Statement of Dr. Carlyle G. Corbin
International Advisor on Governance
United Nations Special Political and Decolonisation Committee
(Fourth
Committee)
(Agenda Items 58 and 60)
9th October 2012
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_______________________________________________________________________
Thank
you, Mr. Chairman.
Permit me to congratulate you and other members of the bureau
on being elected to conduct the affairs of this committee.
Mr. Chairman,
The implementation of decolonisation
resolutions is critical to carrying out the mandate of the General Assembly to give effect
to Article 73 (b) of the UN Charter. In this connection, a number of U.N.
bodies are to be commended for implementing resolutions which call for support to the
small island non self-governing territories from the UN system. UNDP has been
properly recognised for its longstanding coordination of assistance to the
territories from the wider United Nations system provided to many of the
territories for several decades. Other agencies (UNCTAD, ILO, FAO, ICAO, UPU and IMO)
have included territories in various programmes during the period.
Most recently, UNICF provided assistance to several Caribbean
and Pacific territories as reflected in the 2012 Report of the President of
ECOSOC (E/2012/47). This report also provided information on technical
training, policy planning and other assistance from WHO and UNICEF to a number
of territories. UNESCO has also afforded scope for some Caribbean
territories to participate in its regional climate change monitoring programme
and tsunami exercises. Respective UNDP regional programmes for the Caribbean and Pacific also provide for participation by
many territories. The associate membership of most territories in UN-ECLAC and
UN-ESCAP, and in the specialised agencies of UNESCO, FAO, IMO, the UN-WTO has
proven to be a successful modality.
The number of agencies responding to
the Secretary-General’s request for information on such activities in
implementation of the Decolonisation Declaration has declined from past years,
and the agencies do not routinely address this committee under Agenda Item 58. In future, perhaps the request for information
from UN bodies might be re-worded to focus attention on their assistance
programmes, rather then on their implementation of the Decolonisation
Declaration.
Mr. Chairman,
The participation of the territories in
UN world conferences is important to their
capacity building. This is reflected in previous resolutions of the
General Assembly, and again contained in the resolution before you. This
longstanding provision provides for the participation of many territories in the
relevant UN world conferences beginning with the Earth Summit in 1992 through
the International Meeting on Small
Islands
Consistent with established practice,
the rules of procedure for the recently-completed Rio +
20 included the category for the participation
of the territories. Yet, they were not permitted to participate contrary to
General Assembly resolutions. This is un-helpful and inconsistent with the UN
mandate. Member states are requested to adhere to decades-long established
practice of territorial participation for future UN world conferences, including the 2014 Barbados
Mr. Chairman,
General
Assembly resolutions designed to involve the wider UN system in implementing the
decolonisation process are again before this committee under Agenda Item 60. There
is reference in the small territories resolution to collaboration with the
Human Rights Committee under the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights; and reference to political education programmes to be undertaken by ‘appropriate
UN bodies.’ There are the annual references in the reports of the Committee on
the Elimination of Racial Discrimination which have called for collaboration with
the Decolonization Committee since 2001.
The Plan of Implementation endorsed
by the General Assembly in 2006 [1] identified
a range of U.N. bodies and special mechanisms to accelerate implementation.
Coordination with the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues was requested in 2004
and again in 2008. These and other innovations constitute part of the
legislative authority on decolonisation. If these had been implemented, we
would be further advanced in the decolonisation process today.
To
conclude, it has long been established by the General Assembly that
self-determination is a fundamental human right. It is therefore to be
recognised that the status quo dependency models in the small island
dependencies, however complex or ‘modernised’, are inconsistent with the principle
of self-determination, and are contradictory to democratic governance. The
status quo is the problem, It cannot also be, simultaneously, the solution.
In
this context, “members States have adopted numerous actions in the General
Assembly to give effect to the decolonisation mandate – to correct the
political inequality of the status quo – not to legitimise it. However, the UN
has not yet entered the actual implementation phase where initiatives proposed, would
become initiatives completed. The
discussion which needs to be held is on this precise point of implementation.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
