A/RES/53/68 GA

UNITED A NATIONS General Assembly Distr. GENERAL A/RES/53/68 22 Januray 1999 Fifty-third session Agenda item 18 RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY [without reference to a Main Committee (A/53/L.58)] 53/68. Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples 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 52/78 of 10 December 1997, 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, 1 A/53/23 (Parts I–IX). For the final text, see Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-third Session, Supplement No. 23. 99-76357 /... A/RES/53/68 Page 2 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, 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 that 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, in particular the small island Territories, for economic, social and other assistance from the United Nations and the organizations within its system, Taking special note of the fact that the Special Committee held a Pacific regional seminar to review the situation in the Non-Self-Governing Territories, particularly their political evolution towards self- determination by the year 2000, at Nadi, Fiji, from 16 to 18 June 1998,2 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, including independence; 2. Affirms once again that the continuation of colonialism in any form or manifestation, including economic exploitation, is incompatible with the Charter of the United Nations, the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights3; 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 of the United Nations, 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, including independence; 2 See A/AC.109/2121. 3 Resolution 217 A (III). /... A/RES/53/68 Page 3 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 1998, including the programme of work envisaged for 1999;4 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 foreign economic activities in the Non-Self- Governing Territories under their administration are directed to assist the peoples of those Territories in the exercise of their right to self-determination; 8. Takes note of the decision of some of the administering Powers to close or reduce some of the military bases in the Non-Self-Governing Territories; 9. Calls upon the administering Powers to eliminate the remaining military bases in the Non-Self- Governing Territories 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; 10. 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; 11. 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, including 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 fifty-fourth session; (b) To continue to examine the implementation by Member States of resolution 1514 (XV) and other relevant resolutions on decolonization; (c) 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; 4 A/53/23 (Part I), chap. I, sect. J. For the final text, see Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty- third Session, Supplement No. 23. /... A/RES/53/68 Page 4 (d) To take all necessary steps to enlist worldwide 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; 12. 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 to ascertain the wishes and aspirations of their inhabitants; 13. Also calls upon the administering Powers that have not participated in the work of the Special Committee to do so at its 1999 session; 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, including 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. 78th plenary meeting 3 December 1998

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