A/RES/1579(XV) GA

34 General Assembly - Fifteenth Session Noting the statements made in the Fourth Com- mittee by the representative of the Administering Authority and by the Prime Minister of Western Samoa,28 1. Recommends that the Administering Authority, in pursuance ::if Article 76 b uf the Charter of the United Nations, take steps, in consultation with a United Nations Plebiscite Commissionet, to organize, under the supervision of the United Nations, a plebiscite in Western Samoa under New Z<'.aland administration, in order to ascertain the wishes of the inhahitants of the Territory concerning their future; 2. Recommends further that the plebiscite should lake place in the month of May 1961 and that the que.,tions to be asked should be. "1. Do you agree with the Constitution adopted by the Constitutional Convention on 28 October 1960? ''2. Do yc,u agree that on 1 _Tan~1ary 1962 \Vestern Samoa should become an independent State on the basis of that Constitution?" ; :::. Recommends further that the plebiscite should be conducted on the basis of universal suffrage with all adult citizens of 'vV estern Samoa being entitled to vote; 4. Decides to appoint a United Nations Plebiscite Commissioner for Western Samoa who shall exercise, on behalf of the G:eneral Assembly, all the necessary powers and functions of supervision, and who shall be assisted by observers and staff to be appointed by the Secretary-General in consultation with him; 5. Requests the United Nations Plebiscite Com- missioner to submit to the Trusteeship Council a report on the organization, conduct and result of the plebiscite ; 6. R.equests the Trusteeship Council to transmit to the General Assembly, for consideration at its sixteenth session, the report of the United Nations Plebiscite Commissioner, together with any recommendations and observations it considers necessary. * 954th plenary meeting, 18 December 1960. * * At its 954th plenary meeting, on 18 December 1960, the General Assembly, on the recommendation of the Fourth Com- mittee,'9 appointed Mr. Najmiuldine Rifai (United Arab Republic) United Nations Plebiscite Commissioner for W eslern Samoa. 1579 (XV). Question of the future of Ruanda-Urundi The General Assembly, Having received the reports of the Trusteeship Council30 and of the United Nations Visiting Mission to Trust Territories in East Africa, 1960,31 on the Trust Territory of Ruanda-Urundi called for under General Assembly resolution 1419 (XIV) of 5 De- cember 1959, Noting from the report of the Trustees?iP C:ouncil that it is the Administering Authority's mtentton to hold early in 1961 elections on the basis of universal 28 Ibid., Fifteenth Session, Fourth Committee, 1081st meeting. 20 !bid., Fifteenth Session, Annexes, agenda item 44, docu- ment A/4663, para. 10. so Ibid., Fifteenth Session, Supplement No. 4 (A/4404), part II, chapter II. 31 Official Records of the Trusteeship Council, Twenty-sixth Session, Supplement No. 3 (T/1551). adult suffrage, and under the supervision of the United Nations, for the purpose of constituting national as- semblies for Rnamla an<l Urundi, Noting further the statement of the Administering Authority that the elections arc scheduled to begin on 15 January 1961, and its invitation to the United Nations to send a mission to Ruanda-Urundi about 15 December 1960 to see the actual implementation of the arran!{ements for the elections, such as the, cmnposit!on oi the electoral rolls, the course of the election campaign and the organization of the poll,:i~ Being conscious of its responsibility to ensure that the supervision of the elections by the United Nations is efTective, an<l that the elections, which will furnish the basis for the Territory's independence, are held in proper conditions so that their results are completely iree of doubt or dispute, Having heard the views of the petitioners belonging to various political parties and groups of Ruanda- Urundi, l. Considers that the necessary conditions and atmos- phere must be brought about expeditiously to ensure that the legislative elections, which will lead to the establishment of national democratic institutions and furnish the basis for the national independence of Ruanda-Unmdi in accordance with the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations, take place in an atmosphere of peace and harmony ; 2. Urges the Administering Authority to implement immediately measures of full and unconditional amnesty and to abolish the emergency regime so as to enable political workers ant! leaders who are in exile or im- prisoned in the Territory to resume normal, democratic political activity before the elections ; 3. Considers that the expeditious return and re- habilitation of thousands of victims of recent disturb- ances in Ruanda who were compelled to take refuge away from their homes in Ruanda or abroad will assist the process of reconciliation, and urges the Administering Authority and the local authorities concerned to adopt all possible means to that end; 4. Recommends that a conference fully representative of political parties, attended by United Nations ob- servers, should be held early in 1961, before the elections, in order to compose the differences between the parties and to bring about national harmony ; 5. Appeals to all parties and political leaders of Ruanda-Urundi to exert their efforts to achieve an atmosphere of understanding, p~ce and harmony for the good of their Territory and people as a whole on the eve of independence ; 6. Calls upon the Administering Authority to refrain from using the Territory as a base, whether for internal or external purposes, for the accumulation of arms or armed forces not strictly required for the purpose of maintaining public order in the Territory; 7. Recommends that the elections scheduled to be held in January 1961 should be postponed to a date to be decided on at the resumed fifteenth session of the General Assembly in the light of the recommen- dations of the Commission referred to in paragraph 8 below, so that, in addition to the fulfilment of the purpose of the preceding paragraphs of the present resolution, 32 Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifteenth Ses- sion, Annexes, agenda item 45, document A/C.4/455. Resolutions adopted on the reports of the Fourth Committee 35 the arrangements for the elections can be completed under the supervision of the United K ations; 8. Decides to set up a United Nations Commission for Ruanda-Urundi, composed of three members, who will be assisted by observers and staff to be appointed by the Secretary-General in consultation with the Commission ; 9. Requests the Commission to proceed immediately to Ruanda-Urumli to perfon°1 the following tasks on behalf of the United Nations: (a) To supervise the elections to be held in Ruanda- Urundi in 1961 on the basis of direct, universal adult suffrage, and the preparatory measures preceding them, such as the compilation of the electoral rolls, the conduct of the election campaign and the organization of a system of balloting which will ensure complete secrecy; (b) To attend, as United Nations observers, the political conference envisaged in paragraph 4 above and the round-table conference to be convened after the elections to determine the future evolution of the Territory towards independence; ( c) To follow the progress of events in the Territory before and after the elections, to lend its advice and assistance, as appropriate, with a view to advancing peace and harmony in Ruanda-Uruncli, ancl to report to the Trusteeship Council or the General Assembly, as necessary ; 10. Requests the Commission to submit an interim report on the implementation of the present resolution to the General Assembly at its resumed fifteenth session: 11. Endorses the observation of the Trusteeship Council that in view of the essential community of interests and the facts of history and geography; the best future for Ruanda-Unmdi lies in the evolution of a single, united and composite State, with such arrange- ments for the internal autonomy of Ruanda and Unmdi as may be agreed upon by their representatives. * 960th plenary meeting, 20 December 1960. * * At its 960th plenar'J' meeting on 20 December 1960, the General Assembly, on the recommendation of the Fourth Com- mittee,!! appointed the members of the United Nations Commission for Ruanda-Urundi. The Commi.ssion is composed as follows: Mr. Max Dor- sinville (Haiti), Chairman, Mr. Majid Rahnema (Iran) and Mr. Ernest Gassou (Togo). 1580 (XV). Question of the Mwami The General Assembly, Considering that a division of op1111on has ansen m Ruanda-Urundi with regard to the institution of mon- archy and with regard to the person of the µresent M wami of Ruanda, Considering further that such a situation poses a constitutional question of far-reaching importance which should be settled in accordance with the freely expressed wishes of the people of the Territory, Noting that, on several occasions, the M wami has stated his desire to be a democratic and constitutional sovereign, Noting further that the M wami of Ruanda, in a memorandum to the United Nations Visiting Mission to Trust Territories in East Africa, 1960, has accepted the idea of a referendum to decide this <ruestion, Haviny perused the statement of the Mwami to the Fourth Committee,34 l. N ates with regret that the Administering Au- thority has arbitrarily suspended the powers of the l\-1 wami of Ruanda and has not allowed him t() return to Ruanda to resume his duties as Mwami; 2. Requests the Administering Authority to revoke the measures adopted by it to suspend the powers of the M wami, and to facilitate his return to Ruanda to enable him to function as M wami pending the ascertain- ment of the wishes of the people on this question ; 3. Decides that a referendum should be held under the supervision of the United Kations Commission for Ruancla-Urundi established under General Assembly resolution 1579 (XV) of 20 December 1960, in order to ascertain the wishes of the people concerning the institution of the M wami, and if necessary, the present M wami of Ruanda; 4. Requests the United Nations Commission for Ruanda-Urundi, after studying the situation on the spot, to submit to the General Assembly, at its resumed fifteenth session, recommendations concerning the timing of the referendum and the questions to be put therein. 960th plenary meeting, 20 December 1960. aa Ibid., document A/4672, para. 25. 84 Ibid., document A/C.4/467.

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