At UN’s C24, traditional positions on sovereignty alongside hopes for a new relationship

Chief Minister Fabian Picardo urged the UN’s decolonisation committee to “stop doing nothing” in respect of Gibraltar, as he also outlined a political agreement on post-Brexit relations with the EU which he said left the issue of sovereignty “aside and untouched”.

For six decades the Committee of 24 [C24] has failed to strike Gibraltar off its list of non-self-governing territories through a process of self-determination.

In New York on Tuesday, Mr Picardo again reiterated Gibraltar’s stance on decolonisation, insisting the Committee visit Gibraltar visit to see for itself the reality on the ground.

The morning session heard addresses from Mr Picardo and Spanish ambassador Hector Gomez, each reiterating similar messages heard from Gibraltar and Spain for the past 60 years.

For Gibraltar, the right to self-determination of the Gibraltarians was the route to decolonisation. For Spain, the principle of territorial integrity trumped Gibraltarians’ right to determine the future of their homeland.

Alongside the annual diplomatic ritual of restating longstanding positions, both Mr Picardo and Mr Gomez welcomed the political agreement for a treaty on a new relationship for Gibraltar with the EU, stressing core positions remained unchanged.

But there was a twist to the session when, in a highly unusual occurrence, the Chair of the UN Special Committee on Decolonization, Menissa Rambally, gave Mr Picardo the right to reply to Spain after Mr Gomez delivered his address in response to the Chief Minister’s initial intervention.

It was the first time this had happened, Mr Picardo later confirmed.

In his response to the Spanish diplomat, Mr Picardo told the C24 that Spain and Gibraltar had put aside the issue of sovereignty during treaty negotiations, and that this will create a new opportunity for understanding and cooperation between the people of Gibraltar and the people of the whole of the region, leading to a stronger human partnership.

“The sort of human partnership that existed before the Spanish Civil War, the sort of human partnership that has existed even through the period of political attempts to keep us apart,” Mr Picardo said.

“The people of Gibraltar and the people of the region around us, in particular La Línea, San Roque, and all of the towns around us, have always been able, Madam Chair, to fall in love and to make families when the politicians have been using less than generous words about us.”

Mr Picardo said issues raised by Mr Gomez which related to the Isthmus and to Gibraltar's waters ignored the Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982.

He added Spain ignores the fact that when Gibraltar was put on the list of non-self-governing territories after WWII, the territorial delimitation included the Rock’s isthmus and its waters.

“After the Chagos opinion and how that court made very clear to the United Kingdom that it was not possible to sever a territory in the process of decolonisation, we believe that we are on stronger ground than ever to ask that Spain now finally do recognise entirely the Britishness of our isthmus and the waters,” Mr Picardo said.

Mr Picardo had earlier outlined how new arrangements with the EU has fostered a more positive relationship between Gibraltar and Spain, leaving “aside and untouched” the issue of sovereignty.

“We believe we can see a new partnership for prosperity for our people,” he said.

This political agreement will bring more and better jobs, and strong human relations, Mr Picardo said.

The agreement means Gibraltar will join a common travel area with Schengen and will no longer have border controls, and co-operate in key areas of trade, immigration and law enforcement.

Mr Picardo added that when it comes to the decolonisation of Gibraltar, there is no doubt as to which rule applies.

“There can be only one.”

“The right of the people of Gibraltar to self-determination.”

“Our choice.”

“And nothing will ever change our desire to choose to remain 100% British.”

He encouraged the UN Committee to visit Gibraltar, adding it would not be disappointed and that the C24 is “taking too long to act”.

SPAIN, UNCHANGED ON SOVEREIGNTY

Mr Gomez delivered a speech that initially focused on Spain’s traditional position on sovereignty and its call for bilateral dialogue with the UK on Gibraltar’s decolonisation.

But having set out the historical backdrop, Mr Gomez spoke too of the political agreement for a UK/EU treaty on Gibraltar.

The aim of the future agreement is to “guarantee coexistence and prosperity” for all the region by “removing all physical barriers” including the border fence, “the last physical barrier in continental Europe”.

“That will benefit people who cross daily in both directions,” he said.

Mr Gomez said Gibraltar’s airport would be open up to EU flights and help create “a nucleus for prosperity”, while the agreement also envisaged measures to strengthen environmental cooperation and employment initiatives.

“This is an agreement that seeks to improve the lives of the more than 300,000 people who live in the area, and in particular the thousands of cross-border workers,” Mr Gomez said.

The Spanish ambassador stressed that the agreement safeguarded the longstanding positions on sovereignty and jurisdiction held by both Spain and the UK.

For that reason, he added, Spain once again called on the UK to negotiate bilaterally with Spain and reach a “definitive resolution” on Gibraltar’s sovereignty in line with the principle of territorial integrity.

“We hope this agreement reached within the EU framework serves to create a new model of coexistence between the inhabitants of Gibraltar and their neighbours in the Campo de Gibraltar that helps tackle the imbalances stemming from a colonial situation, with a view to creating shared prosperity for the region,” Mr Gomez said.

“But none of the solutions with which we can address these imbalances can substitute the only real negotiation that we must take on, in accordance with the mandates of this organisation and the committee, namely the end of a colonial situation that affects Spain and which lead to the restitution of our sovereign integrity.”

‘MEDIEVAL CLAIM’

Earlier in the session, Mr Picardo told the C24 to disregard Spain and help the people of Gibraltar on the path of decolonisation, which is the Committee’s obligation under international law.

“The Committee should not shirk from its mandate just because another state comes here seeking to stake a medieval claim to our land,” he said.

“Stop doing nothing.”

“Start planning a visiting mission.”

“Take action now.”

He urged the C24 to forget the irrelevant references to resolutions of the General Assembly from the 1960’s that Spain says support its territorial claim to our homeland.

Mr Picardo also underscored that these claims come from a time when Spain was not a democracy, adding Spanish dictator General Franco was now recognised as “a mass murderer” by the Government of the Socialist Party in Spain.

“It was his dictatorship that first decided to use this Committee as a forum for prosecuting its claims to the land of my people,” Mr Picardo said.

“The land of my parents and grandparents.”

“The land of my children.”

“Our land and ours alone.”

“That awful dictator died half a century ago.”

“The representatives of today’s modern and progressive Spain should reflect with embarrassment on their reliance on a dictator’s legacy here.”

Although Mr Picardo celebrated the current Spanish Government’s recognition of Franco as a brutal dictator, he said he was saddened by its continued dependence on the “useless resolutions” he sought.

The C24 heard how Gibraltar will never give up its fight for self-determination and will continue this work until it is removed from the list.

Mr Picardo said that Gibraltar will “never surrender” and will continue to insist on that right.

“The inalienable right of the Gibraltarians to decide their own future within the internationally recognised boundaries of their territory,” he said.

“That takes legal and moral precedence over any claims our neighbour may improperly advance. We take huge comfort from the Chagos opinion of the ICJ (International Court of Justice).”

“The Court in that matter held that the right to territorial integrity of a Non-Self-Governing Territory is a natural consequence of the right to self-determination.”

“The whole of our territory – isthmus and waters included – must remain intact during the decolonisation process.”