GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT SALUTES SPECIAL DECOLONIZATION COMMITTEE AS IT HOLDS PACIFIC REGIONAL SEMINAR, OBSERVES 'WEEK OF SOLIDARITY'

Press Release
GA/SM/164
GA/COL/3028

GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT SALUTES SPECIAL DECOLONIZATION COMMITTEE AS IT HOLDS PACIFIC REGIONAL SEMINAR, OBSERVES 'WEEK OF SOLIDARITY'

Following is the message of General Assembly President Theo-Ben Gurirab (Namibia) to the Special Committee on the Situation with Regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (Special Committee on Decolonization), as it holds its Pacific Regional Seminar in Majuro, Marshall Islands, and observes the Week of Solidarity with the Peoples of the Non-Self Governing Territories, which is observed the week of 25 May:

I wish to salute the Special Committee on decolonization, now holding its Pacific Regional Seminar to review the political, economic and social conditions in the small island Non-Self-Governing Territories in Majuro, Marshall Islands, as it observes the Week of Solidarity with the peoples of Non-Self-Governing Territories.

This occasion has a special meaning for me as a national of Namibia, which until its independence in 1990, was a Non-Self-Governing Territory under United Nations administration, even though apartheid South Africa flouted the international responsibility over the country. I have personally been closely associated with the work of the United Nations to bring about the eradication of colonialism.

The observance of the Week of Solidarity started in the early 1970s, at the time when there were about 40 Non-Self-Governing Territories, several of them in Africa. The General Assembly, conscious of the need of the peoples and the national liberation movements of those Territories for assistance and support in their struggle for freedom and independence, appealed to the international community to hold annually a Week of Solidarity with the Colonial Peoples of Southern Africa and Guinea (Bissau) and Cape Verde Fighting for Freedom, Independence and Equal Rights. It then proposed that the Week should begin on 25 May, Africa Liberation Day.

Following the accession to independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde, the title of the Week of Solidarity was changed to encompass the peoples of the remaining Territories. Since 1972, when the Week was proclaimed, many of the Territories which were then Non-Self-Governing have attained independence and become Members of the United Nations.

- 2 - Press Release GA/SM/164 GA/COL/3028 12 May 2000

However, to this day, 17 Non-Self-Governing Territories still remain under the watchful eye 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. The Special Committee’s monitoring of the situation in the Territories and its indefatigable efforts to ensure the implementation of the 1960 Declaration constitute an important contribution of the United Nations in promoting peace and security, social progress and better standards of living in a world of freedom.

This year marks the end of the International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism. During the Decade, Namibia proclaimed its independence and became a Member of the United Nations. The people of East Timor chose the path to independence. The people of New Caledonia established a new relationship with the administering Power through the signing of the Noumea Accord leading to greater self-government and the holding of a referendum on the future status of the Territory within 15 to 20 years. In Tokelau, the people have continued to build appropriate structures and arrangements while they keep the issue of self- determination under active consideration, in close cooperation with the administering Power. And yet, despite these encouraging developments, the process of decolonization is far from over. It is, therefore, evident that the eradication of colonialism should continue to be an urgent goal of the United Nations.

The observance of the Week of Solidarity provides an opportunity for the international community to recommit itself to the necessity of bringing colonialism in all its forms and manifestations to a speedy and unconditional end and to promote the implementation of the decisions of the United Nations on decolonization. In this regard, this is also an opportunity to express our support to the call by the General Assembly for the administering Powers to cooperate with the Special Committee in the discharge of its responsibilities and to ask Member States and the specialized agencies of the United Nations to provide much needed assistance to the Non-Self-Governing Territories.

As the Special Committee examines the political, economic and social conditions in the small island Non-Self-Governing Territories, I wish you every success in your deliberations, and express the sincere hope that the objectives of freedom and self-determination will be achieved.

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