Arrindell calls for right of return to apply to all displaced peoples

Rhoda Rebecca Arrindell, president of the St. Martin Association, told a conference at United Nations Headquarters in New York on Monday 28 September that the right of return should apply to all forcibly displaced peoples. She said decolonisation remains an unfinished political obligation and called for the United Nations principle of self-determination to be applied to all peoples.

The Baku Initiative Group organised the conference, titled “The Right of Return and Decolonization: Restoration of Delayed Historical Justice”, on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly. The event included panels on the right of return, decolonisation, international law, identity and historical memory.

Participants issued a joint appeal to UN Special Rapporteurs for continued promotion of safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable return. The appeal referred to communities in Western Azerbaijan, Bonaire, Aruba and St. Maarten, as well as Sikh, Congolese, Burundian and Rwandan communities.

Elgun Hajiyev, head of the Communication and Data Analytics Department of the Baku Initiative Group, said return processes should follow international law and human-rights standards. Participants also called for protection of records used to establish residence, ownership, inheritance and family connections, and for preservation of cultural, religious and historical heritage.