THE United Nations Special Committee on Decolonisation will hold a three-day regional seminar in St Kitts next month.

Special Committee Chairperson Indonesian Marty Natalegawa said the May 12-14 meeting would be attended by official delegations from Indonesia, Cuba, Sierra Leone and Syria – four member states currently holding positions on the bureau.

In addition, Bolivia, which was endorsed by the Latin American and Caribbean Group as its regional representative, and the Russian Federation as the representative of the Eastern European Group, will also comprise the delegation.

“Consultations were still ongoing among the Asian Group and African Group on who their representatives would be,” Natalegawa said.

As in previous years, Natalegawa said three experts and three representatives of non-governmental organisations are slated to address at the seminar.

He said they will include, among others, specialists on decolonisation in the Caribbean, as well as representatives of organisations active in constitutional public education, referendum issues and mediation.

Natalegawa said the representative of Chile stressed that the choice of individuals should reflect “the need for new ideas and approaches, especially with the Second International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism nearing its end.”

The chairperson said all elected and appointed officials of Non-Self-Governing Territories, administering Powers, United Nations specialised agencies, some regional organisations and other states are also invited to attend.

“Representatives of Non-Self-Governing Territories would have their costs borne by the United Nations,” he said.

Natalegawa said the committee intends to use “all available time” for informal consultations on its draft resolutions, including an omnibus resolution covering 11 Non-Self-Governing Territories.

Montserrat, Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, and the British and US Virgin Islands are among the remaining Non-Self-Governing Territories in the Caribbean.