The virtual seminar was hosted by the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination at the prestigious Princeton University on 23 October 2020, on the topic “The UN at 75 – the Role of the Right of Self-Determination”. To mark UN Day this year, the event examined the history of self-determination, including its relationship to decolonization and to international law, its development to encompass new actors and the emergence of new issues relevant to self-determination today.

Her Excellency Keisha A. McGuire, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Grenada to the United Nations and current Chair of the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization (C-24), was invited to discuss, inter alia, the UN’s role in the decolonization process, the significance of the right to self-determination in shaping the process, and the ongoing role of the UN in this respect. Ambassador McGuire highlighted that self-determination is one area in which the Organization has played a key role and made significant achievements over the decades, and that, as a whole, decolonization remains one of the main historic achievements of the United Nations to date.

As the Chair of the C-24, she reiterated the Committee’s commitment to taking an action-oriented approach to decolonisation. In addition, she underscored that the C-24 could achieve concrete outcomes by strengthening dialogue and cooperation among all stakeholders, in particular, the Non-Self-Governing Territories and the administering Powers, and by continuing to devise creative and practical proposals, on a case-by-case basis.

The event took place in the presence of His Serene Highness Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein, who opened the session with his remarks.