SAINT JOHN’S PARISH, Dominica, 26 August — The long-running question of Western Sahara, the sole Territory in Africa remaining on the United Nations decolonization list, took centre stage on day two of the Caribbean Regional Seminar today, with speakers also discussing Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands (Malvinas).
SAINT JOHN’S PARISH, Dominica, 25 August — The 2021 Caribbean Regional Seminar on Decolonization opened here today with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres asserting that no one — including the world’s 17 remaining Non-Self-Governing Territories — must be left behind in the struggle to overcome the global coronavirus pandemic.
The Special Committee on Decolonization will hold the 2021 Caribbean Regional Seminar in the Parish of Saint John, Dominica, from 25 to 27 August 2021, within the framework of the start of the Fourth International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism (2021-2030). The Seminar, initially scheduled for 19 to 21 May, was postponed due to the situation relating to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Special Committee on Decolonization concluded its 2021 substantive session today, approving 18 draft resolutions, including one requesting that the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom resume negotiations as soon as possible to reach a peaceful resolution of their sovereignty dispute over the Falkland Islands (Malvinas).
The Special Committee on Decolonization approved today a draft resolution calling upon the United States to assume its responsibility to promote a process to enable the people of Puerto Rico to fully exercise their right to self-determination and independence.
Highlighting fresh developments in Guam and New Caledonia, delegates provided updates on some of the world’s 17 remaining Non‑Self‑Governing Territories, as the Special Committee on Decolonization continued its 2021 substantive session.
Opening the substantive portion of its 2021 session today, the Special Committee on Decolonization approved three draft resolutions relating to information from and visiting missions to the world’s 17 remaining Non‑Self‑Governing Territories.
Expediting the decolonization process must be seen as an imperative, United Nations Secretary-General Antônio Guterres told the Special Committee on Decolonization today, emphasizing that a constructive relationship with administrating Powers and all involved is indispensable for progress on a case-by-case basis.
Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message, as delivered by Rosemary A. DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, to the organizational meeting of the 2021 session of the Special Committee on Decolonization, today:
United Nations support for the right to self-determination — while slower than it was at its historic peak in the twentieth century — remains both a source of pride for the Organization and a crucial pillar of its work going forward, Secretary-General António Guterres told the Special Committee on Decolonization today.
