On the 7th October, the Chief Minister, the Hon Fabian Picardo KC MP, delivered a powerful and passionate address before the United Nations Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonisation) at the UN Headquarters in New York.
Speaking before the newly appointed Chair of the Committee, H.E. Mr José Alberto Bríz Gutiérrez of Guatemala, the Chief Minister congratulated him on his election and expressed Gibraltar’s hope of forging a constructive working relationship to deepen the Committee’s understanding ofGibraltar’s position.
In a speech marked by conviction and clarity, Mr Picardo reaffirmed Gibraltar’s inalienable right to self-determination, describing it as “non-negotiable, unconditional, and not subject to the veto of any state.” He reminded delegates that this right is enshrined in Articles 1 and 55 of the United Nations Charter and reaffirmed in Resolution 1514, which applies directly to the peoples of nonself-governing territories.
The Chief Minister criticised the continued inaction of the Fourth Committee and the Committee of 24 in progressing Gibraltar’s delisting, despite the territory’s full self-government under its 2006 Constitution: “You fail to recommend to the General Assembly our delisting… It is as if this Committee fails to listen. Fails to see us. Well, hear us now. See us now,” he declared.
Mr Picardo set out Gibraltar’s modern constitutional and democratic development, its elected institutions, and its capacity to determine its own political, economic, social, and cultural affairs. He also highlighted the historic, sovereignty-neutral agreement reached on 11 June 2025 between Gibraltar, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and Spain, an accord he described as “a triumph of diplomacy that removes physical barriers and builds bridges while respecting our sovereignty and our identity.”
The Chief Minister welcomed the recent reference by His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain to the population of Gibraltar in his address to the UN General Assembly, calling it “a welcome shift in tone” and “an acknowledgment of our role as legitimate stakeholders in shaping our future.”
At the same time, he strongly rejected Spain’s continued reliance on outdated UN resolutions adopted at the instigation of the Franco regime, calling them “politically toxic for modern Spain and legally worthless.” He reminded the Committee that Spain ceded Gibraltar “in perpetuity” under the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713, adding that “no UN resolution, no diplomatic pressure, and no historical grievance can override our unquestionable legal right to self-determination.”
Concluding his address, Mr Picardo urged the Committee to finally act: “The time has come for this Committee to recognise that the only legitimate path to Gibraltar’s delisting is one that reflects the freely and democratically expressed wishes of the Gibraltarians. Decolonisation is not about cartography, it is about consent. Not about sovereignty imposed, but sovereignty chosen.”
Chief Minister’s address to the United Nations Special Political & Decolonization Committee, General Assembly
Mr Chairman, Señor Presidente,
Permítame felicitarle por su nombramiento como Presidente de este comite.
I hope that, under your leadership, we can forge a constructive working relationship and improve the Committee’s awareness of the position of the people of Gibraltar.
I have travelled from Gibraltar to address you again this year as the elected voice of a proud, resilient, and democratic people.
The people of Gibraltar.
A separate and distinct people.
We have appeared before this Committee for the past 33 years.
We come, not to ask you for any favours.
Not to beg for recognition.
The Charter does not require us to do that.
We are here to demand recognition of what is ours by right.
The right to self-determination.
A right enshrined in Articles 1 and 55 of the UN Charter.
A right reaffirmed in Resolution 1514 specifically in relation to the peoples of non-self governing countries.
A right that is non-negotiable.
Unconditional.
Not subject to the veto of any state.
And certainly not suspended because of any, historically ill-founded, sovereignty claims.
We are listed as a Non-Self-Governing Territory before the Committee of 24.
But we are not actually governed by others.
We govern ourselves.
We elect our leaders.
We pass our laws.
We shape our destiny.
And yet, year after year, this Committee and the Committee of 24 fail to act.
You fail to recommend to the General Assembly our delisting from the list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.
It is as if this Committee fails to listen.
Fails to see us.
Well, hear us now.
See us now.
See how we are developing and growing.
See how we have emerged as a self-governing people in our own land.
In 2006, we adopted a modern Constitution that provides for our full self-government.
Our Constitution is founded on the principle that the people of Gibraltar freely and democratically determine their own political, economic, social and cultural development.
An echo of General Assembly Resolutions 1514 and 2625.
We submitted to you our 2006 Constitution, but you do not tell us if it meets or fails your criteria for delisting.
In 2016, we voted overwhelmingly to remain in the European Union.
And on 11 June 2025, we reached a historic agreement with the United Kingdom, the European Union, and Spain to govern our future relationship with the EU.
A sovereignty-neutral framework that respects our sovereignty and our identity.
An agreement that provides us unimpeded access into the EU Schengen area and Customs Union.
This agreement is a triumph of diplomacy.
It removes physical barriers.
But it also builds bridges.
It delivers mutual benefit for Gibraltarians and the people of the region around us.
And most importantly, it respects the choices of the people of Gibraltar.
His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain, in his address to the General Assembly, just two weeks ago, referred not only to the population of the Campo de Gibraltar, but also, importantly, to that of Gibraltar as beneficiaries of the agreement.
That reference marks a welcome shift in tone.
One that acknowledges our role as legitimate stakeholders in shaping our future.
We appreciate that historic acknowledgment.
It affirms what we have always said.
That genuine cooperation across borders must be built on mutual respect and recognition, not on denial or erasure.
Yet, Spain has continued to invoke resolutions which were adopted more than half a century ago.
Sixty years ago.
Resolutions adopted here in the 1960s at the instigation of what the current Spanish government call a “fascist” regime.
As a fruit of the murderous Franco regime, those resolutions are politically toxic for modern Spain.
It is embarrassing to hear the representative of a modern, progressive Spain place reliance on them.
And, in any event, these resolutions are legally worthless.
They do not override Resolution 1514.
They do not override Resolution 2625.
And they do not override the will of the Gibraltarians.
Let me say it plainly: Spain ceded Gibraltar in perpetuity in 1713.
That is a fact.
That is not a matter of interpretation.
It is a fact.
It is in black and white in the Treaty of Utrecht.
And it is the reality that the C24 would see if they sent a visiting mission.
No resolution of this Assembly can change it.
No diplomatic pressure can erase it.
And no historical grievance can override our unquestionable legal right to self-determination.
The Committee of 24’s own Working Papers have acknowledged our democratic development and our repeated expressions of free will.
Yet despite this, Gibraltar remains listed as a Non-Self-Governing Territory.
Why?
Because this Committee and the C-24 have failed to act.
You have not expressed a view on our current Constitution, despite our request that you should do so.
You have not engaged with us to help us achieve delisting.
You are failing to discharge your mandate.
And in that failure, this Committee risks becoming irrelevant to Gibraltar and our place in the modern world.
Obsolete.
No longer fit for purpose.
Because, Mr Chairman, the time has come for this Committee to recognise that the only legitimate path to Gibraltar’s delisting is one that reflects the freely and democratically expressed wishes of the Gibraltarians.
Nothing else.
And let me be clear.
We are not anti-Spanish.
We embrace cooperation with our Spanish neighbours.
But we will not be subsumed.
We will not be annexed.
We will not be silenced.
And our legal rights are unaffected by this Committee’s failure to act.
We will not stop in our development and the attainment of our goals.
I therefore urge this Committee to break its silence.
Confirm we are no longer a nation that should remain listed as non-self-governing.
Take steps to delist us.
Fulfil your mandate in that way or make alternative constructive proposals to accelerate our delisting.
The time has come for you to act, Mr Chairman.
Time to recognize that decolonization is not about cartography. It is about consent.
Not about sovereignty imposed, but sovereignty chosen.
We are 34,000 people on less than 10 square kilometres of land.
But we are not too small to matter.
We are not weak in our resolve.
We are not invisible to the world.
We are the Gibraltarians.
And we will never accept any future that is imposed upon us.
We will never accept any future being imposed on our land.
We will only accept the future we choose.
We will freely determine that future for ourselves.
We are self-governing.
It is nonsense to continue to describe us as ‘non-self-governing’.
Our message is, therefore, as simple, and as clear, as that.
Thank you.
