St. Lucian diplomat to chair UN Special Committee

CMC – St. Lucia has been appointed chair of the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization (C-24).

A statement from the Permanent Mission of St. Lucia to the United Nations, said that the island’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Menissa Rambally was elected during elections held last week Thursday.

The Committee, which consists of 29 members, also elected Cuba, Indonesia, Sierra Leone as its three Vice-Chairs and the Syrian Arab Republic as its Rapporteur.

In a statement following her election, the St. Lucian diplomat acknowledged the important work of her predecessor, Ambassador Keisha McGuire of Grenada, “who led the committee skilfully through the difficult period at the height of the global pandemic.

“The C-24 will remain true to its mandate entrusted upon by the General Assembly, and (will) fulfil that mandate in accordance with the UN Charter and relevant General Assembly resolutions. The C-24 will address the needs and situation of each Territory on its agenda, on a case by case basis, taking into account the Territory’s particular circumstances,” she added.

Currently, there are 17, mostly island, non self-governing territories formally recognized by the UN General Assembly. The substantive work of the UN on self-determination of these territories is conducted by the Special Committee on Decolonization which was instrumental in Saint Lucia’s progression to independence.

Ambassador Rambally is scheduled to lead a United Nations Delegation to the UN Pacific Regional Seminar in Bali, Indonesia in May to review the progress achieved in the implementation of the Plan of Action for Eradication of Colonialism with specific emphasis on the Pacific territories.

“St. Lucia was the host of the highly successful regional seminar in 2022 that focused attention on the Caribbean territories,” the statement noted.

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