SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON DECOLONIZATION TO HOLD CARIBBEAN REGIONAL SEMINAR

23-25 MAY IN HAVANA

To Review Political, Economic, Social Conditions in Small Island Territories

The 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 of 24 on decolonization, will hold a Caribbean regional seminar to review the political, economic and social conditions in the small island Non-Self-Governing Territories in Havana, Cuba, from 23 to 25 May.

The seminar is taking place 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 (beginning 25 May).� It is being hosted by the Government of Cuba.

The main focus of the seminar will be to assess the situation in the Non-Self-Governing Territories, in particular their constitutional evolution towards self-determination.� It will also identify areas where the international community could increase and enhance its participation in assistance programmes and adopt a comprehensive and integrated approach to ensuring the political and sustainable socio-economic development of the Territories concerned.

The topics to be considered by the seminar include:

-- Strategies for the Second International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism;

-- Role of the Special Committee in facilitating the decolonization of the Non-Self-Governing Territories;

-- Development strategies for strengthening assistance to the Non-Self-Governing Territories by the United Nations system;

-- Recent political, economic and social development in the Non-Self-Governing Territories, particularly in those in the Caribbean region; and

-- Socio-economic conditions in the Non-Self-Governing Territories and their effect on decolonization.

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The seminar will give priority to a broad range of views of the peoples of those Territories.� Participants will include organizations and institutions that are actively involved in the political, economic and social development of those Territories and of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with long and established experience in island Territories.

Julian Robert Hunte, Chairman of the Special Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Saint Lucia, will preside over the seminar and be assisted by eight members of the Committee:� Antigua and Barbuda, Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Fiji, Indonesia, Syria and Venezuela.� Given the importance of the seminar as the first of the new decade, the full bureau of the Special Committee would be present as well.

The Non-Self-Governing Territories are:� Western Sahara in Africa; American Samoa (United States), Guam (United States), New Caledonia (France), Pitcairn (United Kingdom), and Tokelau (New Zealand) in Asia and the Pacific; Anguilla (United Kingdom), Bermuda (United Kingdom), British Virgin Islands (United Kingdom), Cayman Islands (United Kingdom), Falkland Islands/Malvinas (United Kingdom), Gibraltar (United Kingdom), Montserrat (United Kingdom), St. Helena (United Kingdom), Turks and Caicos Islands (United Kingdom), and United States Virgin Islands (United States) in the Atlantic.

Members of the Special Committee of 24 are:� Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Chile, China, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Ethiopia, Fiji, Grenada, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Mali, Papua New Guinea, Russian Federation, Saint Lucia, Sierra Leone, Syria, Tunisia, United Republic of Tanzania, Venezuela and Yugoslavia.

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