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. 51/140, 51 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 49) at 133, U.N. Doc. A/51/49 (Vol. I) (1996).



            
      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, as well as all
its other relevant resolutions, 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 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,
 
      Aware of the special circumstances of the geographical location, size
and economic conditions of each Territory, and bearing in mind the need to
promote the economic stability, diversification and strengthening of the
economy of each Territory,
 
      Conscious of the particular vulnerability of the small Territories to
natural disasters and environmental degradation,
 
      Conscious also that foreign economic investment, when done in
collaboration with the peoples of the Non-Self-Governing Territories and in
accordance with their wishes, could make a valid contribution to the
socio-economic development of the Territories and could also make a valid
contribution to the exercise of their right to self-determination,
 
      Concerned about the activities of those foreign economic, financial and
other interests which 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,
 
      1.    Reaffirms the right of peoples of Non-Self-Governing Territories
to self-determination in conformity with the Charter of the United Nations and
General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV), containing the Declaration on the
Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, as well as their
right to enjoyment of their natural resources and their right to dispose of
those resources in their best interest;
 
      2.    Affirms the value of foreign economic investment undertaken in
collaboration with the people of the Non-Self-Governing Territories and in
accordance with their wishes in order to make a valid contribution to the
socio- economic development of the Territories;
 
      3.    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;
 
      4.    Reaffirms its concern about 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;
 
      5.    Reiterates its deep concern about 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 its
resolution 1514 (XV), and the efforts to eliminate colonialism;
 
      6.    Calls once again upon all Governments that have not yet done so to
take, in accordance with the relevant provisions of its 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;
 
      7.    Reiterates that the damaging 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;
 
      8.    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;
 
      9.    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;
 
      10.   Calls upon the administering Powers concerned to ensure that no
discriminatory working conditions prevail in the Territories under their
administration and to promote in each Territory a fair system of wages
applicable to all the inhabitants without any discrimination;
 
      11.   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;
 
      12.   Appeals to the mass media, trade unions and non-governmental
organizations, as well as individuals, to continue their efforts for the
implementation of the Declaration;
 
      13.   Decides to follow 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;
 
      14.   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 fifty-second session.
      
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