Special Committee on Decolonization Approves Guidelines, Rules of Procedure for Its 2025 Pacific Regional Seminar
The Special Committee on Decolonization met today to approve the guidelines and rules of procedure for its 2025 Pacific Regional Seminar, which will be held in Dili, Timor-Leste, from 21 to 23 May.
The 29-member body — 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 — organizes annual seminars, alternating between the Caribbean and the Pacific regions, to review the implementation of the Plan of Action for the International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism.
Menissa Rambally (Saint Lucia), Chair of the Special Committee, drew attention to the composition of the official 10-member delegation, and asked for timely nominations for participants from regional groups. The Committee will also issue Seminar invitations to select experts, representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), elected and/or appointed officials from Non-Self-Governing Territories, as well as to representatives of the administering Powers, specialized agencies within the United Nations system and some regional organizations. She noted the financial constraints and underscored the need for timely communication and avoiding exorbitant travel costs.
The Special Committee then approved the Seminar’s guidelines and rules of procedure (document A/AC.109/2025/19) without a vote. The Chair noted that the document contains mainly technical updates.
“The Regional Seminar is not just another seminar,” Fiji’s delegate said, calling on the Special Committee to identify strategies and focus on “low-hanging” Non-Self-Governing Territories. He asked for an informal working paper to review the current situation and consider realistic steps to move the decolonization agenda forward.
The Chair also announced the cancellation of one informal consultation in June, pursuant to the economy measures being taken in response to the financial situation of the United Nations.
The 17 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 General Assembly established the Special Committee in 1961 as its subsidiary organ devoted to the issue of decolonization, by adopting resolution 1654 (XVI).
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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).