CARICOM backs VI's path to self-rule as UK abstains at UN

The Caribbean Community has thrown its full backing behind the British Virgin Islands' right to self-determination at the United Nations General Assembly, delivering a significant regional endorsement as the territory moves toward independence.

At the UN Fourth Committee's 7th plenary meeting in New York on Thursday, St Kitts and Nevis Permanent Representative Dr Mutryce Williams spoke on behalf of CARICOM, saying heads of government have endorsed the work of the UN's Special Committee on Decolonisation and supported the territory's push toward full self-governance. The bloc highlighted the steps the VI is taking as it prepares its people for independence, particularly as a pre-independence constitution is being negotiated.

Williams called for "continued constructive dialogue between the United Kingdom, the BVI, and the United Nations, with particular attention to democratic participation, good governance, economic resilience, and the political aspirations of the people concerned."

The Fourth Committee voted 157 in favour of a draft resolution backing the VI's right to self-determination, with 2 votes against and 5 abstentions. The United Kingdom abstained. The resolution will now face a final vote before the full UN General Assembly.

CARICOM has also woven the VI's decolonisation into its broader reparatory justice framework. Williams noted that the bloc's revised Ten-Point Plan for Reparatory Justice, presented last month at the 3rd Regional Conference on Reparations, offers "a comprehensive and forward-looking framework that situates reparations as a matter of justice, accountability, and sustainable development." She underscored that decolonisation must go beyond political status to encompass "economic opportunity, social justice, and reparatory justice."

Premier Dr Natalio D. Wheatley expressed gratitude for CARICOM's steadfast backing, while BVI Special Envoy E. Benito Wheatley acknowledged the CARICOM Reparations Commission's work and the inclusion of decolonisation as a new pillar within the reparations plan.

The VI remains one of 17 Non-Self-Governing Territories under UN oversight and holds Associate Member status within CARICOM. The UN Special Committee on Decolonisation, which oversees the VI's status, is chaired by Saint Lucia.