Below follows the SDGG's address to the United Nations Fourth Committee:

Good afternoon Mr Chairman and members of the Committee and thank you for the opportunity to address you all.

I appear before you today 35 years after the people of Gibraltar took part in a democratically held Referendum in 1967.

On that day, the question posed was whether the citizens of Gibraltar wished to pass under Spanish sovereignty or remain under British sovereignty, with institutions of self-government.

Of the 12,237 persons who voted (nearly 75% of the then population) only 44 persons voted in favour of the Spanish option. The rest of the overwhelming majority voted in favour of Gibraltar retaining its links with Britain. 

The people who made that decision did so in full knowledge of the consequences it might bring. And, unfortunately, they were proved right. 

Instead of accepting the democratically expressed wishes of the people of Gibraltar, Spain commenced a political siege that impeded the flow of food and other essential supplies into our country as it closed the only land frontier between us and them. A closure that led to the separation of entire families who were forced to live in different countries. 

Perhaps somewhat ironically, however, that period of hardship brought our people closer together and, to a large extent, helped forge the unique Gibraltarian identity.

At the very heart of that identity, of our way of being, is a steadfast and unwavering desire to decide our own future. We do not wish unnecessary confrontation with anyone. We do not seek to cause issues where there are none. But we will never ever cease in our fight for self-determination. 

Now, we are under no illusions of who we are. We are acutely aware of where we stand in the global stage. 

But is it not the Preamble to the Charter of the United Nations which seeks to affirm the equal rights of “nations large and small”?

Is it not the United Nations that has stated several times that all non-self-governing territories have the right to self-determination?

Consequently, however small Gibraltar might be, is it not the duty of this Committee to deal with the issue of Gibraltar in a meaningful and direct manner?

After all, we are more than 30 years into the so called ‘last decade of decolonisation’ proclaimed by the United Nations yet, as far as Gibraltar is concerned, this Committee has done almost nothing to deal with the issue.

His Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar and my own organisation have repeatedly asked this Committee what else Gibraltar needs to do in order to meet the United Nations’ criteria for removal from the list of colonies. Yet you have not even deigned to acknowledge our question, much less provide an answer.

If you do not know the answer, perhaps it is because you do not know Gibraltar well enough. Because you do not know of the level of self-governance that we enjoy. Or perhaps simply because you have not seen how much we have progressed from when Gibraltar was first discussed before this Committee.

I believe that Gibraltar has done enough for it to be removed from the United Nations list of colonies. But do not take my word for it. Form your own opinion about Gibraltar and establish the answers to your own questions by sending a visiting mission. 

I understand that you may not want to offend third parties, but the visit is important. It would allow you to see what Gibraltar is about and would, I am sure, convince you that Gibraltar has done more than enough to be delisted. And if we are wrong, you would at least be able to tell us so.

Yet no such visit has ever taken place. You will therefore forgive the people of Gibraltar for thinking that the United Nations does not care about us. But you can prove us wrong by sending a visiting mission to Gibraltar.

The people of Gibraltar are used to having to fight for everything we have. We are remarkably resilient and tenacious. So do not expect us to give up. We shall forever fight for our right to self-determination.

Thank you for your time.