Special Committee on Decolonization to Hold Caribbean Regional Seminar in Managua, Nicaragua 19-21 May

The Special Committee on decolonization will hold the 2015 Caribbean Regional Seminar in Managua, Nicaragua, from 19 to 21 May, with a view to accelerate action in implementation of the Third International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism (2011-2020).

The Seminar is 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”).

The theme of the 2015 Seminar is the “Implementation of the Third International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism: the United Nations at 70: taking stock of the decolonization agenda”.

There are seventeen Non-Self-Governing Territories under the purview of the Special Committee:  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, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Taking into consideration recent developments in the Caribbean, Pacific and other areas, the Seminar will review the situation with respect to the seventeen territories, 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.

Ambassador Xavier Lasso Mendoza of 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.

The 29 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 2015 annual Secretariat working papers on each Non-Self-Governing Territory are available on the United Nations decolonization website: www.un.org/en/decolonization.

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*     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).