On August 22, Baku will host an international conference dedicated to the island of Bonaire, which remains under Dutch colonial rule, Report informs.
The event, titled "Bonaire's Path to Self-Determination at the UN General Assembly through Baku," is jointly organized by the Baku Initiative Group (BIG) and the Bonaire Movement for Human Rights and Change.
The conference will bring together representatives of the Bonaire people, who are fighting against colonialism and striving for freedom, as well as officials and dignitaries from Belize, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Saint Lucia, the United Kingdom, Mexico, the Netherlands, the United Nations, and other international and regional organizations. Human rights defenders, leaders of non-governmental organizations, experts, and researchers on decolonization will also participate in the event.
High-level attendees include the Special Representative of the Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Permanent Representative of Belize to the UN (New York), the UNICEF Advocate for Youth, the Ambassador for Youth Affairs of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and the Chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
The conference will discuss the struggle of the Bonaire people to break free from Dutch colonial rule, as well as efforts to bring the issue to the agenda of relevant international organizations and explore legal avenues for decolonization.
The event takes place at a crucial moment in Bonaire's history. Just weeks after the conference, several states plan to submit a draft resolution to the UN General Assembly to reinstate Bonaire on the list of territories to be decolonized. One of the main objectives of the conference is to garner international support for this resolution.
The gathering of freedom fighters in Azerbaijan on the eve of such a historic milestone for the Bonaire people confirms the country's emergence as one of the world's main centers for decolonization. This also serves as a clear example of the results of Azerbaijan's contributions to the decolonization process within the Non-Aligned Movement and its successful role as a locomotive in this regard.