Spain tells UN Gibraltar remains a colonial situation affecting its territorial integrity

Spain has told the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonisation that Gibraltar remains a colonial situation which disrupts its territorial integrity.

Addressing the Committee of 24 in New York, Spain’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Hector Jose Gomez Hernandez, said the principle of territorial integrity was enshrined in the United Nations Charter and remained central to Spain’s position on Gibraltar.

He said the history of Gibraltar was a long one, beginning with the military conquest of the territory by an Anglo-Dutch fleet and the expulsion of what he described as its indigenous population.

Spain’s representative said the waters and airspace around Gibraltar had never been ceded, adding that Spain considered these to have been taken illegally in the nineteenth century.

Mr Gomez Hernandez said Gibraltar had been drawn into a complicated legal situation by Brexit, but said Spain had done everything possible to mitigate its effects on the surrounding area.

He said the agreement reached between the European Union and the United Kingdom on Gibraltar safeguarded the respective positions on sovereignty. He added that it would also protect the prosperity of residents in the area.

Mr Gomez Hernandez urged the United Kingdom to return to bilateral negotiations with Spain on sovereignty, saying this was in keeping with the principles and spirit of the United Nations Charter.