Special Committee on Decolonization to Hold Caribbean Regional Seminar in Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, 16 to 18 May 2017
The Special Committee on Decolonization will hold the 2017 Caribbean Regional Seminar in Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, from 16 to 18 May with a view to accelerating 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, 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 the “C-24”).
The theme of the 2017 Seminar is “Implementation of the Third International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism: the future for decolonization in the Non-Self-Governing Territories: what are the prospects?”.
There are 17 Non-Self-Governing Territories remaining under the Special Committee’s purview: 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.
Taking into consideration recent developments in the Caribbean, Pacific and elsewhere, the Seminar will review the situation with respect to the 17 Non-Self-Governing Territories, including the issue of support from various entities within the United Nations system and other organizations.
The Special Committee will consider the Seminar’s conclusions and recommendations at its June substantive session, and subsequently transmit them to the General Assembly.
Rafael Darío Ramírez Carreño (Venezuela), Chairman of the Special Committee, will preside over the Seminar.
Invited participants include a Special Committee delegation comprising the Bureau and members of regional groups; United Nations Member States, including administering Powers’ 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 2017 annual Secretariat working papers on each Non-Self-Governing Territory are available on the United Nations decolonization website: www.un.org/en/decolonization.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines previously hosted the Caribbean Regional Seminar on Canouan Island in 2005 and in Kingstown in 2011.
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* A dispute exists between the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Malvinas).