Richard Buttigieg, the Chairman of the SDGG, also delivered a speech today the United Nations Committee of 24.

Mr Buttigieg said:

Good afternoon Madame Chair and members of the Committee.

I thank you for the opportunity to address you all.

I appear before you today as the Chairperson of the Self Determination for Gibraltar Group. As our name suggests, we are a group that stands for the right of the people of Gibraltar to choose their own future.

The Kingdom of Spain argues that we should not have that right to self-determination and maintain an outdated and anachronistic claim over the sovereignty of our land.

Why does the United Nations play lip service to such a stance?

We are now more than 30 years into the so called ‘last decade of decolonisation’ proclaimed by the United Nations. Yet, Gibraltar still finds itself having to appear before forums such as this one, year after year, to advocate its right to self-determination and to seek its removal from the United Nations’ list of colonies.

We believe we should not be on that list. The Gibraltar 2006 Constitution provides us with a level of self-governance that is not akin to that of a colony. If you are not sure about this, send a visiting mission and come and see for yourselves. If we have not done enough, tell us what else must be done for the Committee to recommend our removal.

What you should not continue to do is ignore us whilst advocating that you wish to see the end of colonisation. You must have the courage of your convictions and act decisively.

But, please, do not let anything of what I am saying obscure your views of who we are in Gibraltar.

We want good neighbourly relationships with Spain. We have never wished for anything else. We most certainly do not want to antagonise our neighbours.

During the Covid crisis, when our economy was being ravaged like everyone else’s, Gibraltar provided free vaccines to all legally registered Spanish cross frontier workers and paid full salaries to all of them on furlough. As a community we also made significant charitable donations of PPE and medical supplies to the Spanish hospital across the border.

These actions are hardly those of a bad neighbour.

But the Government of Spain (whichever it might be) must not confuse generosity and kindness with weakness. The Government of Spain must understand that when it comes to the defence of our homeland, our rights, and especially our sovereignty, the people of Gibraltar are steadfast in our resolve.

We are clear that we may need to make some difficult choices in the near future. Choices that perhaps we would have preferred not to have been forced to make, but we shall make them freely and democratically. We will not stand for compulsion, intimidation, or pressure of any kind.

The spirit of the Gibraltarian is as hard as the Rock of Gibraltar itself. It cannot and will not be broken.

The Gibraltarian is used to having to fight for everything it has. We are a strong and tenacious people. We have faced and overcome huge adversities in the past and are willing to face whatever may come in order to defend our rights.

We will not be silenced. We will not be bullied. We shall never give up.