The General Assembly,
Having examined the chapter of the report of the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples relating to the dissemination of information on decolonization and publicity for the work of the United Nations in the field of decolonization,
Recalling its resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960, containing the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, and other resolutions and decisions of the United Nations concerning the dissemination of information on decolonization, in particular General Assembly resolution 46/72 of 11 December 1991,
Reiterating the importance of publicity as an instrument for furthering the aims of the Declaration and mindful of the role of world public opinion in effectively assisting the peoples of the colonial Territories to achieve self-determination and independence,
Noting that while censorship laws have been repealed, existing legislation and other measures still curtail the freedom of the press in South Africa,
Aware of the importance of non-governmental organizations in the dissemination of information on decolonization,
1. Approves the chapter of the report of the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples relating to the dissemination of information on decolonization and publicity for the work of the United Nations in the field of decolonization;
2. Considers it important for the United Nations to continue to play an active role in the process of decolonization and to intensify its efforts to ensure the widest possible dissemination of information on decolonization, with a view to further mobilizing international public opinion in support of complete decolonization by the year 2000;
3. Requests the Secretary-General, taking into account the suggestions of the Special Committee, to continue to take concrete measures through all the media at his disposal, including publications, radio and television, to give widespread and continuous publicity to the work of the United Nations in the field of decolonization and, inter alia:
(a) To continue, in consultation with the Special Committee, to collect, prepare and disseminate basic material, studies and articles relating to the problems of decolonization and, in particular, to continue to publish the periodical Objective: Justice and other publications, special articles and studies, including the Decolonization series, and to increase the information on all the Territories under consideration by the Special Committee, selecting appropriate material for wider dissemination by reprints in various languages;
(b) To seek the full cooperation of the administering Powers in the discharge of the tasks referred to above;
(c) To intensify the decolonization-oriented activities of all United Nations information centres;
(d) To maintain a working relationship with the Organization of African Unity and appropriate regional and intergovernmental organizations, particularly in the Pacific and Caribbean regions, by holding periodic consultations and exchanging information;
(e) To solicit, in consultation with United Nations information centres, assistance in the dissemination of information on decolonization from non-governmental organizations;
(f) To continue to produce comprehensive press releases for all meetings of the Special Committee and its subsidiary bodies;
(g) To ensure that the necessary facilities and services to that end are made available;
(h) To report to the Special Committee on measures taken in the implementation of the present resolution;
4. Requests all States, in particular the administering Powers, as well as the specialized agencies and other organizations of the United Nations system and non-governmental organizations with a special interest in decolonization, to undertake or intensify, in cooperation with the Secretary-General and within their respective spheres of competence, the large-scale dissemination of information referred to in paragraph 2 above;
5. Requests the Special Committee to follow the implementation of the present resolution and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its forty-eighth session.
72nd plenary meeting
25 November 1992
