SECRETARY-GENERAL, OPENING MEETING OF DECOLONIZATION COMMITTEE, SAYS GOAL OF ERADICATING COLONIALISM BY YEAR 2000 SHOULD GUIDE ITS WORK
Press Release
SG/SM/6456
GA/COL/2975
SECRETARY-GENERAL, OPENING MEETING OF DECOLONIZATION COMMITTEE, SAYS GOAL OF ERADICATING COLONIALISM BY YEAR 2000 SHOULD GUIDE ITS WORK
19980206 Following is the statement of Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the meeting of the Committee on the Situation with Regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, in New York on 6 February:I am honoured to open this session of the Special Committee. It has made a lasting contribution to the guiding principles of international law concerning the inalienable right of peoples to self-determination.
Mr. Chairman,
Since you assumed the chairmanship of this Committee, two important steps have been accomplished: the consensus reached with the administering Powers on the resolution on small Territories; the agreement with the European Union on the resolution on economic and other activities.
For almost four decades, this Committee has contributed to the independence and right to self-determination of many peoples. These efforts have consistently upheld the highest principles of the Charter and enhanced the commitment of the United Nations to ensure respect for human rights all over the world.
The remaining 17 Territories on your Committee's agenda represent complex challenges to the United Nations. Some have advanced economically and socially and are enjoying constitutional rights. Others are constrained by lack of development, or have suffered from natural disasters.
The goal of eradicating colonialism by the year 2000 should continue to guide the work of the Special Committee. The main task of the United Nations is to live up to the trust bestowed upon it and to assist both the peoples of the Territories and the administering Powers in fulfilling our common aims.
The right to self-determination has been established as the right of peoples to choose to be independent, to be associated with another State, or to integrate with another State. Therefore, there is no formula which should be imposed. However, the peoples of the Non-Self-Governing Territories should be assisted in their selection of what is best for their future. It is my
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earnest hope that the specialized agencies and other organizations within the United Nations system will step up their assistance to the peoples of these Territories.
At this time, I would like to draw particular attention to the needs of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) in the execution of its mandate with regard to Western Sahara, as the largest Territory that remains on the Special Committee's agenda.
Finally, I am pleased to note that in 1997 the Special Committee demonstrated a practical and flexible approach to its work. The changes in the structures of the Special Committee brought about efficiency in its work and streamlining in its functions and procedures. As part of the United Nations family, it too has had to adapt to a new era, where a reformed and revitalized Organization will better serve the interests and ideals of our Member States.
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