1 June 2012
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| Department of Public Information • News and Media Division • New York |
Discussion at Pacific Regional Seminar on Decolonization Focuses on Challenges, Opportunities for Non-Self-Governing Territories
QUITO, ECUADOR, 31 May —
On its second day, the Regional Seminar on the Implementation of the
Third International Decade for Eradication of Colonialism discussed the
challenges and opportunities in the decolonization process of the
Non-Self-Governing Territories.
At the opening of the
meeting, WILMA REVERON–COLLAZO, Puerto Rico, drew the participants’
attention to some matters of concern raised in the previous Seminar(s),
including the need to return to the principles embodied in resolution
1514(XV). She urged the Special Committee on Decolonization to focus on
the real needs of the Territories, guided by the will of the people in
the Territories, and pointed out the need for the people to be informed
about their options for determining their political status and the
consequences of those choices.
She stressed that one of
the first goals of the Committee during the seminar was to assess
whether there had been any advancement in the attention to and
implementation of any of the above-stated concerns and recommendations
made at the last Seminar.
LANA HOYOUNG, from the
Anguilla National Council of Women, said her presence was supported by
the wider Anguillan society. Noting that her Territory was the only
remaining (British) Overseas Territory with an unfinished constitutional reform
process, she outlined concrete recommendations to the Special Committee,
including that the decolonization process must be expanded to involve
other United Nations and “extra-UN” bodies concerned with human rights,
economic development and the environment. Civil society should also get
more involved in the process. She also underlined the importance of
education and suggested the appointment of local focal points or
commissions in the Territories.
VICTORIA SULIMANI,
Sierra Leone, outlined the importance of obtaining adequate information
to steer the work of the Special Committee towards the fulfilment of the
objectives of the Third International Decade. She concluded by stating
that by the end of 2020 “we would have done considerable work to
eradicate colonialism in all its forms and manifestations”.
OSCAR LEON GONZALEZ,
Cuba, called for the total elimination of colonialism and asked for
further information regarding Puerto Rico’s current efforts on
education in light of the upcoming referendum. He also pointed out
Anguilla’s civil organizations working on the decolonization agenda and
their involvement with social organizations in the United Kingdom. He
reiterated his country’s support to the people of Puerto Rico.
JAIME HERMIDA CASTILLO,
Nicaragua, said “colonialism wants to survive at all costs”, and
expressed his country’s support to the people of Puerto Rico.
FERNANDO LUQUE, Ecuador,
asked for clean and transparent procedures, called for the decisions
taken by the Special Committee to receive broader dissemination and
publicity, and stressed the importance of working together.
ROGER EDWARDS, member of
the Falkland Legislative Assembly, demanded that Falkland Islanders be
“accepted as a people with the very basic of human rights, the right to
determine their own future, the right of self-determination”. He
further stated that they would be “very alarmed if the Special Committee
in any way weakened its commitment to self-determination” and “very
concerned if General Assembly resolutions or Special Committee
considerations were interpreted in any way that undermined the primacy
of resolution 1514”.
“Today we are a modern
Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom, internally self-governing,
and, moreover, self-financing,” he said. He denounced the current “many
aggressive attempts by the Argentine Government to impede certain
sectors of our economy”. He expressed his wish that “this year, the
Special Committee will recognise that the people of the Falklands will
always be here, and as has been proven right across the globe many times
before, self-determination is the only solution that will lead to a
permanent, peaceful solution”.
JOSEPH JOSE BOSSANO,
Gibraltar, said Gibraltar had been included in the list of colonies of
the United Kingdom, its administering Power, when the list was created
in 1946. “The international order that the UN Charter created in the
context of colonialism was to redefine the status and the role of the
former colonial Powers,” he stated. In order to bring that about, the
peoples of the Non-Self-Governing Territories had to exercise their
inalienable human right to self-determination in deciding their future
status.
He went on to say that the
people of Gibraltar did not wish to pass under the sovereignty of
Spain and that Gibraltar’s sovereignty was not a matter for negotiation
between the United Kingdom and Spain. “This continues to be the
position today,” he said.
He also stated that the
“Committee has the independence granted to it by its mandate to take a
proactive role. It is expected to look at what stage in the process of
decolonization each Territory is, on a case-by-case basis.” He further
noted that “no progress can or will be made unless the Committee
identifies the requirements that need to be achieved by each Territory
in what was always intended to be a progressive development from
colonial rule to self-rule”.
GERARDO BARTOLOME DIAZ,
Argentina, declared the country’s firm commitment to the decolonization
process. He expressed support for the work of the Special Committee to
advance the cause of decolonization, taking into account the particular
characteristics of each of the Non-Self-Governing Territories and on the
basis of the principles of resolution 1514 (XV), namely
self-determination and territorial integrity.
Argentina’s conviction of
its sovereignty in the “Question of the Malvinas Islands” was rooted
in the rights inherited from Spain, he said. The United Nations and
Organization of American States had recognized this “special and
particular colonial case”. He referred to historical aspects, which
constituted the essence of the “Question of the Malvinas Islands”,
including the 1833 United Kingdom’s usurpation of the Islands and
formation of a “bespoke community of settlers who came from the
metropolis” and the implementation of strict migration rules to prevent
Argentines from settling in the Islands. Subsequently, he stressed
that, although Argentina supported the principle of self-determination
in those cases where the United Nations stated its applicability, the
“Question of the Malvinas Islands was a case involving a “colonial
situation and not [of] a colonized people”. United Nations resolution
2065 (XX), adopted in 1965, determined the non-applicability of the
self-determination principle in that case and recognized the existence
of a sovereignty dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom.
[A dispute exists between
the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom concerning
sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) (see document ST/CS/SER.A/42).]
Mr. Bartolome Diaz went on
to say that Argentina regretted the United Kingdom’s attempt to distort
the historical facts to conceal the act of usurpation and also asked
the United Kingdom to honour the commitment assumed in 1966 to resume
negotiations over the sovereignty of Malvinas, South Georgias and South
Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas to find a solution
to the dispute.
Argentina condemned the
United Kingdom’s “persistent unilateral actions” aimed at taking over
the country’s renewable and non-renewable natural resources. In
response, Argentina had implemented legal actions against companies
that carry out exploration activities in the “Argentine continental
shelf”.
He further noted the
strong support of the international community for Argentina’s position
in the dispute, including through declarations adopted by regional and
subregional bodies. Last February, Argentina had warned the Presidents
of the General Assembly and Security Council, as well as the
Secretary-General, about the increasing militarization of the South
Atlantic by the United Kingdom. The region had also rejected the
British military presence in the South Atlantic through several
statements.
Lastly, Argentina hoped
that the United Kingdom would finally agree to assume its
responsibilities as the Power that administers 10 of the non-autonomous
Territories that are dealt with by the Special Committee.
FERNANDO LUQUE, Ecuador,
reiterated his country’s support for Argentina’s sovereignty over the
“question of Malvinas Islands” and called for the resumption of
negotiations between the United Kingdom and Argentina, as mandated by
United Nations resolutions.
Ecuador condemned the
United Kingdom’s increasing militarization of the South Atlantic, as
well as the attempts to exploit natural resources, including
hydrocarbons, in the surrounding maritime areas of the Islands. He
stated that “ Argentina is not alone in its claim”, stressing the strong
and firm commitment of Latin America and the Caribbean, which had
continuously expressed its support and called for dialogue among the
parties.
ALEXIS COTO VARELA, Costa Rica,expressed
support for Argentina’s sovereignty over the “Malvinas, South Georgias
and South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas”. He
reiterated the region’s interest in resumed negotiations between the
United Kingdom and Argentina in order to find a peaceful, just and
definitive solution to the dispute, in accordance with United Nations
resolutions, as well as those adopted by the Organization of American
States.
OSCAR LEON GONZALEZ, Cuba,
noted that the “Question of the Malvinas Islands” had been considered
“with more than 40 resolutions”, in addition to those adopted by the
United Nations General Assembly. He stressed that the dispute had to be
resolved through negotiations on the basis of the United Nations
Charter and resolution 1514 (XV), taking into account the interests of
the Islands’ inhabitants. He referred to the summit of the Community
of Latin America and Caribbean States (CELAC), in which the Heads of
State had issued a communiqué on the “Question of the Malvinas
Islands”, which called on the United Nations Secretary-General to renew
his mission of good offices to resolve the dispute. The Ambassador of
Chile, in his capacity as CELAC’s pro-tempore President, had approached
the Secretary-General to reiterate that demand and requested that
progress be made on the implementation of his good offices.
JAIME HERMIDA CASTILLO,
Nicaragua,praised Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez for her
“fight to obtain sovereignty” over the “Question of the Malvinas
Islands”. He also said that “the fight of Argentina is the fight of
Latin America and the Caribbean”. The region strongly condemned the “
UK occupation and military invasion”. He noted that one of the first
achievements of CELAC was the expression of the strong regional support
for Argentina’s claim. CELAC had also recognized Argentina’s
“constructive attitude, as well as its political will” to negotiate a
peaceful and definitive solution.
MOHAMED YESLEM BEISAT,
Frente Popular para la Liberación de Saguía el-Hamra y de Río de Oro
(Frente Polisario), said “the decolonization of Western Sahara is still
a goal and responsibility of the United Nations and, therefore, of this
Committee as well”. The Committee had been following closely the
tortuous course of the negotiation process between the Frente Polisario
and the occupying Power. “This process has not yet led to any results
owing to the intransigence exhibited by the other party which, as it has
stated publicity, will not accept any solution other than the
reconfirmation of its annexations claims. It does not want the Saharawi
people to be consulted about their future.”
He went on to say that the
wise idea agreed before by both parties, namely the referendum, was the
only path to definitively learn whether the people wanted to be part of
Morocco or part of free nations. Even after having been proclaimed a
State that was recognized by dozens of countries and the African Union,
Polisario agreed to a referendum for the Saharan people, and committed
to accept their decision.
“This position contrasts
sharply with the Moroccan position, which does not in any way want the
Sahrawi people to be consulted about their future,” he said, adding that
the Committee could not continue to take a passive attitude regarding
the last colonial problem in Africa on its agenda. He also expressed
his full support for the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy, Christopher
Ross, and invited the Special Committee to hold a special session on
Western Sahara.
ALBERTO DE LA CALLE,
Spain, said Gibraltar was “still awaiting decolonization because the
administering Power has decided to ignore the recommendations of this
Committee and the resolutions of the General Assembly and intends to
apply, in turn, a unique formula”. He further stated that “ Spain does
not, and never will, acknowledge any international legal status of the
current inhabitants of Gibraltar nor will it ever accept their
pretended right to dispose of the Rock”.
KHADDAD EL MOUSSAOUI,
Morocco, said his country had proposed a status of “large autonomy” for
the Saharans, considered serious and credible by a large number of
countries, the Secretary-General and the Security Council. Such a
status would allow the Saharans to manage their own political and
economic affairs within the sovereignty, the national unity and
territorial integrity of Morocco. Under the autonomy proposal,
Morocco guaranteed to all the Saharans their full rights, without
exclusion or discrimination. He stated that by 2000 the
Secretary-General had come to the conclusion that it was not possible to
apply entirely the main provisions of the 1991 settlement plan, except
for the ceasefire. A “third way” had been recommended, with no winner
and no loser, to get out of the deadlock.
He added that the Frente
Polisario was not the sole representative of the Saharans. Polisario
and Algeria should lift the blockade in the Tindouf camps in the south
of Algeria. He went on to enumerate a number of disastrous
consequences of that situation, including the trafficking in human
beings and the creation of a home for terrorists, among others.
MAHIEDDINE DJEFFAL,
Algeria, expressed his concern about the situation of Western Sahara.
“The people of this territory are not yet allowed to exercise their
fundamental right of self-determination and to freely decide their own
future,” he said.
Western Sahara was the
last place of colonial rule in Africa, “which is still waiting to
exercise its inalienable right to self-determination”, Mr. Djeffal said,
recalling that Algeria was convinced that the right of the people of
Western Sahara to self-determination was the only way forward to settle
that last unresolved problem of decolonization in Africa.
He concluded by offering
Algeria’s full support for the efforts of the Secretary-General and his
personal Envoy, Mr. Ross, in their search for a solution to the conflict
of Western Sahara, based on the right of the Saharan people.
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