Dec 08 – Joint Ministerial Council – Final Communiqué
The final communique issued at the end of this week’s meeting of the Joint Ministerial Council in London contained references to several issues of current concern to Gibraltar. Overall, the communique pledged the UK, the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies to work together in areas such as Prosperity, Security, Environment, Governance, Communities and International issues.
The communique stressed that, ‘While the UK, the Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies form one undivided Realm under the Crown, each territory is unique and has its own Constitution, its own form of government and its own laws. The peoples of all the territories have the right of self-determination.’ The JMC also emphasised that the UK will continue to support requests for the removal of the (Territories) from the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories.
Elsewhere, the JMC communique ‘underlined the UK’s commitment to upholding the security and sovereignty of the overseas territories and their territorial waters.’ Meanwhile, the territories committed themselves to ‘playing their part in the global effort to tackle bribery, fraud and money laundering.’ There was also an acknowledgement that important steps were being taken by Overseas Territories ‘to protect their rich and internationally important biodiversity and to raise awareness of the economic benefits of sound environmental management.’
Also of interest to Gibraltar was an acknowledgement of the importance of continuing European Union support for the Overseas Territories. The JMC welcomed the collaborative work between the UK, Territory governments and the UK Overseas Territories Association (UKOTA) – currently chaired by Gibraltar – which sets out a new relationship between the territories and the EU.
