Earlier this week, during the UN General Assembly’s Fourth Committee, Premier Dr. the Honourable Natalio Wheatley voiced his concerns about the delays the British Virgin Islands has faced in its quest for self-determination and called on the United Nations to provide the necessary support for the process.
The Premier revealed that as far back as 2019, the Government of the Virgin Islands has been requesting a visit from the UN’s C-24 visiting mission. He lamented that, 4 years later, despite the request being featured in consecutive resolutions adopted by the UN, the government and people of the Virgin Islands continue to wait.
“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. I also reiterate the British Virgin Islands’ request for a C-24 visiting mission. We have made this request every year since 2019 and it has also featured in consecutive resolutions adopted by the UN. Between 2019 and 2022 we have seen no movement in this direction”, he said.
“I am well aware that the current Chair of the C-24 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. The full range of requests by the British Virgin Islands are captured in the draft resolution. I encourage this committee’s passage of the resolution and also the General Assembly thereafter. But it will mean very little to the people on the ground if these requests are not acted upon”, he added.
With the completion of the constitutional review on the horizon, he emphasized that this is a crucial time for the BVI.
“The British Virgin Islands will soon arrive at another historical juncture in which further constitutional advances must be considered. A constitutional review is currently underway and will conclude in the very near future”, he said.
Premier Wheatley explained that upon completion of the review, stakeholders, including the people and government of the Virgin Islands and the Government of the United Kingdom, 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. This preparation on the ground can be supported by the UN that has a responsibility to assist the British Virgin Islands and the other Non-Self-Governing Territories in helping to raise the awareness of their people on the UN-sanctioned options to achieve a full measure of self-government, including integration, free association and independence”, he said.
The United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization, also known as the C-24, has been conducting visiting missions since 1965. These missions are dispatched to Non-Self-Governing Territories with the purpose of gathering first-hand information on the situation in these territories, focusing on their political, economic, social, and environmental development.
The most recent visiting mission of the C-24 was to Montserrat in December 2019.