BRITAIN does not regard Bermuda as a "non-self-governing" territory, Governor Sir John Vereker told visiting members of the United Nations Decolonisation Committee.

The Governor told the Special Mission on their visit to the island in March that he rarely exercised the powers vested in him by the Bermuda Constitution and that some of those powers had been delegated to the Bermuda Government.

The UN Decolonisation Committee classifies Bermuda as "non-self-governing" and that was the whole basis for their two visits.

Detail on the lunch meeting with the Governor was just one of the revelations in the Special Mission's report.

Among their deductions drawn from the sparsely attended public meetings, as well as talks with the Bermuda Independence Commission, the Premier and other MPs, was that Bermuda suffers from a "serious racial divide between the persons of African descent and those of European descent".

They also concluded that Bermudians had little knowledge of their political options under international law or of the international organisations the island could join right now.

The report states: "The Governor also expressed the view that the UK does not regard Bermuda as 'non-self-governing'. That point was questioned by several members of the delegation, who pointed to the relevant provisions of the Bermuda Constitution Order, which places significant power in the hands of the UK-appointed Governor, rather than the elected Government.

"The Governor emphasised that his powers, while extant and statutory, are not routinely exercised and, in a number of areas, have been delegated to the elected Government.

"It was the view of the Special Mission that such reserved powers are not consistent with a fully self-governing political status, as defined by international principles."

The Governor also told the Special Mission that the UK would not be offering the political options of free association or integration to the island.

On the issue of the racial divide, the UN report states: "That division is played out, in significant measure, in the support for opposing political parties, as well as in the support for or opposition to Independence".

In its conclusions, the report adds: "The racial division in the society was very apparent throughout the course of the discussions with the Bermudian community.

"The wounds caused by the historic legacy of segregation were very apparent, especially among many of the older generation of Bermudians of African descent who spoke at the public meetings. Many of them expressed the view that Independence would bring closure to the conditions of that period."

Some white Bermudians believed the island's stability relied partly on its link with the UK and that Independence might adversely affect the island's economy, the report went on.

"Significantly, several persons of both racial groups spoke of the need for those societal differences to be addressed and reconciled, so that the people of the territory could move forward together in whatever direction they choose.

"That group of Bermudians holds the key to national reconciliation, which would appear to be critical to the future of Bermuda, irrespective of its eventual political status."

The report said the Special Mission's aim had been to impart information to the people of Bermuda, as they had found "insufficient knowledge and awareness among the people of Bermuda and its political leadership of the role of international law in their process of political and constitutional development".