Decolonisation must be guided by aspirations, needs of communities living in territories: UN chief

With 17 non-self-governing territories remaining worldwide, United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has said that decolonisation is a process that has to be guided by the aspirations and needs of the communities living in the territories.

At the opening of the latest session of the UN Special Committee dealing with decolonisation, Secretary-General Guterres on Friday said that since the UN was established in 1945 more than 80 former colonies have gained independence.

Today, 17 territories remain, mainly in the Americas and the Pacific. Many are even facing "very real and pressing challenges," he told the committee.

"Decolonisation is a process that has to be guided by the aspirations and needs of the communities living in the territories. The concerns of the peoples of the territories are varied, and it is our collective responsibility to amplify their voices," Guterres said at the session, which he called one of the defining mandates of the global Organisation.

"The vast majority of the territories are small islands on the frontlines of climate change. Many have faced devastating natural disasters. Others are struggling to build sustainable and self-sufficient economies, he said.

We must continue to serve as a forum for meaningful dialogue between Territories and administering Powers to enable the peoples of the territories to make informed decisions about their future.

The non-self-governing territories are Western Sahara in Africa, Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Montserrat, Saint Helena, Turks and Caicos Islands and United States Virgin Islands in Atlantic & Caribbean, Gibraltar in Europe and American Samoa, French Polynesia, Guam, New Caledonia, Pitcairn and Tokelau in the Pacific.

The Secretary-General, who is from Portugal, also spoke about his deep connection to the issue.

Indeed, I can never forget the fact that it was thanks to the liberation movements of Angola, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau, and their struggle for independence, that the Portuguese Army conducted the April (1974) revolution that led to democracy in my own country, he said.

People living in the world's remaining territories are still waiting for the promise of self-government to be fulfilled, he said. With the Timor-Leste being the last to achieve this milestone nearly 20 years ago, the UN chief described the decolonization agenda as slow, but still moving forward.

He pointed to New Caledonia, a French territory in the Pacific, which will hold a second independence referendum in September. The first was in 2018.

Decolonization is certainly one of the most significant chapters in the UN's history, according to the Secretary-General, who commended the key role played by the Committee.

UN engagement derives from the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, as stipulated in the UN Charter, the Organisation's founding document.

The Special Committee on Decolonisation examines the application of a 1960 General Assembly declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.

Ambassador Keisha McGuire of Grenada is the chair, which she described as an uplifting responsibility.

In December, McGuire led a mission to the British overseas territory of Montserrat, where a 1995 volcano left nearly half of the Caribbean island uninhabitable.