Forty-ninth session
Agenda item 18
RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
The General Assembly,
Having examined 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,
1/
Recalling its resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960,
containing the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to
Colonial Countries and Peoples, and all its subsequent resolutions
concerning the implementation of the Declaration, most recently
resolution 48/52 of 10 December 1993, as well as the relevant
resolutions of the Security Council,
Recognizing that the eradication of colonialism is one
of the priorities of the Organization for the decade that began
in 1990,
Deeply conscious of the need to take, speedily, measures
to eliminate the last vestiges of colonialism by the year 2000,
as called for in its resolution 43/47 of 22 November 1988,
Reiterating its conviction of the need for the elimination
of colonialism, as well as of the need for the total eradication
of racial discrimination and violations of basic human rights,
Welcoming the accession to independence of Palau on 1 October
1994,
Noting with satisfaction the achievements of the Special
Committee in contributing to the effective and complete implementation
of the Declaration and other relevant resolutions of the United
Nations on decolonization,
Stressing the importance of the participation of the administering
Powers in the work of the Special Committee,
Also noting with satisfaction the cooperation and active
participation of some administering Powers in the work of the
Special Committee, as well as their continued readiness to receive
United Nations visiting missions in the Territories under their
administration,
Noting with concern the negative impact which the non-participation
of certain administering Powers has had on the work of the Special
Committee, depriving it of an important source of information
on the Territories under their administration,
Aware of the pressing need of newly independent and emerging
States for assistance from the United Nations and its system of
organizations in the economic, social and other fields,
Aware also of the pressing need of the remaining Non-Self-Governing
Territories, including particularly the small island Territories,
for economic, social and other assistance from the United Nations
and the organizations within its system,
1. Reaffirms its resolution 1514 (XV) and all other resolutions
on decolonization, including its resolution 43/47, in which it
declared the decade that began in 1990 as the International Decade
for the Eradication of Colonialism, and calls upon the administering
Powers, in accordance with those resolutions, to take all necessary
steps to enable the peoples of the Territories concerned to exercise
fully as soon as possible their right to self-determination and
independence;
2. Affirms once again that the continuation of colonialism
in any form or manifestation - including racism and economic exploitation
- is incompatible with the Charter of the United Nations, the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights 2/ and the Declaration on
the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples;
3. Reaffirms its determination to continue to take all
steps necessary to bring about the complete and speedy eradication
of colonialism and the faithful observance by all States of the
relevant provisions of the Charter, the Declaration on the Granting
of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples and the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights;
4. Affirms once again its support for the aspirations of
the peoples under colonial rule to exercise their right to self-determination
and independence;
5. Approves 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
covering its work during 1994, including the programme of work
envisaged for 1995; 3/
6. Calls upon all States, in particular the administering
Powers, as well as the specialized agencies and other organizations
of the United Nations system, to give effect within their respective
spheres of competence to the recommendations of the Special Committee
for the implementation of the Declaration and other relevant resolutions
of the United Nations;
7. Calls upon the administering Powers to ensure that no
activity of foreign economic and other interests in the Non-Self-Governing
Territories under their administration hinders the peoples of
those Territories from exercising their right to self-determination
and independence;
8. Also calls upon the administering Powers to terminate
military activities in the Territories under their administration
and to eliminate military bases there in compliance with the relevant
resolutions of the General Assembly, and urges them not to involve
those Territories in any offensive acts or interference against
other States;
9. Urges all States, directly and through their action
in the specialized agencies and other organizations of the United
Nations system, to provide moral and material assistance to the
peoples of colonial Territories, and requests that the administering
Powers, in consultation with the Governments of the Territories
under their administration, take steps to enlist and make effective
use of all possible assistance, on both a bilateral and a multilateral
basis, in the strengthening of the economies of those Territories;
10. Requests the Special Committee to continue to seek
suitable means for the immediate and full implementation of the
Declaration and to carry out those actions approved by the General
Assembly regarding the International Decade for the Eradication
of Colonialism in all Territories that have not yet exercised
their right to self-determination and independence, and in particular:
(a) To formulate specific proposals for the elimination of the remaining manifestations of colonialism and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its fiftieth session;
(b) To make concrete suggestions which could assist the Security Council in considering appropriate measures under the Charter with regard to developments in colonial Territories that are likely to threaten international peace and security;
(c) To continue to examine the implementation by Member States of resolution 1514 (XV) and other relevant resolutions on decolonization;
(d) To continue to pay special attention to the small Territories, in particular through the dispatch of regular visiting missions, and to recommend to the General Assembly the most suitable steps to be taken to enable the populations of those Territories to exercise their right to self- determination and independence;
(e) To take all necessary steps to enlist world-wide support among Governments, as well as national and international organizations, for the achievement of the objectives of the Declaration and the implementation of the relevant resolutions of the United Nations;
11. Calls upon the administering Powers to continue
to cooperate with the Special Committee in the discharge of its
mandate and to receive visiting missions to the Territories to
secure first-hand information and ascertain the wishes and aspirations
of their inhabitants;
12. Also calls upon the administering Powers that have
not participated in the work of the Special Committee to do so
at its 1995 session;
13. Decides that the Special Committee shall carry out,
during its 1995 session, a mid-term review of the Plan of Action
for the International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism
4/ in the context of the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary
of the United Nations;
14. Requests the Secretary-General, the specialized agencies
and other organizations of the United Nations system to provide
economic, social and other assistance to the Non-Self-Governing
Territories and to continue to do so, as appropriate, after they
exercise their right to self-determination and independence;
15. Requests the Secretary-General to provide the Special
Committee with the facilities and services required for the implementation
of the present resolution, as well as of the other resolutions
and decisions on decolonization adopted by the General Assembly
and the Special Committee.
91st plenary meeting
16 December 1994
____________
1/ A/49/23, Parts I-VIII.
2/ Resolution 217 A (III).
3/ A/49/23, Part I, sect. J.
4/ See A/46/634/Rev.1 and Corr.1 .