The Independence for St. Martin Foundation will be hosting a conference on independence under the theme, “Severing Strings” this Friday, March 31st 2017, from 7:00pm to 9:00pm at SoIL (Source of Inspirational Learning). Keynote speaker at the conference will be international consultant and United Nations Decolonization expert, Dr. Carlyle Corbin, who assisted St. Eustatius with its recent referendum.
The Caribbean has the largest concentration of non-self-governing territories in the world with over 20 such territories still maintaining one form of colonial ties or the other with their ertswhile European masters and the U.S.A. Six of these territories are under Dutch authority – Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Martin.
With the United Nations Third Decade for the Eradication of Colonies set to end in 2020, there is an urgent need to explore what the present realities are on these territories in terms of their quest for self-determination. This conference is being organized to do just that with regards to the islands mentioned above that fall under Dutch responsibility.
The conference is open to the general public.