draft [bilateral] treaty". Consequently, the United States signed a bilateral treaty with the Cook Islands recognizing the latter's sovereignty over the islands subject to the said treaty and its treaty-making power. The Cook Islands and the United States have maintained consular relations since 1995.
In 1997, the United States and Niue signed a maritime boundary treaty that mentioned how "Prior to signing the treaty, the political status of Niue was addressed".
In 2011, the State Department included the Cook Islands and Niue under the sovereignty of New Zealand in its list of "Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty". In 2014, The World Factbook listed the Cook Islands and Niue as "self-governing territor[ies] in free association with New Zealand". As of 2023, both the State Department and The World Factbook considered the Cook Islands and Niue to be independent states.
In September 2022, the United States announced its intention to recognise the Cook Islands and Niue as sovereign states during President Biden's Summit with Pacific Islands Countries (PIC) Leaders in Washington, D.C. In September 2023, recognition was declared and diplomatic relations were established. Although the wording used by the United States explicitly referred to the Cook Islands and Niue as "a sovereign and independent state", then-New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins noted that "in order to recognise those specific countries, the wording that they [the United States] use is they recognise their sovereignty but actually they also recognise, through diplomatic channels, the unique constitutional relationship that those countries have with New Zealand as well." The United States also announced it intended to open embassies in the Cook Islands and in Niue in 2024. However, these embassies were not mentioned in the official fact sheet released for a follow-up summit in September 2023, and as of January 2025, no embassy or consulate had been opened in either country.
States that recognise the Cook Islands and Niue as self-governing territories State Position Cook Islands Niue Though the French Ambassador to New Zealand is also accredited to the Cook Islands and Niue, as of 2015 France still described them as having "no international sovereignty". On 1 July 1994, Israel and New Zealand signed an agreement establishing diplomatic relations. The document stated:
Israel established diplomatic relations with the Cook Islands in April 2008 and with Niue on 3 August 2023. Cook Islands
On 11 June 2001, Helen Clark and Terepai Maoate signed an agreement establishing diplomatic relations between the Cook Islands and New Zealand. The document stated:
Clark later said that if the Cook Islands wanted to be its own sovereign state, it would first need its own citizenship. New Zealand believes that if the Cook Islands were to become a sovereign state, an independence referendum and constitutional change would occur. The eligibility of New Zealand citizenship would have to change.