Chief Minister Caruana tells UN Gibraltar’s decolonisation is ‘no longer pending’
• Chief Minister Caruana at UN Special Committee on Decolonisation in New York
The Chief Minister Peter Caruana told the UN this morning that, “as far as we are concerned, the decolonisation of Gibraltar is no longer a pending issueâ€.
The Chief Minister of Gibraltar was addressing the UN Special Committee of 24 on Decolonisation (C24), during this year’s annual ‘pilgrimage’ to the United Nations in New York. Mr Caruana is accompanied by the Government Press Secretary Francis Cantos.
During his address to the 9th Meeting of the Special Committee of 24 on Decolonisation, considering the question of Gibraltar, the Chief Minister told the Special Committee that Gibraltar no longer regarded its presence on the list of Non-Self-Governing Territories as signifying that it was a colony pending decolonization, and that the administering power, the United Kingdom, in a report that had been prepared by the Gibraltar Government, had said Gibraltar should not remain on the list.
Referring to Gibraltar’s new Constitution, which had entered into force last year, he said Gibraltar’s relationship with the United Kingdom, accepted in an act of self-determination, through the Constitutional Referendum held in 2006, was understood by the Governments of both the United Kingdom and Gibraltar to be a modern, non-colonial relationship, which resulted in Gibraltar no longer being a colony.
Mr Caruana, noting that it was his thirteenth successive annual address to the Committee, said he had failed to recruit the Committee’s support of Gibraltar’s decolonisation, based on the application of the principle of self-determination. There was no rule or principle that required decolonization to be other than by self-determination in cases where there was a sovereignty dispute. There was no United Nations doctrine to that effect. “Yet [the Committee’s] acts do not reflect these clear principles”, he said, adding:
“Instead, you have allowed the principles applicable to a colonial peoples’ decolonisation to be contaminated by the anachronistic and competing territorial sovereignty claims of neighbours. You have allowed arguments in support of such claims to stand above sacred principles and doctrines that exist to protect the very peoples whose rights you are mandated to uphold.
I do not believe that this has happened as a result of any objective consideration of the issues and principles, but rather as a result of the machinations, and disproportionate influence on the work of this Committee of sovereignty claimants and other countries that are their diplomatic friends. This is not a measure of the merit of our case or of the extent of our rights, or of UN doctrine, but rather, it is a measure of our inferior diplomatic strength and horse trading power as a very small country. Indeed, this Special Committee exists to protect colonial peoples from that very thing, which the Committee has singularly failed to do in our case.”
He said that had been clear during the regional seminars, which submitted reports to the Special Committee stating that certain principles had been adopted by the participants, which, in fact, had never even been discussed. Participants from the Territories had not been allowed in the drafting Committee, which had issued a final statement. Mr Caruana added:
“The Government of Gibraltar no longer attends the regional seminars, and will not do so while our presence might add legitimacy and credibility to these shocking practices, about which I have complained before.”
Mr Caruana argued that the reports of the seminar had then been adopted by the Special Committee, thus pronouncing that listed Territories that had the misfortune to be the subject of a sovereignty dispute were not entitled to decolonisation by self-determination, despite this being described as a fundamental human right.
“It is a complete misconception to mix up and confuse decolonisation and sovereignty disputes in this way. But in so far as concerns this Special Committee, I believe that it’s obligations are very clear. If you think that Gibraltar is a colonial case that remains pending decolonisation, then you are obliged to apply the principle of self determination to its decolonisation, since self determination is, under UN doctrine and international law, the only principle applicable in the decolonisation process.
On the other hand, if you think, for any reason, that Gibraltar is not really a colony, but a sovereignty dispute, then this Committee has no jurisdiction in the case of Gibraltar, because you simply have no mandate or other jurisdiction to deal with sovereignty disputes, and you should therefore ask the General Assembly to relieve you of responsibility for the case of Gibraltar, by delisting us.
Furthermore, he said:
“The principle of territorial integrity is not a principle that is applicable to the decolonisation of a Territory on your list, since such a Territory is not part of a State that would be disintegrated by such decolonization. It is axiomatic.â€
Mr Caruana explained that the new constitutional relationship with the United Kingdom, accepted in an act of self-determination, namely the referendum, was understood by the Governments of both the United Kingdom and Gibraltar to be a modern, non-colonial relationship that resulted in Gibraltar no longer being a colony, adding:
“As far as we are concerned the decolonisation of Gibraltar is no longer a pending issue.
If the UN wishes to define decolonisation differently, or to cling to outdated and unrealistic delisting criteria, that amongst other consequences will result in the Special Committee never being able to finish its work, that is a matter for you. But, that does not alter the reality of our circumstances as I have just described them. We no longer regard that matter, namely, our presence on that list as signifying that we are a colony pending decolonisation.”
Mr Caruana reminded the Committee, that in its annual report on Gibraltar, the United Kingdom indicated that Gibraltar should not remain on the list. He said the Committee should be aware that the report, in fact, had been prepared by the Gibraltar Government.
The dispute between the United Kingdom and Spain related to the sovereignty of Gibraltar and not to its decolonisation, he said. The text of the annual consensus resolution was now a fiction, because there had been no bilateral negotiations, as referred to in that resolution, since 2002. The United Kingdom had stated that it would not enter into a process of sovereignty negotiations with which Gibraltar was not content, and he emphasised:
“In other words, the Brussels Process is dead because Gibraltar is opposed to it and the UK will not participate in it if Gibraltar is opposed to it.”
Mr Caruana said the only process of dialogue that now existed was the Trilateral Forum of Dialogue between the Governments of Spain, Gibraltar and the United Kingdom. He affirmed that this Forum had a completely open agenda, thus allowing any and all issues to be raised for discussion.
Concluding his address, the Chief Minister said that, there was no longer any need for Gibraltar to look to the Committee for help in its decolonisation:
“We profoundly disagree with the Special Committee on many issues of fundamental importance to us, and even though there is no longer any need for us to look to the Committee to help us bring about our decolonisation, we continue to acknowledge the essential work that the Committee has carried out in the past, and its contribution to the advancement of the world over decades.”
Mr Caruana added that Gibraltar remained willing to cooperate with the Special Committee on any matter that it wished, not least on its delisting criteria and how Gibraltar could now be removed from the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.
Finally, the Chief Minister thanked the Committee:
“I thank the Special Committee and its staff for the many courtesies that it, and they have shown the Gibraltar Government now and in the past, and through the Gibraltar Government, to the people of Gibraltar.”
Spain’s Response
The permanent representative of Spain to the United Nations, Juan Antonio Yáñez-Barnuevo, insisted, however, that the full mandate of the United Nations in carrying out Gibraltar’s decolonisation must be effected through negotiations between the United Kingdom and Spain, taking into account the interests of the people of Gibraltar.
He said the Territory was not only the subject of a sovereignty dispute, to which the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht applied, but there was also a dispute over its geographic boundaries, thus making it even more evident that the issue affected the territorial unity of Spain. He hoped Spain could count on the United Kingdom to resume the negotiations that had unfortunately come to a standstill in 2002.
Leader of the Opposition Statement
Joe Bossano, the Leader of the Opposition in Gibraltar, who also addressed the Committee, emphatically replied:
“Gibraltar will never, ever, be a part of Spain again.”
In relation to the Spanish position, the United Kingdom has stated that they do not accept that the concept of territorial integrity applies to Gibraltar’s decolonisation. They have also stated that they would not participate in any sovereignty discussions with Spain. Mr Bossano added:
“Why on earth should Gibraltar and its people ever be content to see their sovereignty discussed with Spain by their administering power, or their former administering power, depending on whether we are already decolonised or not?
As far as we are concerned, the decision on that question was taken by the 2002 Referendum, and is now closed.â€
Mr Bossano urged the Committee to not simply record the fact that it had the information on Gibraltar from the United Kingdom, but express a view on the relevance of the United Kingdom’s claim that Gibraltar’s new Constitution provided for a modern relationship between Gibraltar and the United Kingdom that was non-colonial in nature. The Committee had the duty to say why that relationship still fell short of the level of self-government required to make the relationship non-colonial, if that was indeed its view.
Background
The Special Committee on the Situation with Regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples met this morning to consider the questions of Gibraltar.
A working paper prepared by the Secretariat on Gibraltar (UN document A/AC.109/2008/8 and Corr.1) outlines, among other things, the political developments, economic and social conditions in the Non-Self-Governing Territory and the role of the Special Committee and the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization), as well as the positions of the administering Power (the United Kingdom), the territorial Government and the Government of Spain on the Territory’s future status.
The working paper notes that, according to the United Kingdom’s Permanent Representative, the Gibraltar Constitution that came into force in 2007 provided for a modern relationship between Gibraltar and the United Kingdom that was non-colonial in nature. It was regrettable that the outdated approach of the Special Committee seemed not to have allowed for that to be recognised. The new Constitution confirmed the right to self-determination, which was not constrained by the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht except insofar as it gave Spain the right of refusal should Britain ever renounce sovereignty. The United Kingdom Government had never accepted that the principle of territorial integrity had ever been applicable to the decolonization of Gibraltar. The United Kingdom would never enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another State against their wishes.
According to the Chief Minister of Gibraltar, the paper states, the new Constitution gave Gibraltar complete self-government except in matters relating to foreign affairs and defence. The people of Gibraltar did not believe that independence was the best option for their Territory. The United Kingdom had neither the power nor the ability to act as an administering Power in Gibraltar, nor did it demonstrate any wish to do so. Gibraltar, therefore, should be removed from the list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.
Spain’s representative, according to the paper, had said that the continuation of the colonial situation in Gibraltar was not in conformity with the United Nations Charter, because it undermined the territorial integrity of Spain. In the process of decolonizing Gibraltar, it would be necessary to address and definitively settle the related sovereignty issue. His Government regretted that, despite its expressions of willingness to resume negotiations with the United Kingdom on the sovereignty issue, no progress had been made. The principle of self-determination did not apply to Gibraltar since decolonization of that Territory could only result from bilateral negotiations between Spain and the United Kingdom.
The paper goes on to say that, since the establishment in 2004 of the tripartite Forum of Dialogue on Gibraltar, there had been several rounds of discussions that led to the 2006 Cordoba agreements, which covered such areas as pension for Spanish workers in Gibraltar, the Gibraltar airport and telecommunications.
During the Forum’s latest meeting, in 2007, the participants acknowledged the satisfactory implementation of all the agreements and had preliminary discussions on the Forum’s forward agenda, namely cooperation on environment, financial services and taxation, judicial and police issues, education, maritime communications and visa-related issues.
Meeting’s Conclusion
Agreeing with a proposal by the Chairman, the Committee decided that, in light of related developments, it would continue its consideration of the question of Gibraltar at its next session, subjected to any directives that the General Assembly might wish to give at its next session. To facilitate the Fourth Committee’s consideration of the item, all relevant documentation should be transmitted to the Assembly’s sixty-third session.
Sources: UN > Department of Public Information > News and Media Division / Gibraltar Government Press Release - Press Releases - 18 June 2008
Related Articles and Links:
Full text of the Chief Minister of Gibraltar’s address to the United Nations Committee of 24 (Decolonisation) on 18 June 2008
UN Special Committee of 24 on Decolonisation (C24)
The Gibraltar Constitution Order 2006
Constitutional Referendum 2006
The Trilateral Forum of Dialogue - Cordoba Accord - Full text of the Joint Communique of the Ministerial Meeting of the Tripartite Forum of Dialogue on Gibraltar - 18 September 2006
Disputed status of Gibraltar - Wikipedia Article
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