Premier asks for UN support to raise awareness of self-gov’t options in VI
The Premier was at the time delivering a speech to the Special Committee on Decolonisation at the United Nations General Assembly on October 3, 2023.
“The British Virgin Islands journey on the path of self-determination continues. The greater autonomy of the territory through constitutional advances has come in stages, driven by the growth and development of the society and the aspirations of our people.”
He added that the territory will soon arrive at another historical juncture in which further constitutional advances must be considered as the constitutional review is currently underway and will conclude in the very near future.
“Once completed, the people of the British Virgin Islands, the Territory Government, and the UK Government will have to prepare to engage in the next constitutional steps in the self-determination process. The key issue will be the devolution of additional powers to the elected arms of government and whether a change of political status will be sought.”
Bringing awareness to options of Self-Government
This he said can be supported by the UN and that has a responsibility to assist the Virgin Islands and other non-self-governing territories in helping to raise the awareness of their people under UN-sanctioned options to achieve a full measure of self-government, Including integration, free association and independence.
“I want to restate once again that the British Virgin Islands would be most grateful for the support of the relevant UN agencies and departments to assist us in our efforts to raise the awareness of the people of the islands on the process of self-determination and the options available to the non-self-governing territories.”
The Premier used the opportunity to also request for a C24 visiting mission, as was the case since 2019, which he said has not materialised from 2019 and 2022, despite the requests.
“I'm well aware that the current chair of the C24 is working extremely hard on this and has been an exceptional chair. She requires the robust support of the Members of the Special Committee on Decolonisation as well as this committee to make the visit a reality within the next five months.”
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