The virtual seminar was hosted by the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination at the prestigious Princeton University on 23 October 2020, on the topic “The UN at 75 – the Role of the Right of Self-Determination”.
To mark UN Day this year, the event examined the history of self-determination, including its relationship to decolonisation and to international law, its development to encompass new actors and the emergence of new issues relevant to self-determination today. Her Excellency Keisha A McGuire, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Grenada to the United Nations, and current Chair of the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonisation (C-24), was invited to discuss, inter alia, the UN’s role in the decolonisation process, the significance of the right to self-determination in shaping the process, and the ongoing role of the UN in this respect. Ambassador McGuire highlighted that self-determination is one area in which the organisation has played a key role and made significant achievements over the decades, and that, as a whole, decolonisation remains one of the main historic achievements of the United Nations to date.
As the Chair of the C-24, she reiterated the committee’s commitment to taking an action-oriented approach to decolonisation. In addition, she underscored that the C-24 could achieve concrete outcomes by strengthening dialogue and cooperation among all stakeholders, in particular, the Non-Self-Governing Territories and the administering Powers, and by continuing to devise creative and practical proposals, on a case-by-case basis.
The event took place in the presence of His Serene Highness Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein, who opened the session with his remarks.
Permanent Mission of Grenada to the United Nations
