MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Gibraltar: Delisting process to come under UN scrutiny

Chief Minister Peter Caruana

The Chief Minister Peter Caruana arrived at a rain-soaked New York city last night set to address the United Nations this morning. He will be addressing the Committee of 24 at the United Nations and later hosting a lunch for the Gibraltar-American Council before his return to Gibraltar on Wednesday. The session coincides with a visit today by Ban Ki-moon the UN Secretary General.

Mr Caruana is accompanied by Chief Secretary Richard Garcia and Press Secretary Francis Cantos. Daniel Feetham meanwhile confirmed that he was not here on this occasion because of a family medical matter. On the same airplane and in the same hotel, the towering UN Millennium Plaza which overlooks the UN complex on the bank of the East River, but certainly not part of the same delegation, is Opposition Leader Joe Bossano. He is accompanied by Fabian Picardo. Mr Bossano is expected to keep his speech from the press as in previous years although he said yesterday that this year's address to the C24 on behalf of the Opposition will seek to "build on and develop the success recently achieved at the Grenada Seminar". He says he will challenge the position that self-determination does not apply to the decolonization of territories where there is a sovereignty dispute. "The Grenada conclusions this year left the matter open, and referred it to the C24," he said. But whilst the UN C24 has been increasingly open in its sympathy for the Gibraltar arguments there is little doubt that this Committee, which is in essence an advisor and workhorse for the Fourth Committee, is constrained by broader UN diplomacy. It's not just that Spain, as she indicated at the Grenada seminar, would go into a convulsive anger if she felt she were to be 'defrauded' by the UN (if it were to recognize the new Constitution as a delisting ticket). It is broadly recognized that the ongoing Trilateral Forum is a way of improving relations and seeking new ground whilst at the same time sustaining the status quo of each side's position ie Gibraltar, Britain and Spain. That much is reflected in the careful effort to balance the UN's own annual report on Gibraltar which emerged in March. History has spared Gibraltar the fate of the Falkland Island's text which the UN splatters with 'Malvinas' (in parenthesis) after each reference to the islands. That report sets out noting, as last year's annual decision from the Fourth Committee did, that the trilateral process is separate from Brussels even though there is much debate as to whether the Brussels process is not in reality defunct. The report however notes that the Brussels meetings have not taken place recently. The Gibraltar report rehearses all the arguments that appeared in the letters and appendices accompanying the Constitution including Britain's view that Gibraltar has exercised self-determination and that the relationship is not one UK believes can be described as colonialism. UK's position, that the UN delisting process is 'outdated', is also noted. Gibraltar's position and the Chief Minister's public statements that Gibraltar is effectively decolonised is well rehearsed in the UN summary as are Mr Bossano's views that UN delisting is a process which should see the Gibraltar Constitution, if necessary, amended to meet the criteria with the participation of the UN. Spain's argument that the new Constitution was a limited 'internal exercise' and not the exercise of self-determination set out by the UN. The Constitution has, says Spain, "no consequences in the external context". Consequently, the UN has thus largely become a forum for each side to preserve two, at times fragile, stances. That each party reserves its rights in the strongest terms but at the same time emphasises that an effort is being made to have positive relations between the parties. Spain hopes this conducive to sovereignty talks, Gibraltar hopes it conducive to Spain retreating to accepting a modern Gibraltar operating within the constraints of its place in the EU and its relationship with the UK. But at Grenada there was one technical detail that Spain would not let slip by, that Britain has a military base in Gibraltar and that Spain is concerned about that, in the context of the C24's reiterated concerns over military bases in non-self-governing territories, Madrid did not want to let that aspect slip away. It was surprised, it said, this had not been reflected in March's territory report. The Fourth Committee meets in October and agrees the statement to be made annually by the General Assembly. (Chronicle)