Forty-ninth session
Agenda items 83 and 12
RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
The General Assembly,
Having considered the item entitled "Implementation of
the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries
and Peoples by the specialized agencies and the international
institutions associated with the United Nations",
Having also considered the reports submitted on the item
by the Secretary-General 1/ and the Chairman 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,
2/
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, 3/
Recalling its resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960,
containing the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to
Colonial Countries and Peoples, and resolution 1541 (XV) of 15
December 1960, 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, 4/
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,
Concerned that the objectives of the Charter of the United
Nations and the Declaration have not been fully achieved,
Noting that the large majority of the remaining Non-Self-Governing
Territories are small island Territories,
Noting also that, in accordance with General Assembly resolution
48/193 of 21 December 1993, the Global Conference on the Sustainable
Development of Small Island Developing States was held in Barbados
from 25 April to 6 May 1994,
Noting further that some Non-Self-Governing Territories
participated in the Conference as associate members of regional
commissions,
Recalling relevant resolutions of the Caribbean Development
and Cooperation Committee concerning the access of Non-Self-Governing
Territories to programmes of the United Nations system,
Noting the assistance extended thus far to Non-Self-Governing
Territories by certain specialized agencies and other organizations
of the United Nations system, in particular the United Nations
Development Programme, and considering that such assistance should
be expanded further, commensurate with the pressing needs of the
peoples concerned for external assistance,
Stressing that, because the development options of small
island Non-Self-Governing Territories are limited, there are special
challenges to planning for and implementing sustainable development
and that those Territories will be constrained in meeting the
challenges without the cooperation and assistance of the specialized
agencies and other organizations of the United Nations system,
Stressing also the importance of securing necessary resources
for funding expanded assistance programmes for the peoples concerned
and the need to enlist the support of all major funding institutions
within the United Nations system in that regard,
Reaffirming the responsibility of the specialized agencies
and other organizations of the United Nations system to take all
the necessary measures, within their respective spheres of competence,
to ensure the full implementation, without further delay, of General
Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) and other relevant resolutions of
the United Nations, particularly those relating to the extension
of assistance to the peoples of the Non-Self- Governing Territories,
Expressing its appreciation to the Organization of African
Unity, the South Pacific Forum and the Caribbean Community, as
well as other regional organizations, for the continued cooperation
and assistance they have extended to the specialized agencies
and other organizations of the United Nations system in this regard,
Expressing its conviction that closer contacts and consultations
between and among the specialized agencies and other organizations
of the United Nations system and regional organizations help to
facilitate the effective formulation of assistance programmes
to the peoples concerned,
Mindful of the imperative need to keep under continuous
review the activities of the specialized agencies and other organizations
of the United Nations system in the implementation of the various
United Nations decisions relating to decolonization,
Bearing in mind the extremely fragile economies of the
Non-Self- Governing small island Territories and their vulnerability
to natural disasters, such as hurricanes, cyclones and sea-level
rise, and recalling its relevant resolutions, in particular resolution
47/189 of 22 December 1992,
Recalling its resolution 47/22 of 25 November 1992 on cooperation
and coordination of the specialized agencies and the international
institutions associated with the United Nations in their assistance
to Non-Self-Governing Territories,
1. Takes note of the report of the Chairman 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 his consultations with the President of the Economic
and Social Council 2/ and endorses the observations and suggestions
arising therefrom; 5/
2. Recommends that all States intensify their efforts in
the specialized agencies and other organizations of the United
Nations system to ensure the full and effective implementation
of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial
Countries and Peoples and other relevant resolutions of the United
Nations;
3. Reaffirms that the specialized agencies and other organizations
and institutions of the United Nations system should continue
to be guided by the relevant resolutions of the United Nations
in their efforts to contribute to the full implementation, without
further delay, of the Declaration and all other relevant General
Assembly resolutions;
4. Reaffirms also that the recognition by the General Assembly,
the Security Council and other United Nations organs of the legitimacy
of the aspiration of the peoples of Non-Self-Governing Territories
to exercise their right to self-determination and independence
entails, as a corollary, the extension of all appropriate assistance
to those peoples;
5. Expresses its appreciation to those specialized agencies
and other organizations of the United Nations system that have
continued to cooperate with the United Nations and the regional
and subregional organizations in the implementation of General
Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) and other relevant resolutions of
the United Nations, and urges all the specialized agencies and
other organizations of the United Nations system to accelerate
the full and speedy implementation of the relevant provisions
of those resolutions;
6. Requests the specialized agencies and other organizations
of the United Nations system, as well as international and regional
organizations, to examine and review conditions in each Territory
so as to take appropriate measures to accelerate progress in the
economic and social sectors of the Territories;
7. Also requests the specialized agencies and the international
institutions associated with the United Nations, as well as regional
organizations, to strengthen existing measures of support and
formulate appropriate programmes of assistance to the remaining
Trust and Non-Self- Governing Territories, within the framework
of their respective mandates, in order to accelerate progress
in the economic and social sectors of those Territories;
8. Further requests the specialized agencies and other
organizations of the United Nations system, in formulating their
assistance programmes, to take due account of the conclusions
and recommendations, entitled "Challenges and opportunities:
a strategic framework", of the Meeting of Governmental Experts
of Island Developing Countries and Donor Countries and Organizations,
held in New York in June 1990; 6/
9. Requests the specialized agencies to take into account
the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small
Island Developing States, adopted by the Global Conference on
the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States,
7/ in particular its application to small island Non-Self-Governing
Territories;
10. Urges the specialized agencies and other organizations
of the United Nations system to formulate programmes that will
support the sustainable development of small island Non-Self-Governing
Territories and to adopt measures that will enable those Territories
to cope effectively, creatively and sustainably with environmental
changes and to mitigate impacts and reduce the threats posed to
marine and coastal resources;
11. Urges the executive heads of the specialized agencies
and other organizations of the United Nations system to formulate,
with the active cooperation of the regional organizations concerned,
concrete proposals for the full implementation of the relevant
resolutions of the United Nations and to submit the proposals
as a matter of priority to their governing and legislative organs;
12. Recommends that the executive heads of the World Bank
and the International Monetary Fund draw the attention of their
governing bodies to the present resolution and consider introducing
flexible procedures to prepare specific programmes for the peoples
of the Trust and Non-Self- Governing Territories;
13. Urges the specialized agencies and other organizations
of the United Nations system that have not already done so to
include in the agenda of the regular meetings of their governing
bodies a separate item on the progress they have made in the implementation
of resolution 1514 (XV) and other relevant resolutions of the
United Nations;
14. Welcomes the continued initiative exercised by the
United Nations Development Programme in maintaining close liaison
among the specialized agencies and other organizations of the
United Nations system and in providing assistance to the peoples
of Non-Self-Governing Territories, and calls upon the executive
bodies of the specialized agencies and other organizations of
the United Nations system to consider contributing to the relief,
rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts in those Non-Self-Governing
Territories affected by natural disasters and to look to the Programme
of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing
States for guidance concerning their roles in natural disaster
preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery, taking into account
the outcome of the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction;
15. Encourages Non-Self-Governing Territories to take steps
to establish and/or strengthen disaster preparedness and management
institutions and policies;
16. Urges the administering Powers concerned to facilitate
the participation of the representatives of the Governments of
Trust and Non-Self-Governing Territories in the relevant meetings
and conferences of the agencies and organizations so that the
Territories may draw the maximum benefits from the related activities
of the specialized agencies and other organizations of the United
Nations system;
17. Recommends that all Governments intensify their efforts
in the specialized agencies and other organizations of the United
Nations system of which they are members to ensure the full and
effective implementation of resolution 1514 (XV) and other relevant
resolutions of the United Nations and, in that connection, accord
priority to the question of providing assistance on an emergency
basis to the peoples of the Trust and Non-Self- Governing Territories;
18. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to assist
the specialized agencies and other organizations of the United
Nations system in working out appropriate measures for implementing
the relevant resolutions of the United Nations and to prepare
for submission to the relevant bodies, with the assistance of
those agencies and organizations, a report on the action taken
in implementation of the relevant resolutions, including the present
resolution, since the circulation of his previous report;
19. Commends the Economic and Social Council for its debate
8/ and its resolution 1994/37 of 29 July 1994 on this issue and
requests it to continue to consider, in consultation with the
Special Committee, appropriate measures for coordination of the
policies and activities of the specialized agencies and other
organizations of the United Nations system in implementing the
relevant resolutions of the General Assembly;
20. Requests the specialized agencies to report periodically
to the Secretary-General on the implementation of the present
resolution;
21. Requests the Secretary-General to transmit the present
resolution to the governing bodies of the appropriate specialized
agencies and international institutions associated with the United
Nations so that those bodies take the necessary measures to implement
the resolution, and also requests the Secretary-General to report
to the General Assembly at its fiftieth session on the implementation
of the present resolution;
22. Requests the Special Committee to continue to examine
the question and to report thereon to the General Assembly at
its fiftieth session.
83rd plenary meeting
9 December 1994
____________
1/ A/49/216 and Add.1.
2/ A/AC.109/L.1824.
3/ A/49/23 (Part IV), chap. VI.
4/ See A/46/634/Rev.1.
5/ See E/1994/114.
6/ A/CONF.147/5-TD/B/AC.46/4, chap. II.
7/ See A/CONF.167/9 and Corr.1 and 2, chap. I, resolution 1, annex
II.
8/ See E/1994/SR.41, 44 and 46 to 48.