Activities of foreign economic and other interests which impede the implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples in Territories under colonial domination, G.A. res. 48/46, 48 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 49) at 124, U.N. Doc. A/48/49 (1993).


The General Assembly,

Having considered the item entitled "Activities of foreign economic and other interests which impede the implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples in Territories under colonial domination",

Having examined the chapter 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 relating to the item,

Recalling its resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960, containing the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, as well as all its other resolutions on this subject, including, in particular, resolution 46/181 of 19 December 1991, endorsing the plan of action for the International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism,

Reaffirming the solemn obligation of the administering Powers under the Charter of the United Nations to promote the political, economic, social and educational advancement of the inhabitants of the Territories under their administration and to protect the human and natural resources of those Territories against abuses,

Reaffirming also that any economic or other activity that constitutes an obstacle to the implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples and obstructs efforts aimed at the elimination of colonialism, apartheid and racial discrimination is a direct violation of the rights of the inhabitants and of the principles of the Charter and all relevant resolutions of the United Nations,

Reaffirming further that the natural resources are the heritage of the indigenous populations of the colonial and Non-Self-Governing Territories,

Concerned about the activities of those foreign economic, financial and other interests that exploit the natural and human resources of the Non-Self-Governing Territories to the detriment of the interests of the inhabitants of those Territories and deprive them of their right to control the wealth of their countries,

Bearing in mind the relevant provisions of the final documents of the successive Conferences of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries and of the resolutions adopted by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity, the South Pacific Forum and the Caribbean Community,

Recognizing the crucial and decisive role that the imposition of international sanctions played in applying the necessary pressure on the South African regime to undertake significant measures towards the eradication of apartheid,

1. Reaffirms the inalienable right of the peoples of colonial and Non-Self-Governing Territories to self-determination and independence and to the enjoyment of the natural resources of their Territories, as well as their right to dispose of those resources in their best interests;

2. Reiterates that any administering Power that deprives the colonial peoples of Non-Self-Governing Territories of the exercise of their legitimate rights over their natural resources, or subordinates the rights and interests of those peoples to foreign economic and financial interests, violates the solemn obligations it has assumed under the Charter of the United Nations;

3. Reaffirms its concern over the activities of those foreign economic, financial and other interests which continue to exploit the natural resources that are the heritage of the indigenous populations of the colonial and Non-Self-Governing Territories in the Caribbean, the Pacific and other regions, as well as their human resources, to the detriment of their interests, thus depriving them of their right to control the resources of their Territories and impeding the realization by those peoples of their legitimate aspirations for self-determination and independence;

4. Condemns those activities of foreign economic and other interests in the colonial and Non-Self-Governing Territories which are impeding the implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, contained in General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV), and the efforts to eliminate colonialism and racial discrimination;

5. Calls once again upon all Governments that have not yet done so to take, in accordance with the relevant provisions of General Assembly resolution 2621 (XXV) of 12 October 1970, legislative, administrative or other measures in respect of their nationals and the bodies corporate under their jurisdiction that own and operate enterprises in colonial and Non-Self- Governing Territories that are detrimental to the interests of the inhabitants of those Territories, in order to put an end to such enterprises and to prevent new investments that run counter to the interests of the inhabitants of those Territories;

6. Reiterates that the exploitation and plundering of the marine and other natural resources of colonial and Non-Self-Governing Territories by foreign economic interests, in violation of the relevant resolutions of the United Nations, is a threat to the integrity and prosperity of those Territories;

7. Invites all Governments and organizations of the United Nations system to take all possible measures to ensure that the permanent sovereignty of the peoples of colonial and Non-Self-Governing Territories over their natural resources is fully respected and safeguarded;

8. Urges the administering Powers concerned to take effective measures to safeguard and guarantee the inalienable right of the peoples of the colonial and Non-Self-Governing Territories to their natural resources and to establish and maintain control over the future development of those resources, and requests the administering Powers to take all necessary steps to protect the property rights of the peoples of those Territories;

9. Calls upon the administering Powers concerned to ensure that no discriminatory and unjust wage systems or working conditions prevail in the Territories under their administration and to apply in each Territory a uniform system of wages to all the inhabitants without any discrimination;

10. Requests the Secretary-General to continue, through all means at his disposal, to inform world public opinion of those activities of foreign economic and other interests which impede the implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples;

11. Appeals to mass media, trade unions and non-governmental organizations, as well as individuals, to continue their efforts for the full implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples;

12. Decides to continue to monitor closely the situation in the colonial and Non-Self-Governing Territories so as to ensure that all economic activities in those Territories are aimed at strengthening and diversifying their economies in the interest of the indigenous peoples and at promoting the economic and financial viability of those Territories, in order to facilitate and accelerate the exercise by the peoples of those Territories of their right to self-determination and independence;

13. Requests the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples to continue to examine this question and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its forty-ninth session.

75th plenary meeting
10 December 1993