United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization Undertakes Visiting Mission to British Virgin Islands, 26-27 August

The United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization, currently chaired by Menissa Rambally (Saint Lucia), will undertake a visiting mission to the British Virgin Islands from 26 to 27 August. 

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, the Special Committee is a subsidiary organ of the General Assembly devoted to decolonization and tasked with overseeing implementation of the Declaration.  In order to fulfill that mandate, and in accordance with relevant United Nations resolutions on specific Non-Self-Governing Territories, the Special Committee undertakes visiting missions to ascertain the situation on the ground. 

The visiting mission’s objective is to gather first-hand information on the situation in the British Virgin Islands, focusing on the political developments, including the constitutional review process.  In addition, the visiting mission will take stock of the economic, social and environmental situation of the Territory and make recommendations to further the decolonization process of the British Virgin Islands.  The mission’s findings will be presented to the Special Committee in the form of a report that will be made available to the public.

The visiting mission to the British Virgin Islands will be led by the Chair of the Committee (Saint Lucia) and other members of the Special Committee, including Antigua and Barbuda, Iraq, and Papua New Guinea.  The British Virgin Islands has been on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories under the administering Power of the United Kingdom since 1946.

As of today, 17 Non-Self-Governing Territories remain under the Special Committee’s purview:  American Samoa, Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands (Malvinas)[1], French Polynesia, Gibraltar, Guam, Montserrat, New Caledonia, Pitcairn, Saint Helena, Tokelau, Turks and Caicos Islands, United States Virgin Islands and Western Sahara.

More information about United Nations decolonization efforts can be found at www.un.org/dppa/decolonization/en.
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[1] 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).