UNITED WORKERS PARTY (UWP) WELCOMES TO DOMINICA ALL DELEGATIONS PARTICIPARTING IN THE CARIBBEAN REGIONAL SEMINARON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FOURTH INTERNATIONAL DECADE FOR THE ERADICATION OF COLONIALISM
The United Workers Party (UWP) has the great honour to welcome to the Commonwealth of Dominica the United Nations Special Committee on the Situation with Regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (also known as the Special Committee on Decolonization or C-24) and the distinguished Delegations of UN Member States for the first time to Dominica since the Committee was established in 1961 by General Assembly Resolution 1654 (XVI), known also as the Declaration on Decolonization.
The Commonwealth of Dominica and other Caribbean Community States, which attained political independence after 1961, have all been direct beneficiaries of the phenomenal work of the Special Committee, which led inter alia to attainment of self-determination through political independence or free association with an independent State in 80 former colonies.
Dominica attained its political independence 42 years ago and we must underscore, and applaud the invaluable contribution of the Special Committee on Decolonization towards the end of British colonial rule in our beloved Island State.
The remaining 17 Non-Self-Governing Territories continue to be colonial outposts that urgently need a change in their colonial status and we implore the Special Committee and other organs of the United Nations to accelerate efforts towards their self-determination especially given the advent of the Fourth International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism.
This Caribbean Regional Seminar, with its focus on the Implementation of the Fourth International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism: Charting a Dynamic Course for Decolonization comes in the middle of the pandemic which has severely destabilized the entire planet from 2020 and is today adversely affecting our nation. Our Caribbean Region has the most dependent Territories of any Region of the world, and if we must realize our noble aspiration for a Caribbean Region free of colonialism it is critical that there be more tangible movement towards self-determination for all the Territories in the Caribbean.
It is our hope that this Seminar will chart a more realistic course for the eventual end of colonialism in the remaining 17 Non-Self-Governing Territories in the Caribbean, the Pacific, and on the continent of Africa where the only remaining colonial outpost is Western Sahara.
As regards Western Sahara, the United Workers Party has been steadfast and unwavering in its call for self-determination and political independence for the people of Western Sahara, who continue to live under the most despicable humanitarian condition meted out to the Western Saharans by the occupying power, Morocco. We call on Morocco to abide by UN Resolutions calling for the self-determination of Western Sahara and to submit to the Dispute Resolution mechanism of the African Union, and grant Western Sahara its independence; there is no room for the so-called autonomy plan of Morocco for Western Sahara. Western Sahara must be a free, and independent State in the African Union.
We, the United Workers Party of Dominica, will continue to advocate for self-determination for all 17 remaining Territories on the UN Agenda whose political status must be addressed by the international community. We will remain engaged with the work of the Special Committee going forward.
