General Assembly Session 58 meeting 72

The President

I will suspend the meeting for five minutes to allow delegations to change personnel for the next series of agenda items.

The President

I call on the Rapporteur of the Special Committee, Mr. Fayssal Mekdad of the Syrian Arab Republic, to introduce the Committee's report and the draft resolution contained in part III, chapter XII, section G, paragraph 7 of the report of the Special Committee. I hope that he will be heard in silence.

Mr. Mekdad (Syria)

It is a great honour for me to inform the General Assembly of our pride, Sir, in having you personally as President of the Assembly. I know how dear to you and close to your heart this item is. It is no secret that the issue of decolonization enjoyed broader support and assistance during your chairmanship of the Committee of 24 some years ago. I thank you for that commitment, which is ongoing through all of us.

The General Assembly is beginning its consideration of agenda item 19 on the question of the implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. As the Rapporteur of the Special Committee on decolonization, I have the honour to present the report of the Committee on its activities during the year 2003.

The report is contained in document A/58/23 and consists of three parts.

Part I of the report provides information on the history and organization of the Committee and gives a general description of the matters on its agenda and its interaction with other United Nations bodies and intergovernmental, non-governmental and regional organizations. A review of the work of the Committee during the year 2003 can also be found in Part I of the report.

Projections for the future work of the Committee in the year 2004, subject to the approval of the General Assembly, are contained in section J of part I. I would like to draw the Assembly's particular attention to that section of the report.

Part II of the report contains information on the activities of the Committee according to the items on its agenda. It gives an account of the Special Committee's deliberations on such issues as the dissemination of information on decolonization; the question of sending visiting missions to the Territories; economic and other activities that affect the interests of the peoples of the Non-Self-Governing Territories; the implementation of the Declaration by the specialized agencies and international institutions; and information transmitted under Article 73 e of the United Nations Charter. That part of the report also presents a brief summary of the Special Committee's deliberations related to the 16 remaining Non-Self-Governing Territories.

Part III of the report contains the recommendations of the Committee in the form of draft resolutions.

The year under review was a productive year for the Special Committee on decolonization. For the first time in history, the Committee held its seminar in a Non-Self-Governing Territory, Anguilla, for which we are thankful both to the Government of the United Kingdom and to the Government of the Territory of Anguilla.

In 2003, the Special Committee continued to be guided by the goals set up for the Second International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism and its plan of action. The Committee concentrated its efforts on those actions that need to be taken by the administering Powers, by the Territories and by the Committee itself in order to implement the objectives of the Decade and to move forward towards a complete eradication of colonialism.

The report states that the Committee has focused its attention on political, economic and social developments in the Non-Self-Governing Territories. In that respect, the Committee attaches great importance to the participation of representatives from the Territories, as well as non-governmental organizations and experts, in its annual session in June 2003.

The report underlines that the Special Committee continues to pay special attention to developing productive relationships with the administering Powers. To that end, the Committee has undertaken further efforts to intensify dialogue and improve interaction with them. The report notes the continuation of fruitful meetings of the representatives of New Zealand and Tokelau and confirms the readiness of the United Nations Development Programme to finance a study on the self-determination options for that Territory.

The report also notes that the United Kingdom and the United States have continued their informal contacts with the Special Committee and that both administering Powers have expressed their intention to maintain those contacts in the future. The participation of the representatives of the United Kingdom in the seminar in Anguilla considerably enriched that forum. In 2004, the Special Committee intends to continue to seek closer cooperation with all administering Powers and hopes to enjoy their formal participation in its work.

The annex to chapter II of part I of the report contains information on the Caribbean Regional Seminar, which was held in the Non-Self-Governing Territory of Anguilla in May 2003. In addition to the novelty of being held in a Non-Self-Governing Territory, this year's Seminar had a more focused agenda devoted to advancing the decolonization process in the Caribbean and Bermuda. The Seminar was attended by a number of chief ministers from the Non-Self-Governing Territories. It provided a mutually beneficial opportunity for a direct interaction and exchange of views between the members of the Committee and the representatives of the administering Power and the Territories.

Part II of the report of the Special Committee presents an account of its deliberations of the issues on its agenda related to the individual Territories. During the period under review, the Committee continued to pay special attention to political, economic and social developments in the small island Territories and followed the situations in American Samoa, Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Guam, Montserrat, Pitcairn, Saint Helena, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the United States Virgin Islands, as well as Tokelau and New Caledonia.

The report also reflects the consideration by the Special Committee of the question of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Gibraltar, the question of Western Sahara and the decision concerning Puerto Rico.

The consideration of the developments in the Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee has been greatly facilitated by the working papers on each Territory prepared by the Secretariat.

In concluding my presentation of the report, I should like to express the gratitude of the Special Committee to the Secretary-General, His Excellency Kofi Annan, for his continuing unqualified support of the efforts of the Special Committee towards the eradication of colonialism. I should also like to highlight with appreciation the substantive political support and advice provided by the Department of Political Affairs, whose input has been invaluable in the work of the Committee and in the implementation of its mandate. I should equally like to refer to the excellent technical Secretariat services provided by the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management and to wish Mr. Mohammad Sattar, the outgoing Secretary of the Special Committee, who is retiring, best wishes for the future.

The President

I call on the Vice-Chairman of the Special Committee, Mr. Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla of Cuba, to introduce draft resolution A/58/L.21.

Mr. Rodríguez Parrilla (Cuba)

As the General Assembly begins its consideration of the item concerning the implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, I have the honour to address the Assembly as Vice-Chairman of the Special Committee on Decolonization, on behalf of the Acting Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Bernard Tanoh-Boutchoué, who was unable to be present.

The Rapporteur of the Special Committee has already introduced the report of the Committee for the past year, contained in document A/58/23. I wish briefly to review the activities of the Special Committee and introduce the draft resolution that we will consider. At the same time, I will stress the most important areas of work of the Special Committee for the next year. Much remains to be done to conclude the decolonization process. This is the third year of the Second International Decade for the Elimination of Colonialism, and 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories remain on our programme of work.

This year, in keeping with the mandate of the Special Committee, we have examined developments in each one of the Non-Self-Governing Territories, based on the information provided by the Administering Powers pursuant to Article 73 e of the Charter, the working papers on each Territory, prepared by the Secretariat, and the statements made by representatives of the Territories, petitioners, non-governmental organizations and experts.

In June, the Committee adopted by consensus nine resolutions and one decision. We have continued to bring to the attention of the international community the importance of the joint activities of the Economic and Social Council and the Special Committee aimed at giving development assistance to the Territories. In July, the Economic and Social Council adopted a resolution on the implementation of the Declaration on decolonization by specialized agencies.

The regional seminars, held annually by the Special Committee in the Caribbean or the Pacific, have always been a valuable opportunity for representatives of the Territories, the Special Committee and other members of the United Nations, non-governmental organizations and various experts to exchange views and opinions and to examine various matters pertaining to the situation in the Territories.

In May, a seminar was held for the first time in one of the Non-Self-Governing Territories -- Anguilla. The seminar programme is aimed at promoting the decolonization process in the Caribbean Territories and Bermuda. Direct interaction and deliberations among the participants enabled everyone -- members of the Committee, representatives of the Administering Powers, Member States and of the Non-Self-Governing Territories -- to understand clearly the need for all parties concerned to support, with practical and concrete measures, the common desire to achieve decolonization.

As the Assembly will recall, the Special Committee attributes great importance to the function of Administering Powers in the effective fulfilment of decolonization goals and, in that regard, has endeavoured to work in close cooperation with them. In recent years, the Special Committee has welcomed the cooperation that has characterized its relations with New Zealand. This year, the working relationship of the Special Committee with the United Kingdom and the United States, although informal, has also improved.

The Special Committee hopes to continue working with all the Administering Powers to give effect to the proposal that it formulated some time ago to prepare decolonization plans for the various Territories. In that regard, I also wish to reiterate the obligation of Member States, pursuant to the Charter, to ensure that the interests of the peoples of the Territories are borne in mind.

I wish to say a few words on the draft resolution concerning the implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, contained in document A/58/L.21. That draft resolution is along the same lines as resolution 57/140, adopted by the General Assembly at the previous session. In the preambular part, the draft resolution refers to the Second International Decade for the Elimination of Colonialism and reaffirms that the existence of colonialism is incompatible with the Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1960 Declaration on decolonization. It reaffirms the Special Committee's resolve to achieve the complete and rapid elimination of colonialism. The draft resolution reaffirms also the General Assembly's support for the aspirations of peoples under colonial domination to exercise their right to self-determination, including independence, in keeping with United Nations resolutions on decolonization.

It urges the Administering Powers to conclude, before the end of 2004, a constructive programme of work, case by case, for the Non-Self-Governing Territories, with the aim of facilitating fulfilment of the mandate of the Special Committee and resolutions on decolonization, including those relating to specific territories. In that context, in operative paragraph 7, the Assembly welcomes the consultations taking place between the Special Committee and the representatives of the Government of New Zealand and the people of Tokelau, with the view to carrying forward the programme of work on the question of Tokelau.

Paragraph 8 contains provisions on the Special Committee's programme of work for the coming year. The Assembly asks the Committee to formulate specific proposals to put an end to colonialism, to review the implementation of relevant resolutions by Member States, to follow the political, economic and social situations of Non-Self-Governing Territories, to conclude by the end of 2004 a constructive programme of work on a case-by-case basis for the Non-Self-Governing Territories, to continue sending visiting missions, to carry out seminars in order to garner support worldwide for the decolonization process and, finally, to mark annually the Week of Solidarity with the Peoples of Non-Self-Governing Territories.

Some paragraphs of the draft resolution refer expressly to the economic activities and the exploitation of natural resources of the Territories. They call on Member States and specialized agencies to give moral and material support to the peoples of the Territories, and request Administering Powers to use bilateral and multilateral assistance to strengthen the economy of those Territories.

The draft resolution reiterates that visiting United Nations missions are an effective instrument for learning about the situation in the Territories, urges the Administering Powers to facilitate those missions and urges those Administering Powers that have not participated officially in the work of the Special Committee to do so at its 2004 session.

Finally, the draft resolution asks the Secretary-General, specialized agencies and other agencies of the United Nations system to lend economic and social assistance to the Territories and to continue doing so once those Territories have exercised their right to self-determination, including independence.

The text of the draft resolution before the Assembly has been prepared with the participation of interested delegations in a spirit of cooperation. I appeal to all delegations to favourably consider the recommendations contained in the draft resolution, so that the Special Committee on decolonization can maintain and enhance the momentum it gained at the last session to put an end to colonialism in the world.

In fulfilment of the mandate conferred on it by the General Assembly, the Special Committee proposes in the coming year to intensify its activities to conclude the decolonization process in the remaining Non-Self-Governing Territories. Furthermore, it proposes to expand its cooperation with the administering Powers and provide assistance to the peoples of the Territories with a view to finding lasting and mutually acceptable solutions to the remaining problems.

Before concluding, I would like, on behalf of all the members of the Special Committee, to thank the Secretary-General for the valuable substantive and technical support given to us by the Secretariat over the year.

The President

I should like to inform members that the General Assembly will take action on draft resolutions under agenda item 19 after all the reports of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) have been considered.