UN seminar on decolonization opens in Havana

The United Nations today opened a three-day decolonization seminar in Havana, Cuba, aimed at reviewing conditions in small island territories that are governed by other States.

"Decolonization is clearly one of the great success stories of the last half-century, and we must see the process through to its end," Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a message to the Caribbean regional seminar.

Mr. Annan said the meeting, which was organized by a UN special committee on decolonization, "provides us with a unique opportunity to recommit ourselves to the goal of assuring that all peoples can exercise their right of self-determination in accordance with the relevant General Assembly resolutions."

The General Assembly originally established the special committee to monitor the implementation of its 1960 Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. The Secretary-General recalled that since the adoption of that milestone text, "more than 80 million people have attained independence," but, he added, "there are still 17 Non-Self-Governing Territories remaining, worldwide."

Participants are expected to assess the situation in those Territories with a particular focus on their constitutional evolution towards self-determination. The seminar aims to identify areas where the international community could increase its participation in assistance programmes and adopt a comprehensive approach to ensuring political and sustainable development in the Territories.

The seminar is being held within the framework of the Second International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism (2001-2010), and coincides with the Week of Solidarity with the Peoples of Non-Self-Governing Territories, which begins on 25 May.

The 17 remaining Non-Self-Governing Territories are: Western Sahara, American Samoa, East Timor, Guam, New Caledonia, Pitcairn, Tokelau, Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands/Malvinas, Gibraltar, Montserrat, St. Helena, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands.