Decolonization

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, will hold its regional Pacific seminar on decolonization in Quito, Ecuador, from 30 May to 1 June.

The Special Committee on Decolonization — also known as the Special Conference of 24 — today decided to hold its Pacific Regional Seminar in the Ecuadorian capital Quito, from 30 May to 1 June this year, to review progress in the United Nations decolonization process.

In a message to the first meeting of the 2012 substantive session of the Special Committee on Decolonization, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called today for “constructive involvement” between the Committee, the administering Powers and the Non-Self-Governing Territories.

The Special Committee on Decolonization concluded its 2011 substantive session today with the passage of a draft resolution on the Question of Tokelau, which would have the General Assembly acknowledge the Territory’s decision that consideration of any future act of self-determination would be deferred and that Tokelau and New Zealand would renew efforts to ensuring that essential services and infrastructure in the Pacific Territory’s three atolls was enhanced.

Noting the importance of positive measures being pursued in New Caledonia by the French authorities to promote political, economic and social development, the Special Committee on Decolonization today invited all parties to continue advocating a framework for an act of self-determination in which all options were open and which would safeguard the rights of all sectors of the Territory’s population, in line with the 1998 Nouméa Accord.

In a busy day that kept issues of territorial disputes at the forefront, the Special Committee on Decolonization today adopted a consensus resolution reiterating that the way to end the “special and particular” colonial situation in the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) was through the peaceful, negotiated settlement of the sovereignty dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom.

Bearing in mind that 25 July marked the 113th anniversary of the intervention in Puerto Rico by the United States, the Special Committee on Decolonization today adopted a consensus text calling on the United States to expedite a process that would allow Puerto Ricans to fully exercise their inalienable right to self-determination and independence, in line with General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) (1960).

Resuming its 2011 session this morning, the Special Committee on Decolonization approved requests for hearings from several Non-Self-Governing Territories in the coming days and approved without a vote three draft resolutions concerning the transmission and dissemination of information on decolonization.

SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES, 2 June — The Caribbean regional seminar on decolonization had been a “lively” forum for sharing a range of views on the situations in the 16 Non-Self Governing Territories around the world, and the Special Committee on Decolonization must now undertake a self-analysis to better imagine its role in carrying out its work in the Third International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism (2011-2020), the Chair of the Special Committee said today.

SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES, 1 June — In their second day of discussion, participants in the Caribbean regional seminar on decolonization today pressed the Special Committee on Decolonization charged with monitoring implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples to take a more active role in unlocking long-standing political stalemates that had bedevilled progress around the world