Special Committee on

Decolonization

2^nd Meeting (AM)

DECOLONIZATION COMMITTEE DECIDES TO HOLD CARIBBEAN REGIONAL SEMINAR

IN GRENADA, 22-24 MAY

The Special Committee on Decolonization decided this morning that its 2007 Caribbean Regional Seminar would be held in St. George’s, Grenada, from 22 to 24 May.

Announcing that decision, Special Committee Chairperson Margaret Hughes Ferrari ( Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) said the Governments of Grenada and Saint Kitts and Nevis had both expressed their willingness to host the Seminar, and the Bureau, having considered all available options, had strongly recommended that the Special Committee accept Grenada’s proposal.  As in the past, the Special Committee would also celebrate the Week of Solidarity with the Peoples of the Non-Self-Governing Territories at the Seminar.

She said that, prior to that decision, she had conducted informal consultations with the United Kingdom, as the administering Power of the majority of Non-Self-Governing Territories in the Caribbean, to explore the possibility of holding the Seminar in one of those Territories.  However, due to a very tight time frame to reach a decision on the venue, it had not been possible to receive a definite answer from the United Kingdom.  Hopefully, consultations would continue for the 2009 Seminar.

With regard to the Special Committee’s official delegation to the Seminar, she said consultations were continuing and members would be informed as soon as the Bureau completed the selection process on the basis of nominations by regional groups.

The Special Committee also approved the list, suggested by the Bureau, of experts and organizations invited to participate in the Seminar, which had already been circulated to members.

Marguerite St. John ( Grenada) thanked the Special Committee for having accepted her country’s proposal.  Grenada looked forward to finalizing its plans to ensure a productive and successful Seminar.

The next meeting of the Committee, formally known as the Special Committee on the Situation with Regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, will be announced.

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For information media • not an official record