Status of Gibraltar

Status of Gibraltar Gibraltar
Flag
Government
• Type	Parliamentary democracy within a constitutional monarchy
• Monarch	Charles III
• Governor	Sir David Steel
• Chief Minister	Fabian Picardo
• Density	5,000/km2 (12,949.9/sq mi)
	Population figures from the Government of Gibraltar.
Time zone	UTC+1
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2
ISO 3166 code	GI

Politics of Gibraltar
Constitution Constitution Order 1950 Constitution Order 1964 Constitution Order 1969 Constitution Order 2006 European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2019
The Crown Monarch Charles III
Government Governor David Steel Chief Minister Fabian Picardo Council of Ministers
Legislature Speaker Adolfo J. Canepa Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition
Judiciary Judiciary of Gibraltar Law of Gibraltar
Elections Elections Political parties Politicians Last election Next election
Other Disputed status of Gibraltar Sovereignty referendum, 1967 Sovereignty referendum, 2002 Gibraltar and Brexit Disputed status of the isthmus History of nationality Gibraltar passport Gibraltar identity card Visa policy Political development in modern Gibraltar
Gibraltar portal Other countries
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Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory, located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, is the subject of a territorial claim by Spain. It was captured in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714). The Spanish Crown formally ceded the territory in perpetuity to the British Crown in 1713, under Article X of the Treaty of Utrecht. Spain later attempted to recapture the territory during the thirteenth siege (1727) and the Great Siege (1779–1783). British sovereignty over Gibraltar was confirmed in later treaties signed in Seville (1729) and the Treaty of Paris (1783).

Reclamation of the territory became government policy under the dictatorial regime of Francisco Franco, and this policy has remained in place under successive governments following the Spanish transition to democracy. The Gibraltarians themselves reject any such claim and no political party or pressure group in Gibraltar supports union with Spain. In a referendum in 2002 the people of Gibraltar rejected a joint sovereignty proposal on which Spain and the United Kingdom were said to have reached "broad agreement". The British Government now refuses to discuss sovereignty without the consent of the Gibraltarians.

In 2000, a political declaration of unity was signed by the members of the Gibraltar Parliament; according to the Gibraltar government, "In essence the declaration stated that the people of Gibraltar will never compromise, give up or trade their sovereignty or their right to self-determination; that Gibraltar wants good, neighbourly, European relations with Spain; and that Gibraltar belongs to the people of Gibraltar and is neither Spain's to claim nor Britain's to give away."^[1]

Spain insists on a bilateral agreement with the UK over sovereignty, whereas the UK will only discuss sovereignty if Gibraltar is included in the discussions.

The United Nations understanding of the positions of each party is set out in their 2016 report. The UN currently lists Gibraltar as a Non-Self-Governing Territory.