BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS INDEPENDENCE DISCUSSION

BY Staff Writer

Never far from the centre of discussion, especially in recent years, the issue of independence for the British Virgin Islands is trending again in the territory’s political discourse.

Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley has been addressing the issue, most recently in an address for the BVI’s Emancipation celebration - itself a calendar platform for pronouncements on the territory’s constitutional status and future.

However, he has sought to make a distinction between independence from the United Kingdom and self-determination.

“Some in the public have misinterpreted this as taking the BVI to independence without a conversation or the involvement of the people,” he stated, stressing that “This is simply not true.”

According to the BVI Premier, who currently chairs the United Kingdom Overseas Territories Association(UKOTA), any effort to transition the BVI from its current constitutional status as a British Overseas Territory (BOT) will first go through an exhaustive process of public consultation culminating in a referendum.

But he castigated persons he felt doubted the BVI’s ability to manage its affairs outside British administrative oversight.

“They believe that other people in the world should manage our affairs for us, perhaps because we are not smart enough, or we lack enough moral integrity, or we’re not civilised enough to manage our own affairs? Why do we feel so inferior when everything in our story says that we have achieved so much with so little assistance from our administering power?”

The BVI is currently undertaking a constitutional review process on its relationship with the UK. That follows a 2021 UK-commissioned inquiry which highlighted a range of severe shortcomings in the territory’s administrative and governance processes and made a series of far-reaching recommendations. Implementing those within the specified timeframe has been a point of contention between the BVI and UK governments. Among the main legislative changes are laws impacting the territory’s lucrative offshore financial sector, especially accessibility of public registers of beneficial ownership of companies registered in the territory.

Regarding the ongoing constitutional review, Premier Wheatley has characterised the BVI’s current status as a relic of colonialism. “The Virgin Islands is a colony of the United Kingdom. The word ‘territory’ seems more benign, but we are a colony. What should we say about colonialism? Firstly, let us say, without hesitation, without fear of contradiction, that colonialism is wrong,” he argued.

A 2024 UN Decolonisation Committee report on the BVI concluded that full internal self-government should be granted to the BVI but emphasised that a public education campaign on self-determination should be launched as a prerequisite.

That UN report further stated that “more work is needed within communities and among the people, their political leaders and the administering power to build mutual trust and confidence.”

It also linked any move towards independence with a national education programme on the issue, holding a referendum, setting a timeline to achieve independence, and having comprehensive negotiations with the UK for which it offered to provide a mediator.

The BVI Constitutional Review Commission has itself recommended establishing a decolonisation advisory to guide the process locally.

Meanwhile, the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) in which the BVI is an associate member, earlier this year issued a statemeny extending “its firm support and solidarity to the Government and people of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) as they continue their journey toward achieving a full measure of self-government and realizing their aspirations for constitutional advancement and political self-determination.”

That policy statement in May also said “the OECS commends the BVI on the successful completion of the most comprehensive governance reform programme in its history—an unequivocal demonstration of its commitment to good governance, transparency, accountability, and democratic values.” It described the reform agenda as “not only a significant domestic milestone but also a model of responsive leadership that deserves international recognition.”