Roseau, Dominica, August 25th, 2021 – The United Workers Party (UWP) is honored to welcome to the Commonwealth of Dominica the United Nations Special Committee for Implementation of the Declaration on granting 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. The Committee’s 2021 Caribbean Seminar on eradicating colonialism takes place this week at the Kempinski Resort in Portsmouth
The Commonwealth of Dominica and the other Caribbean Community States, which attained political independence after 1961, have all been direct beneficiaries of the phenomenal work of the Special Committee (established by General Assembly Resolution 1654 (XVI), which led inter alia to the 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 a 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.
The United Workers Party of Dominica fully supports the work of the Special Committee and 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.