Special to OTR
The "Future Constitutional Development
for Small Island Territories" was the
subject of a lecture at the 2015 Global Institute
for Leadership Management and Strategic Development of the University of
the Virgin Islands (UVI) held on the St. Thomas Campus of (UVI). The lecture
was delivered by Dr. Carlyle Corbin, International Advisor on Governance and Multilateral
Diplomacy, and former U.S. Virgin Islands Representative for External Affairs.
The presentation began with a review
of key United Nations General Assembly resolutions and declarations which
contribute to the overall international framework for the constitutional and
political evolution of dependent territories leading to the full measure of
self-government according to global standards. An important focus of the lecture
was its highlight of the specific political status options recognized under
international law as providing for a full measure of self-government.
According
to Corbin, these options have emerged through a process of modernization of
former dependency constitutional
arrangements in place in former small island territories of the Caribbean and
Pacific under varying constitutional arrangements with larger countries.
"These
options remain very much available to the remaining dependencies at this
juncture a decade and a half into the 21 st Century," he noted, "and
these models of full self-government can emerge through a genuine process of
self-determination in which the people make an informed decision after a
comprehensive and sustained public information programme."
The lecture contrasted the present models
of dependency governance in play in the Caribbean and Pacific regions under the
administration of the British, French, United States, and other 'administering
States.' In the Caribbean, these include the six British and two U.S. -
administered territories, namely, Bermuda, Turks and Caicos Islands, Cayman
Islands, Montserrat, British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Puerto Rico and the U.S.
Virgin Islands. In the Pacific, these include the Pacific dependency governance
models of U.S. - administered American Samoa, Guam (Guahan) and the Northern
Mariana Islands; French - administered New Caledonia (Kanaky) and French
Polynesia (Ma'ohi Nui); and New Zealand-administered Tokelau.
Corbin explained that the United
Nations General Assembly adopts annual recommendations specific to each of these
seventeen remaining dependencies. He indicated that "in the of Puerto Rico which is not formally
listed by the U.N., full committee hearings are conducted each June where close
to 100 speakers from that territory's government, political parties and civil
society, along with independent scholars and others, provide their perspectives
on the future options for Puerto Rico."
"Emanating
from this process, he
said, is an annual committee resolution which
includes a host of recommendations on economic, social and political
development; and which calls for the issue of Puerto Rico to be taken up by the
U.N. General Assembly.
In his lecture, Corbin made specific
comparisons between the dependency governance models in place in the two
regions and other constitutional arrangements which provide for either the
exercise of autonomous governance, or governance through integration with
countries outside the two regions. In this connection, he reviewed the Dutch
autonomous models in play in Aruba, Curacao, and Sint Maarten; and the French
collectivity models in St. Martin and St. Barts. The French integrated
departments of Guadeloupe, Martinique and French Guiana were also explored,
along with the 'partial integration' model in place in Bonaire, Sint Eustatius
(Statia) and Saba which are presently under mandatory five-year review.
As Advisor to the Statia 2014
referendum process, Corbin shared specific insights on the implications of the outcome
of that process where the majority of the voters elected to replace the 'partial
integration' political status with an autonomous governance model. "This initiative can have potential
implications for a possible referendum under consideration in Bonaire, the
second of the three jurisdictions in partial integration with Holland,"
he indicated. (The third territory in partial integration is Saba).
In the context of the wider hemisphere,
reference was also made to the Pacific jurisdiction of Easter Island (Rapa Nui) and the Western
Caribbean jurisdiction of San Andres in their respective political relationships
with Chile and Columbia.
On the Pacific side, the lecture
explored the U.S. model of free association in place in the Federated States of
Micronesia, Marshall Islands and Palau which had emerged at the beginning of
the 1990s out of the former U.N. Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands following
World War II. The associated state models in place in the Cook Islands and Niue
vis a vis New Zealand were also examined with specific reference to the wide
areas of devolved power enjoyed by the two respective associated states.
Corbin
considered that "the New Zealand
autonomous model in the Cook Islands and Niue, as well as the Danish autonomous
model in Greenland and the Faroe Islands, were among the most enlightened
examples of modern autonomous governance."
During the presentation, the
governance advisor made periodic reference to the international 'Self-Governance
Indicators (SGIs)' developed in 2011 for the purpose of assessing the
sufficiency of self-government of the small island dependent, autonomous, and
integrated jurisdictions. Corbin explained that "the Indicators are utilized as a diagnostic tool in conducting
comprehensive self-governance assessments in various jurisdictions in the
Caribbean and Pacific to measure the level of self-government being exercised,
the extent of unilateral power of the larger administering State and the nature
of any democratic deficits that may be present in the specific governance model."
An important element of the lecture
was the relationship of global events and the strategic location of a number of
the dependencies, particularly those in the Asia/Pacific region. In this connection,
Corbin made ample use of maps and other illustrations to indicate the "geo-strategic and geo-economic
sensitivity of many of the jurisdictions, particularly those in the Asia/Pacific
region, where much attention is being paid to the emergence of China as a
growing world power, and the question of the ownership of the undersea mineral resources
of the Pacific region, particularly in areas such as French Polynesia."
The lecture on "Future
Constitutional Development for Small Island Territories" was preceded the previous day by an address on "The United Nations at 70 - Future
Challenges to Global Governance." Corbin, who serves as the Executive Secretary of the Council of Presidents of the U.N. General
Assembly, noted that "the year
2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations (U.N.)
which has become the pre-eminent world body comprising 193 countries."
Accordingly,
the presentation examined the evolution of the U.N. system of organizations, explored
the U.N. role in addressing international issues, and identified some of 21st
Century challenges facing global leaders including sustainable development, war
and peace, nuclear non-proliferation and more. The lecture reviewed the plans
of action adopted by global leaders at U.N. conferences aimed at addressing
many of these challenges. Both lectures provided for substantial interactive
dialogue with the participants.
