Special Committee on Decolonization to Hold Pacific Regional Seminar in Fiji, 21-23 May
The Special Committee on Decolonization will hold the 2014 Pacific Regional Seminar in Nadi, Fiji, from 21 to 23 May with a view to accelerating action in implementation of the Third International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism (2011-2020).
The Seminar will be held under the auspices of the Special Committee, which is 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 (also known as the Special Committee of 24 or simply as “C-24”).
Taking into consideration recent developments in the Pacific area, such as the Special Committee’s visiting mission to New Caledonia in March 2014, the Seminar will review the situation with respect to the 17 Territories under the purview of the Special Committee, including the issue of support from various United Nations system specialized agencies and other organizations.
The Seminar’s conclusions and recommendations will be considered by the Special Committee at its June substantive session, and subsequently transmitted to the General Assembly.
Xavier Lasso Mendoza (Ecuador), Chairman of the Special Committee, will preside over the Seminar.
Seminar participants invited include a Special Committee delegation comprising the Bureau and members of regional groups, United Nations Member States, including administering Powers, as well as representatives of the Non-Self-Governing Territories, civil society and non-governmental organizations, as well as experts.
Members of the Special Committee are Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Chile, China, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Grenada, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Mali, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Russian Federation, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sierra Leone, Syria, Timor-Leste, Tunisia, United Republic of Tanzania and Venezuela.
The Non-Self-Governing Territories are American Samoa, Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands (Malvinas)*, French Polynesia, Gibraltar, Guam, Montserrat, New Caledonia, Pitcairn, Saint Helena, Tokelau, Turks and Caicos Islands, United States Virgin Islands and Western Sahara. The administering Powers are France, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States. The 2014 annual Secretariat working papers on each Territory are available on the United Nations Decolonization website: www.un.org/en/decolonization.
__________
* A dispute exists between the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom concerning sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) (see document ST/CS/SER.A/42).