A/38/PV.85 General Assembly

A study 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 on its work during its last session [A/38/23] shows that the praiseworthy efforts to achieve the objectives of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples [resolution 1514 (XV)] have continued unremit- tingly in spite of all the delaying tactics and obstacles which the forces opposed to the emancipation of peoples have resorted to, for reasons that have not been admitted but are obvious to everyone, thus obstructing the smooth implementation of the resolutions and decisions of the Organization relating to the Declaration. 2. This year we have welcomed the accession to inde- pendence of Saint Christopher and Nevis, which has just joined the Organization, and we hope, on 31 December, to welcome Brunei with the same pleasure as one of the territories enjoying full sovereignty and independence. 3. We take this opportunity to pay a tribute to the determination of the peoples under colonial domination, which with their respective liberation movements are conducting a tireless struggle at great sacrifice to fulfil their aspirations for freedom, dignity and independence. We should like to take this opportunity also to express our great appreciation to Mr. Koroma, of Sierra Leone, Chairman of the Special Committee, and to the members of that Committee, who have spared no effort to defend and support the just causes of the peoples still under colonial domination. Furthermore, we must not forget the Secretary-General and all the Secretariat staff asso- ciated, closely or from afar, with the work of the Special Committee. Without their assistance the Committee would have been unable to carry out its tasks. 4. A quick review of the world situation shows that 23 years after the adoption of the pecla~ation, notwit~­ standing undeniable successes achIeved m the decolom- zation process, the crises and stalemates with regard to the major international problems are to a great extent the more or less direct consequences of colonialism. The situation in southern Africa, in particular Namibia, in north-west Africa, in particular Western Sahara,in the NEW YORK Falkland Islands (Malvinas) and other islands, in the Pacific, of no less concern and in other regions of the world are clearly manifestations of problems that have yet to be solved. There is still resistance to the achieve- ment of the objectives of the Declaration, and in certain Territories the peoples are still fighting for the fulfil- ment of their legitimate aspirations, their right to self- determination and independence. 5. Namibia remains, quite rightly, one of our primary concerns. We have had occasion to recall at the current session [23rd and 74th meetings] the position of the Democratic Republic of Madagascar on this problem and especially the need for a united Namibia to accede to independence as soon as possible, in conformity with Security Council resolutions 385 (1976), 435 (1978) and 439 (1978); for recognition of the legal and political responsibility of the United Nations concerning that Territory and in particular to bring it to sovereignty and independence; for unconditional support for the armed struggle of the Namibian people, under the leadership of the South West Africa People's Organization [SWAPO], its sole authentic representative; for the unconditional implementation of the United Nations plan for Namibia, endorsed in resolution 435 (1978); for categorical rejec- tion of the attempts to link the implementation of this plan to other questions not related to the Namibian problem, which, we would recall, is a question of de- colonization; and, finally, for the adoption of measures under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations to force South Africa to comply with the resolutions and decisions of the United Nations. 6. The search for a peaceful solution to the question of Namibia is undoubtedly one of the major and most urgent problems of our time, but it d?es not cause us t? lose sight of the fact that there are stIll almost 20 Tern- tories whose inhabitants are impatiently awaiting the effective implementation of the Declaration. 7. We shall not revert to the situation of Western Sahara, except to reaffirm that a definitive, equitable solution with regard to the decolonization of that Terri- tory depends on the success of the negotiations between the parties to the conflict, namely, Morocco and the Frente POLISARIO,1 and that the withdrawal of the Moroccan troops and administration from Sahar~n ter- ritory is the only way to guarantee a free, authentIc and democratic referendum. 8. As regards the other small Territories, we r~affi.rm the inalienable rights of all peoples to self-determmatIon and independence, without distinctions as to the location, demographic composition or the economic development of their Territory. 9. We remain convinced that foreign economic and other activities, the permanent presence of military bases in certain Non-Self-Governing Territories, military and nuclear co-operation with the racist regime and apartheid are all obstacles to the implementation of the Declaration. 10. History has taught us that the decolonization policy of certain administering Powers has not varied appre- ciably. That policy has always been to keep control over representativ~ did not say anything about the responsi- bility of the American Administration for the intransi- gence of the racist regime of Pretoria and the fact that it links the independence of Namibia to conditions that serve the narrow and selfish strategic interests of the United States. I think the statement I have just made is sufficient response to the allegations of the representa- tive of the United States. 94. Mr. OLEANDROV (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) (interpretation from Russian): The twenty- third anniversary of the General Assembly's adoption of the historic Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peo~')les, which triumphantly proclaimed the need for an imm~~diateand unconditional end to colonialism in all its forms and manifestations, falls in a few days' time. A clear goal was set before the national liberation movements of the peoples: to bring i 129. The complaint by Puerto Rican patriots regarding the murder of young members of the independence movement in the Cerro Maravilla, in San Juan, by the colonialist Government's agents of repression has not only been fully corroborated, but the pro-Yankee Gov- ernor himself, Carlos Romero Barcel6, is facing im- peachment proceedings demanded by all opposition parties, even by the amanuensis which the delegation which just attempted to interrupt me brought to speak at the previous session and presented to us as the Mayor of San Juan, Mr. Hermin Padilla. Such distinguished Puerto Ricans as Mr. Severo Colberg, the President of the Chamber of Deputies, and Mrs. Victoria Muiioz Mendoza, the daughter of former Governor Luis Muiioz Marin, have spoken unequivocally against the militariza- tion of Puerto Rico and Romero Barcel6's attempts to turn it into a component of the United States military- industrial complex. 130. The representatives of empire continue, even today, up to this very hour, with their stubborn refusal to recognize the colonial situation of Puerto Rico, despite the resolutions of the Special Committee, as contained in the report, which uphold its inalienable right to self- determination and independence. But more and more people, even in the United States Congress itself and among more progressive elements of that country, differ from the Administration's leading men and question the moral and legal nature of the present political status of that Caribbean island. 131. We are convinced that in the case of Puerto Rico, as in the cases already mentioned and which are also referred to in the report, justice will win, sooner rather than later, and that the lone star of Puerto Rico will shine, as it should, among the independent republics of our America. . 132. Mr. CHORNY (Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Re- public) (interpretation from Russian): In the range of efforts by the United Nations to serve the cause of peace, an important place belongs to the efforts to eliminate the vestiges of colonialism that remain in the world. One of the Organization's most notable achievements in this field was the adoption at the fifteenth session of the General Assembly, on the initiative of the Soviet Union, of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. The Declaration gave a power- ful impetus to the world-wide movement for the elimina- tion of the colonial system of imperialism. It declared colonialism a crime and recognized the legitimacy of the struggle of peoples against colonialism and racism and demanded that an end be put immediately and uncon- ditionally t'o.this disgraceful legacy of the past. 133. The consistent policy of the Soviet Union and the other socialist countries, directed to strengthening peace and mutual understanding among peoples, an integral solution~., in a desperate attempt to disregard t ~ .. ~ gen- uine liberation movements and to impose cynical solu- tions whose end results would be puppet Governments serving the interests of the imperialist States and depend- ent on those States. 204. The commitment of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya to the cause of liberation and decoloni- zation need not be emphasized here. That commitment is founded on the conviction of the Libyan people that its freedom will not be complete as long as there are peoples languishing under colonialism and racism and denied their fundamental rights. My country supports the struggle of colonized peoples. It will continue to support those peoples through all moral and material means until they are all liberated, until they all achieve their full rights and until the era of colonialism is ended for ever. 205. In conclusion, my delegation wishes to commer the Special Committee on the Situation with regard ..\) the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of a~ a sort of Christmas present. These fairytales are pre- sented quite shamelessly from this rostrum and addressed to the representatives of dozens of countries which are former colonies of the United Kingdom and whose peoples have paid very dear in sacrifice and suffering in striving for decades for their independence against the obdurate, and even armed, resistance of British colonial- ism. The peoples of India, south-eastern Africa, West Africa and recently Zimbabwe have not forgotten their heroic struggle for their freedom and independence. 209. As for Micronesia and the statement of the United Kingdom to the effect that the General Assembly is not empowered to discuss the situation in the Territory under the trusteeship of the United States, everyone in this Hall is aware that colonial Powers of course have an interest in limiting the power of the General Assembly to discuss colonial problems such as the question of Micronesia, and not only that question, but Puerto Rico as well, and other Territories. If colonial Powers could do so, they would prohibit the General Assembly from dealing with these things. But the overwhelming majority of the States Members of the United Nations take a different position. On this point we should like to remind everyone that, pursuant to a decision of the General Assembly, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands appears on the list of Territories within the purview of the Declaration on decolonization. Hence the General Assembly has the right to discuss this matter. That is the Assembly's position. 210. Mr. MARGETSON (United Kingdom): One dele- gation this afternoon menticned Diego Garcia in terms which cast doubt on the United Kingdom's sovereignty over the island. Let me simply say that the United King- dom is in no doubt about its sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago, of which Diego Garcia is a part. Our posi- tion with regard to Diego Garcia was set out in Sir John Thomson's letter of 17 November to you, Mr. President [A/38/598]. There is no need for me to elaborate on it here. 211. May I also take the opportunity of responding very briefly to the statement just made in exercise of the right. NOTES I Frente Popular para la Liberaci6n de.Saguia el-Hamra y de Rio de Ora. 2See Report of the International Conference in Support of the Struggle ofthe Namibian Peoplefor Independence, Paris, 25-29April 1983 (A/CONF.120/13), part three, para. 190.