DECOLONIZATION COMMITTEE DECIDES ON REPRESENTATION TO PACIFIC REGIONAL SEMINAR

Press Release
GA/COL/3026

DECOLONIZATION COMMITTEE DECIDES ON REPRESENTATION TO PACIFIC REGIONAL SEMINAR

The Special Committee on decolonization this morning decided on representation to its Pacific Regional Seminar, which will be held in Majuro, Marshall Islands from 16 to 18 May.

The Special Committee will be represented by: Papua New Guinea, as Chairman; Cote d'Ivoire from the African Group of States; India, Iran and Syria from the Asian Group; Bolivia and Cuba from the Latin American and Caribbean Group; and the Russian Federation from the Eastern European Group.

In addition, the Chairman, Peter Dickson Donigi (Papua New Guinea), announced that it was understood that two Member States of the African Group would participate in the next seminar, the Russian Federation would participate in such seminars every other year in future, and that the principle of rotation would be observed in future in the choices of participants from the Asian Group.

He also explained that it was understood that the Asian Group would give priority to Indonesia's participation at the next seminar. The representative of Indonesia stated that his country would participate in the upcoming seminar, at its own expense.

The Special Committee –- officially the Special Committee on the Situation with Regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (Special Committee of 24) -- was established in 1961 by the General Assembly to examine the application of the Declaration and to make recommendations on its implementation. It hears petitions from listed Non-Self-Governing Territories, and seeks dialogue with their administering States.

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