The Diplomat
The Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo, said yesterday before the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United Nations (C-24) that Spain “gave away Gibraltar 300 years ago in perpetuity by binding, international Treaty” and, therefore, “there is no legal or political right to ask for Gibraltar back now”. He also warned that the future of the Rock belongs to the Gibraltarians, “and if anyone doesn’t like it, they can lump it.”
Twelve years after his first speech before the Committee, Picardo -accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Joseph Garcia- once again defended in New York the “inalienable and indisputable” right of the Rock to self-determination, a “universal right” based “on the principles of international law”, which “is not a privilege reserved for the large and the mighty” and which is “applicable to the people of Gibraltar as it is to any other Non-Self[1]Governing Territory falling within Chapter XI of the UN Chart.”
In a particularly elevated tone, Picardo even denied Spain’s historical legitimacy to claim Gibraltar. “Spain gave away Gibraltar 300 years ago in perpetuity by binding, international Treaty” and, as such, “there is no legal or political right to ask for Gibraltar back now,” he proclaimed. “Just because a third party now asserts a bare claim to our territory, this does not mean that there is a ‘sovereignty dispute’ in relation to Gibraltar,” he warned. “There is no outstanding dispute. There is only the inalienable right of the people of Gibraltar to decide the future of our territory,” he said.
Therefore, Picardo insisted that it should be “exclusively” the Gibraltarians who “decide Gibraltar’s future” because “this is our inalienable right under international law, and this Committee should acknowledge this and deal with it.” “Gibraltar belongs to the Gibraltarians. Full stop. And if anyone doesn’t like it, they can lump it,” he said.
Fabian Picardo also alluded to “the complexities of the negotiations for a treaty between the United Kingdom and the European Union” and said that Gibraltar’s desire is to reach an agreement that allows “the most fluid movement of people and goods between us and the EU and Spain in a manner that delivers massive mutual benefit, securing our economic stability and growth and spreads prosperity to the people of the region around us.” “Brilliant teams of tenacious and committed officials from the EU Commission, the United Kingdom, Spain and Gibraltar have worked for more than 20 months to seek to deliver a treaty that will enable us all to win and none to loose,” he stressed.
However, he warned, Gibraltar’s objective is that the outcome of the negotiations is also “a treaty that respects our past” and that “does not compromise one iota of our sovereignty”, because “our homeland is not, nor will it ever be, a bargaining chip on any negotiating table.” “As long as we are in Government, there will be no concessions on our sovereignty,” he asserted.
