Tales of Decolonization #2: Winners and Losers
But there are still losers in this game of decolonization. The United Nations recognizes 17 official colonies, which amount to close to 2 million people. If we look beyond this formal level of recognition you could easily add in several dozen more territories or peoples that could be called colonies. We are the ones who are stilling waiting, behind what I've called "the fourth world wall." We are small and many times unknown or long forgotten. Our loss is so interminable because of its unknown or irrelevant quality, where our continued colonial realities persist without the slightest bit of concern from the rest of the world.
Here is a press release from the United Nations in 2008 in which the success of the UN is relied, but also the important work left to be done.
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14 May 2008
GA/COL/3172
DECOLONIZATION UNITED NATIONS SUCCESS STORY, BUT MONUMENTAL
TASK INCOMPLETE, SAYS SECRETARY-GENERAL AS PACIFIC SEMINAR ON ISSUE OPENS IN
INDONESIA
Press Release
General Assembly
That was one of the key messages at the opening today of the
Pacific Regional Seminar on the Implementation of the Second International
Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism, which coincided with the Week of
Solidarity with the Peoples of the Non-Self-Governing Territories.
Since 1945, more than 80 once-colonized territories have all
exercised their right to self-determination. The remaining
Non-Self-Governing Territories are American Samoa, Anguilla, Bermuda, the
British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, the Falkland Islands (Malvinas),
Gibraltar, Guam, Montserrat, New Caledonia, Pitcairn, Saint Helena, Tokelau,
the Turks and Caicos Islands, the United States Virgin Islands and Western
Sahara.
The three-day Regional Seminar is part of the work of the
United Nations General Assembly’s Special Committee on the situation with
regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence
to Colonial Countries and Peoples -- better known as the Special Committee of
24 on Decolonization. The Special Committee organizes annual seminars
where representatives of the peoples of the Non-Self-Governing Territories and
their administering Powers, non-governmental and regional organizations, and
experts, can hold focused and frank discussions on the issues of decolonization
and a lively exchange of views with members of the Special Committee and other
Member States.
In addition, the Seminar’s deliberations will serve as a
basis for a report containing conclusions and recommendations, which will be
considered by the Special Committee at its forthcoming substantive session in
June. These proposals will then be submitted to the General Assembly.
At today’s opening, held in the same venue as the historic
Asian-African Conference of 1955, the Chairman of the Special Committee, the
Permanent Representative of Indonesia to the United Nations, Ambassador R. M.
Marty Natalegawa, said that, while much progress had been made in
decolonization, the Committee’s work was far from complete.
“It remains an unfinished business and much remains to be
done,” Mr. Natalegawa said. “The Special Committee continues to have to
confront contemporary challenges in this changing context of international
relations.”
That view was also voiced by United Nations
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. In a message delivered on his behalf at
the Seminar’s opening by Freda Mackay, Chief of the Decolonization Unit in the
Department of Political Affairs, the Secretary-General said that decolonization
had been one of the United Nations success stories, but the 16 remaining
Non-Self-Governing Territories highlighted the fact that the monumental task of
decolonization was as yet incomplete.
“Colonization has no place in today’s world,” the
Secretary-General said. “I, therefore, urge all administering Powers to
actively engage with the United Nations in discharging the UN mandate on
decolonization. And I encourage all parties to continue working together
to complete the decolonization process in every one of the remaining 16
Non-Self-Governing Territories.”
Speaking at the Seminar’s opening, Imron Cotan, the
Secretary-General of the Indonesian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs,
said that pragmatic and innovative ways were needed to push the decolonization
agenda forward -- especially as the Second International Decade for the
Eradication of Colonialism was swiftly approaching its scheduled completion in
2010.
Following the opening ceremony, at the Seminar’s first
meeting -- on the role of the Special Committee -- Ambassador Natalegawa said
the process of decolonization had to be accelerated if tangible progress was to
be made in the Second International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism.
“We do not have much time left,” he said, while also acknowledging that
decolonization was a delicate, and sometimes even emotional, issue for those
involved.
Ambassador Natalegawa said that to achieve that task, each
of the remaining decolonization cases needed to be approached with an open
mind, so as to help move the process forward. He noted that the current
role of the Special Committee fell into three priority areas: (1) improving the
cooperation of the administering Powers; (2) providing information to the
peoples of the Territories about their status designated within the United
Nations; and (3) identifying with all concerned practical ways to implement the
United Nations decolonization mandate enshrined in the relevant General
Assembly decisions.
“The Special Committee needs to aim for tangible results on
a case-by-case basis for each of these three major priorities” for the
remainder of the Second International Decade for the Eradication of
Colonialism, Ambassador Natalegawa said.
On the priority area of improving the cooperation of the
administering Powers, Ambassador Natalegawa reaffirmed the Special Committee’s
commitment for genuine and constructive dialogue with all stakeholders,
including the administering Powers.
“It is to be hoped that all administering Powers will follow
suit and involve themselves actively in facilitating the process of
decolonization in tandem with the international community, and genuinely help
prepare Non-Self-Governing Territories to gain a new international status, free
of the remaining stigma of colonialism,” the Ambassador said. He added
that one small, yet very much appreciated, indicator of progress was the
“presence” of all the administering Powers at this year’s seminar, both through
attendance from most of them, as well as a position letter from the United
Kingdom, which signified that the channels of communication remained open.
“Another path that we may be able to explore, hopefully in
the near future, is to send a visiting mission to the Non-Self-Governing
Territories,” Ambassador Natalegawa said. To fulfil its mandate, the
Special Committee dispatches visiting missions to Non-Self-Governing
Territories so that the Committee members can see the conditions there for
themselves -- an undertaking that requires the cooperation of the administering
Powers.
On the priority area of providing information to the peoples
of the Territories, Ambassador Natalegawa said that the Special Committee would
continue its efforts to monitor developments on the ground and reach out to the
Non-Self-Governing Territories, so as to keep their peoples informed about
decolonization matters. In relation to that, he said the Special
Committee also needed to explore ways in which information on decolonization
matters could be better exchanged between the administering Powers, territorial
Governments and the United Nations.
On the remaining priority area of identifying with all
concerned practical ways to implement the United Nations decolonization
mandate, the Ambassador said the Special Committee needed to continue its
efforts in pursuing an action-oriented approach in support of the Territories
quest for self-governance. He added that the Committee also needed to
identify and reflect on positive developments in various Non-Self-Governing
Territories that could help move the decolonization process forward.
Ambassador Natalegawa said that “this would necessitate a willingness to
think outside the box, and perhaps even the ability to place the decolonization
mandate in today’s context.”
He also highlighted the need for the decolonization
discussions to extend beyond the political sphere into other areas of direct
relevance to the peoples of the Non-Self-Governing Territories -- such as their
livelihood and development. For example, the Special Committee’s Chairman
said, many of the Territories were facing environmental, economic and social
problems due to their geography.
“The Special Committee needs to identify ways and means
through which it can play a supportive role for sustainable development in
Non-Self-Governing Territories, hence enhancing their capacity for
self-governance,” Ambassador Natalegawa said.
The Seminar then turned its attention to perspectives of the
Special Committee, administering Powers and territorial Governments, as well as
views of experts on priorities for the remainder of the Second International
Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism.
The first person to speak at that meeting was an expert,
Anak Agung Banyu Perwita, professor of international relations at Parahyangan
Catholic University, in Bandung. He said that the main challenges of
Non-Self-Governing Territories were economic and social developments, as well
as the environment.
“Non-Self-Governing Territories have insufficient capability
to gain economic and social independence, even after the political independence
that is frequently cited as a reason to deter self-determination from former
colonial Powers,” Mr. Pertiwa said.
The observer from Gibraltar, Joseph Bossano, commented on
the lack of representatives of the peoples of Non-Self-Governing Territories at
the Seminar, and on the need for an action-oriented approach in support of the
Territories’ quest for self-governance. “Dialogue is fantastic, but
dialogue is not a substitute for action,” Mr. Bossano said.
Hope Alvarez Cristobal, of the non-governmental organization
Fuetsan Famalao’an (“Strength of Women”) in Guam, spoke broadly about the
decolonization process there in view of the United States military build-up
faced by Guam, and made several recommendations about the way forward.
Kendrick Pickering, an expert from the British Virgin
Islands, spoke of that Territory’s advances and setbacks in a recent
constitutional review, while Tregenza A. Roach, from the University of the
Virgin Islands, located in the Territory, spoke about that institution’s role
in developing a local Constitution. The pair’s interventions led to
further questions from Crispin Gregoire, Dominica’s Permanent Representative to
the United Nations and a member of the Special Committee, and a subsequent
discussion on the process of negotiations on political options with their
respective administering Powers.
The Chairman of the Special Committee, Ambassador
Natalegawa, circulated a position paper submitted by the United Kingdom,
dealing with that country’s relationship with its overseas Territories.
Among that paper’s many points, the United Kingdom stated that its
relationship with those territories was a modern one based on partnership, shared
values and the right of each Territory to determine if it wished to retain the
link to the United Kingdom. At the same time, the paper set out the
United Kingdom’s position with regard to the options for political status.
The Seminar’s final meeting of the day focussed on the role
of United Nations system in providing developmental assistance to
Non-Self-Governing Territories. The Chief of the United Nations
Decolonization Unit spoke broadly about the assistance that various United
Nations agencies and programmes -- ranging from the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) -- offered to
Non-Self-Governing Territories in the exercise of their right to
self-determination and in improving their economic and social conditions.
Tony Angelo, an independent expert from New Zealand’s
Victoria University in Wellington with extensive experience in Tokelau’s
efforts at self-governance, gave first-hand examples of how the United Nations
system had helped that remote Pacific Territory. He praised UNDP’s
long-running involvement in Tokelau’s development, noting the impact it had had
on improving the lives of the people there. However, he said, the process
and paperwork involved in securing funds for development from the United
Nations system could be a difficult challenge for a non-urban society.
“To access that money is in itself a daunting project --
truly, truly daunting, the length and the jargon,” Mr. Angelo said. “But,
overall, a great deal of help.”
Mr. Angelo proposed a simplified process for accessing
available funds for Non-Self-Governing Territories, or even assistance for the
Territories in completing the process and paperwork involved.
The second day of the Seminar is expected to further discuss
Tokelau, Western Sahara and other Non-Self-Governing Territories, as well as
recommendations on advancing the work of the Special Committee.
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