Chief minister reminds UN committee of Gibraltar's right to self-determination

The chief minister of Gibraltar has told a decolonisation committee of the United Nations that the Rock still strongly maintains its right to self-determination. Fabian Picardo was in New York on Monday to address the committee almost 12 years after he first made the journey.

The Gibraltar government said, "The Chief Minister unequivocally reminded the committee that Spain gave away Gibraltar 300 years ago in perpetuity by binding, international treaty and that there is no 'sovereignty dispute' in relation to Gibraltar."

Picardo said, "As I have declared before, and I declare again, as long as I am Chief Minister, as long as we are in government, there will be no concessions on our sovereignty. The right to self-determination is not a privilege reserved for the large and the mighty. It is a universal right, as applicable to the people of Gibraltar as it is to any other Non-Self-Governing Territory falling within Chapter XI of the UN Charter. This is why it is important for Gibraltar to respect the important work of this committee."

The Chief Minister highlighted the complexities of the ongoing negotiations for a treaty between the United Kingdom and the EU.