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Bossano raises row with Spain at UN seminar
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The UN Decolonisation Seminar which is taking place in St Kitts Nevis was very well attended this year with almost all of the listed territories and administering powers participating. They included the US and the UK representatives, after an absence of several years, a fact that was welcomed by the Chairman of the Committee of 24.
At the opening session, Opposition Leader, Joe Bossano, raised as a procedural point the events of last year?s seminar where a reference to ?territorial integrity? was introduced in the final report even though it had not been raised during the conference. He asked the rapporteur to note this and said that a matter not raised for debate in the Seminar should not be allowed to be introduced, without debate, in the final report.
He also reminded the Seminar that following his strong objection to the proposal made by Spain last year, Argentina had accepted that the suggested phrase should be reviewed and it was agreed to refer the decision on this basis to the full Committee of 24 in New York where it was in fact removed.
Joe Bossano went on to explain that subsequently, a similar reference to territorial integrity was introduced in another section of the Committee of 24 Report. This other section of the report was one which did not refer to Gibraltar but dealt with the self-determination rights of peoples in 11 of the 16 territories on the list. This section of the report has always existed and been dealt with in a separate, so called, omnibus motion, because it deals with all the territories over which no dispute exists.
Joe Bossano went on to say that the new element introduced in the Fourth Committee in New York was an attempt to curtail self-determination for these 11 territories should a dispute over sovereignty emerge. He further explained that in November 2008, an amendment to the motion was passed in the Fourth Committee removing this, with 61 members voting against and 40 in favour.
Having reviewed the events of last year, Joe Bossano called on the participants in the Seminar who are UN Members to take part with an open mind, to listen to and respond to the views of others and not to participate with a prepared, pre-arranged agenda to promote their own national interests, thereby disregarding the purpose and the rationale of the seminar, namely to give an opportunity to the people of the listed territories to have their views and aspirations taken on board by the Committee of 24. To date, neither Spain nor Argentina have as yet intervened in the debate with the question of Gibraltar likely to be dealt with in the second session.
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