Minister Doughty, “C24 is outdated”, but UK government supports OTs right to address UN Special Committee

Wednesday, February 5th 2025 - 05:41 UTC

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Minister of State Stephen Doughty said UN Committee on Decolonization is outdated and no longer has a relevant role to play with respect to the UK Overseas Territories

The position of Overseas Territories, on the United Nations list of Non-Self--Governing Territories was recently discussed in British Parliament. The issue was brought up by Conservative Member of Parliament Blake Stephenson on January 30th session.

Blake Stephenson MP, Conservative representing Bedfordshire, said, “To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the inclusion of Overseas Territories in the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.”

In response, Minister of State Stephen Doughty said, “The Government believes the UN Special Committee on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples [Special Committee], C24, is outdated, and that it no longer has a relevant role to play with respect to the UK Overseas Territories.

“For those Territories with permanent populations who wish it, the Government will continue to support requests for the removal of the Territory from the United Nations list of ‘non-self-governing Territories’. Furthermore, the Government supports the right of the people of the Overseas Territories to address the Special Committee directly. In 2024, the UK supported representatives from the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, and the British Virgin Islands to appear at the Special Committee’s annual considerations of their respective Territories and stands ready to do the same in 2025.”