New white paper welcome
The United Kingdom’s new white paper on the overseas territories maps out a reasonable framework for the UK-OT partnership, and it includes welcome assurances that could significantly benefit the Virgin Islands if they are accompanied by substantive action.
The 1999 white paper, “Partnership for Peace and Prosperity,” helped enable Constitutional advancement and other legislative reform here. The new one, “The Overseas Territories: Security, Success and Sustainability,” broadly outlines a way forward in a time of global economic hardship.
In the document, the UK pledges to increase its engagement with the 14 OTs and to ramp up its support in various areas, including good governance, financial management and economic planning.
These are all areas in which the VI could benefit, as long as none of its autonomy is rescinded — and we see nothing in the white paper to suggest a move in this direction.
For maximum benefits to accrue, however, the UK must be conscientiously guided by the document, which is rather heavy on rhetoric and light on quantifiable goals.
For the VI, potential benefits are varied:
• One of the paper’s few specific policy pronouncements, for example, is a pledge to increase training opportunities for public officers and members of the judiciary.
• The UK also promises to promote sustainability in the OTs. In the past, VI environmental initiatives have benefitted greatly from UK support, often through the Overseas Territories Environment Programme. New OTEP funding is currently on hold pending the establishment of a new system: Given the white paper’s promises, we have high hopes for a more robust means of helping to protect the OTs’ resources.
• The white paper also speaks of the UK’s commitment to the security of the OTs. In the Caribbean, one of the UK’s most visible contributions in this area has been its assistance in the fight against drug trafficking. Returning the UK naval presence in the region to its former level would be a good step toward fulfilling the white paper’s promises.
• Additionally, the paper announces plans to upgrade the Overseas Territories Consultative Council to a “joint ministerial council” that will work to implement the strategies in the document. This change should help strengthen the VI’s voice in the UK and further abroad.
Finally, we were particularly pleased that the paper also includes recognition of the various benefits the OTs provide to the UK, including environmental diversity, economic potential and strategic value.
These are only a few examples of the sound provisions in the document, which reflects input gathered at public consultations held in all the OTs. We trust that the white paper will serve as a helpful guide in the coming years as the VI moves, however slowly, toward its eventual independence.
In the coming weeks, we hope that all residents will familiarise themselves with the document, and that the government and Governor’s Office will continue to work together to make it widely available.
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