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BACKGROUND TO THE FALKLAND ISLANDS AND THE UN DECOLONISATION COMMITTEE Declaration regarding Non Self-Governing Territories Declaration regarding Non Self-Governing Territories Chapter XI of the United Nations Charter - the 'United Nations Declaration regarding non self-governing territories' - stated that it is an obligation incumbent upon member states which administer territories "whose peoples have not yet attained a full measure of self-government to recognise the principle that the interests of the inhabitants of these territories are paramount, and to accept as a sacred trust the obligation to promote to the utmost, within the system of international peace and security established by the [United Nations] Charter, the well-being of the inhabitants of these territories, and, to this end (a) to ensure, with due respect for the culture of the peoples concerned, their political, economic, social, and educational advancement, their just treatment, and their protection against abuses; and (b) to develop self-government, to take due account of the political aspirations of the peoples, and to assist them in the progressive development of their free political institutions, according to the particular circumstances of each territory and its peoples and their varying stages of advancement...." Administering states are also required to transmit regular reports to the United Nations containing "statistical and other information of a technical nature relating to economic, social, and educational conditions in the territories for which they are respectively responsible". Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples In 1945, when the United Nations was formed, more than 750 million people (a third of the world's population) lived in colonial situations. These colonies were governed by other states, often without taking into account the wishes or even the interests of the colonial peoples. In many cases the colonial territories were the legacy of 18th and 19th century European expansionism. On 14 December 1960 the General Assembly of the United Nations passed Resolution 1514 (XV) known as the 'Declaration on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples' which reaffirmed that "all peoples have the right to self-determination, and by virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development" and declared that immediate steps should be taken in "territories which have not yet attained independence, to transfer all powers to the peoples of those territories, without any conditions or reservations, in accordance with their freely expressed will and desire, without any distinction as to race, creed or colour, in order to enable them to enjoy complete independence and freedom". The United Nations Decolonisation Committee The Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples was created in 1961 by Resolution 1654 (XVI) of the General Assembly of the United Nations. The purpose of the Committee was to assist with the fulfilment of Resolution 1514 (XV). Initially comprising seventeen members, the Committee has been expanded and is now known as the UN Decolonisation Committee or the Committee of 24, although at present it has twenty-five members, who are:-
The Non Self-Governing Territories (as defined by the UN) More than eighty former colonies have gained independence since 1945. The role of the UN Decolonisation Committee is now defined by the United Nations as that of overseeing progress towards self-determination in the sixteen non-self-governing territories which form the Committee's remit. Less than two million people live in these sixteen territories (details of which are set out below). However, it should be noted that this does not include the peoples of such disputed regions as Kashmir, Chechnya, Kashmir, Kurdistan, Palestine, Tibet or West Papua, many of whom would claim that they live in non-self-governing situations.
* On 26 February 1976, Spain informed the Secretary-General that as of that
date it had terminated its presence in the Territory of the Sahara and
deemed it necessary to place on record that Spain considered itself
thenceforth exempt from any responsibility of any international nature in
connection with the administration of the Territory, in view of the
cessation of its participation in the temporary administration established
for the Territory. In 1990, the General Assembly reaffirmed that the
question of The Constitutional Status of the Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands are, by the expressed wish of its population, an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. As such, the Islands are classified by the United Nations as a 'Non-Self-Governing Territory'. However, Islanders take responsibility for all areas of government except foreign affairs and defence (responsibility for which lies with the British Government), and every four years eight Legislative Councillors are elected by universal suffrage to head the Government of the Falkland Islands. Since Peron came to power in the 1940s, Argentina has claimed sovereignty over the Falkland Islands. This claim is rejected by both Britain and the people of the Falkland Islanders. Successive British governments have made it clear that there will be no change in the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands, or in their constitutional status, without the consent of Falkland Islanders, who are virtually unanimous in their rejection of any links with Argentina and their support for the constitutional status quo.. United Nations Interference with the Falkland Islands Since its inception, the UN Decolonisation Committee has been considering "the question of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas)". The matter was first put before the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1965, when Resolution 2065 (XX) was passed calling on the Governments of Britain and Argentina "to proceed without delay" with the sovereignty negotiations recommended by the Committee "bearing in mind.... the interests of the population of the Falkland Islands". At Argentine instigation, the General Assembly passed similar resolutions in 1973 (resolution 3160 (XXVIII)) and 1976 (resolution 31/49). Until Argentina illegally invaded the Falkland Islands on 2 April 1982, Britain tried to comply with the United Nations' request, but negotiations naturally stalled on each occasion since Falkland Islanders remained resolute in choosing association with Britain, not Argentina, whose governments refused to abandon their spurious claim for reasons of political pride, pride which ultimately led to the invasion of 1982 and subsequent Falklands Conflict. The Argentine invasion inevitably led to the involvement of the Security Council of the United Nations. Following the surrender of Argentine troops to the British forces of liberation, the United Nations General Assembly from 1982 until 1988 repeatedly called on the two governments to resolve the sovereignty dispute. Since 1988 the Decolonisation Committee has discussed the Falkland Islands during its annual meeting in New York, on each occasion passing a resolution calling on the two governments to resolve the sovereignty dispute. Since Falkland Islanders unanimously reject the Argentine sovereignty claim, and Britain resolutely supports the Falkland Islanders' stance that they have exercised their right to self-determination by choosing to remain a British Overseas Territory, the United Nations process has very little value. Britain chooses not to attend meetings of the Decolonisation Committee, although Legislative Councillors of the Falkland Islands Government take the opportunity each year to reiterate the right of the Falkland Islanders, in accordance with Chapter XI of the United Nations Charter, to exercise their right of self-determination. Bulgarian academic Lyubomir Ivanov has pointed out in his essay 'The Future of the Falkland Islands and its People' published by Double T. Publishers (2003) that the Committee of 24 is guilty of double standards. He writes, "The UN involvement is useful in countries like Western Sahara or Timor, where there could hardly have been self-determination without it. However, all the other 'non self-governing territories' presently monitored by the UN Decolonisation Committee are exercising their right of self-determination regardless of any UN sponsorship. A comparison between the Freedom House annual ratings of the 'decolonised' (the present 16 territories subject to UN 'decolonisation') and their 'decolonisers' (the 24 members of the Decolonisation Committee) would suggest that the former are three times more democratic than the latter.... To cap it all, the 'decolonisers' themselves happen to administer such territories as Tibet (China), West Papua (Indonesia), Kashmir (India) and Chechnya (Russia) where democracy is scarce and self-determination denied. Naturally, the 16 UN-labeled 'non self-governing territories' seek to adopt the high standards of their respective 'administering powers', ie. those of Britain, the USA, France and New Zealand, rather than those of Cuba, Iraq, China, Congo, Iran, Syria, Venezuela and other Committee members." It is to be hoped that the United Nations will bring the Decolonisation System to an end, just as the Trusteeship System has been terminated (see below), thereby recognising that (with the exception of Western Sahara) the remaining 'non self-governing territories' including the Falkland Islands each have exercised their right of self-determination by voluntarily associating themselves with a sovereign state (such voluntary association is known as 'free association' or 'devolved integration'). The Falkland Islands and their fellow Overseas Territories are self-governing in all their internal affairs, and have voluntarily surrendered responsibility for external affairs to their associated state. By exercising the right of self-determination and choosing their own constitutional position, the territories have fulfilled the expectations of Chapter XI of the United Nations Charter. Historical Footnote - Trust Territories In 1945, under Chapter XII of
the Charter, the United Nations established the International Trusteeship
System for the supervision of The basic objective of the System was to promote the political, economic and social advancement of the Territories and their development towards self-government and self-determination. It also encouraged respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and recognition of the interdependence of peoples of the world. The last Trust Territory became independent in 1994, bringing an end to the Trusteeship System.
Togoland (under British administration) For information on the UN
Decolonisation Committee, Non self-governing territories and the
Trusteeship System see www.un.org/Depts/dpi/decolonization
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Introduction, Brief
History, Timeline, 1982
Articles, 1982
Timeline, 1982 Documents, Articles,
Agreements, UN
Resolutions |
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