Azerbaijan Urges Full And Fair Legal, Economic, And Cultural Decolonization Of Guadeloupe

(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 25 . The main objective of the conference is to discuss the legal, economic, social, and cultural aspects of Guadeloupe's continued colonization in the 21st century, as well as ways to accelerate the decolonization process in accordance with international law, Executive Director of the Baku Initiative Group Abbas Abbasov said during the opening ceremony of the international conference titled "Towards the Decolonization of Guadeloupe! Challenges and Perspectives", Trend reports.

The executive director emphasized that the right of colonized peoples to self-determination is enshrined as a fundamental principle of international law.

"From a legal and political perspective, the transformation of Guadeloupe into a French department does not signify the end of colonialism, but rather its reconfiguration into a new form. Through this legal maneuver, France removed Guadeloupe from the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories slated for decolonization. The economic dependency and social inequality observed in Guadeloupe are direct consequences of French colonial policies," he explained.

Abbasov added that the unemployment rate in Guadeloupe, ranging between 18–20 percent, is three times higher than that of mainland France.

"Approximately 70 percent of Guadeloupe's GDP is formed through state support and subsidies, which deliberately aims to maintain the island in economic dependency," he mentioned.

Furthermore, he noted that social research in the cultural sphere shows that the language, history, and spiritual values of the Guadeloupean people have been weakened as a result of assimilation policies.

"Efforts to protect and sustainably develop Guadeloupe's tangible and intangible cultural heritage under UNESCO's auspices have yet to take on a broad and structured character. Existing initiatives are mostly local in scale and lack sufficient coordination," Abbasov also said.

The Baku Initiative Group official stressed that the Baku Initiative Group does not accept the presence of new forms of colonialism in today's world and underlines the necessity of ensuring Guadeloupe's full and fair decolonization on legal, economic, and cultural levels.

"Based on the norms and principles of international law, we'll support the Guadeloupean people's right to self-determination, their socio-economic development, and cultural revival," he concluded.

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