Special Decolonization Committee Approves 3 Drafts Aimed at Enhancing Information Dissemination, Facilitating Visiting Missions to Non-Self-Governing Territories
The Special Committee on Decolonization opened the substantive portion of its 2025 session today and approved three draft resolutions relating to territories whose people have not yet attained a full measure of self-government.
The 29-member Special Committee — formally known as the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples — annually reviews the list of Non-Self-Governing Territories, as defined in Chapter XI of the Charter of the United Nations, to which the Declaration is applicable and hears statements from their representatives.
Acting without a vote on all three texts, the Special Committee approved its annual draft resolution “Dissemination of information on decolonization” (document A/AC.109/2025/L.3), by which the General Assembly would request the Secretary-General to further enhance the information provided on the United Nations decolonization website. It would also ask the Department of Global Communications to continue its efforts to update web-based information on the assistance programmes available to the Non-Self-Governing Territories.
By the second resolution, “Information from Non‑Self‑Governing Territories transmitted under Article 73(e) of the Charter of the United Nations” (document A/AC.109/2025/L.4), the Assembly would ask the administering Powers to respect their obligations under the Charter and continue to transmit or regularly to the UN Secretary-General information relating to the economic, social and educational conditions in the Territories.
The third text, “Question of sending visiting and special missions to Territories” (document A/AC.109/2025/L.5), would have the Assembly stress the need to dispatch periodic visiting missions to Non-Self-Governing Territories to facilitate the full, speedy and effective implementation of the Declaration. It would also call upon the administering Powers to cooperate with the United Nations, if they have not yet done so, or to continue to cooperate by facilitating UN visiting missions to the Territories under their administration.
Throughout the day, the Special Committee examined the questions concerning Tokelau, American Samoa, Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, French Polynesia, Montserrat, New Caledonia, Pitcairn, Saint Helena, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the United States Virgin Islands and held hearings for some. Petitioners and officials from various Territories delivered impassioned statements. While some highlighted constructive relationships, others called out administering Powers for their failure to carry out their obligations under the UN Charter and relevant UN resolutions.
Question of Tokelau
Esera Fōfō Tuisano, Ulu-o-Tokelau [Titular Head] of Tokelau, said that Tokelau has enjoyed a high degree of self-governance because of its strong relationship with New Zealand, and continues to improve and strengthen its governance, health, education, law and justice, transport, energy, communications, climate resilience and financial management. The year 2026 marks the 100th anniversary of New Zealand’s administration of Tokelau and is an opportunity to present Tokelau’s self-determination plan to New Zealand, he emphasized.
Don Higgins (New Zealand), Administrator of Tokelau, detailing his country’s financial and capacity-building support to Tokelau, said the total value of New Zealand’s support over the current three-year planning period is NZD150 million. Pointing to the growing impacts of climate change and heightened geostrategic tensions in the Pacific region, he said New Zealand has “direct responsibility” for Tokelau’s defence and security and will work closely with Tokelau in addressing those regional challenges together.
Question of the British Virgin Islands
Natalio D. Wheatley, Premier of the British Virgin Islands, highlighting a key finding of the 2023 UN visiting mission, said the Territory “is ready for a change of political status”. His Government will act on the mission’s recommendations by establishing a decolonization commission and prioritizing a referendum on political status. Voicing hope that the United Kingdom “will do the right thing”, he said: “We will press forward with urgency and haste with the mission of helping to decolonize the Caribbean region.”
The representative of Antigua and Barbuda, a member of the delegation to the last visiting Mission to the British Virgin Islands, stressed that, despite having demonstrated its capacity for self-rule and management of its economy, the Territory “remains shackled and not free to make the ultimate decisions concerning its political aspirations”.
A petitioner for the British Virgin Islands called on the UN to support an education programme on self-determination in the Territory that will not only provide accurate information about political status options, but also address the “psychological dimension” of colonialism — when the colonized people have been persuaded that “they are incapable of ruling themselves”.
Question of French Polynesia
“Our actions are not just drops in the ocean. Our actions are the ocean,” underscored Mareva Kitalong, delegate for International, European and Pacific Affairs of French Polynesia, who pointed out that about 40 per cent of France’s exclusive economic zone is in French Polynesia. Its people’s “sovereign effectiveness” over the strategic resources of its maritime areas must be guaranteed. She requested that French Polynesia host the decolonization regional seminar in 2027. Conveying young peoples’ worry about the lack of progress in self-determination, she stressed: “Development and decolonization of French Polynesia go hand in hand.”
France’s representative said French Polynesia enjoys a very large degree of autonomy and holds jurisdiction over a broad range of matters, including health, education, work and culture. Moreover, Polynesians, as full French citizens, enjoy the same rights and freedoms as all other French nationals. French Polynesia’s powers are enhanced by France’s economic and financial support; financial transfers to Polynesia amount to nearly €2 billion each year. Noting their constant dialogue, he said “there is no process between the French State and the Polynesian Territory that provides a role for the United Nations”.
Richard Tuheiava of the Tāvini Huiraʻatira, a pro-sovereignty political party in French Polynesia, noting the administering Power’s refusal to officially recognize the role of the UN, stressed: “This stance is a clear violation of the right to self-determination of the Polynesian people.” He urged the Committee to be more proactive on the question of French Polynesia.
Question of Montserrat
Antigua and Barbuda’s representative, referring to the financial aid provided by the United Kingdom to Montserrat, said that “aid alone cannot substitute for sustainable development, institutional empowerment and genuine self-government”. “Self-determination is not merely a political process, it is a moral imperative,” he said, adding that the Caribbean future must be one of “sovereignty, resilience and prosperity”.
Question of New Caledonia
France’s delegate, noting that violence in 2024 plunged the Territory into economic and social crises, said his Government is striving to carry out renewed dialogue on the future of New Caledonia. Institutional reform and economic recovery efforts are under way and the future “must be freely chosen and shared by all Caledonians”, he said. In 2025, France aims to provide €270 million in grants and €1 billion in loans for businesses and public services, he added.
A petitioner representing Movement for Decolonization and Social Emancipation challenged the claims of “prosperity” on the island, stressing that 20 per cent of the population live below the poverty line. “The economy is totally dependent and structured by and for the benefit of the metropole,” he said, rejecting the legitimacy of the 2021 referendum, which was a violation of the Nouméa Accords.
Other petitioners, however, underscored France’s important role. Brieuc Frogier, an elected official and a business leader, highlighted the severe social and economic fallout caused by the May 2024 uprising, which was orchestrated by radical pro-independence groups. “Only France is currently able to support us on the difficult path of reconstruction and economic recovery,” he said.
A petitioner representing Les Loyalistes highlighted current living standards that exceed those of neighbouring Pacific nations. “Decolonization does not lead inevitably to independence,” she stressed, adding that the people of New Caledonia have voted three times to remain part of France, and this choice cannot be ignored.
Question of the Turks and Caicos Islands
Petitioners, voicing concern that the United Kingdom’s failure as the administering Power seems to go unnoticed and uncorrected, urged a long-overdue visiting mission to Turks and Caicos.
A petitioner representing the Turks and Caicos Forum recalled that, in January, a SpaceX rocket launch exploded over the Territory, posing serious harm to life and land, which seems to have been ignored by the administering Power. He also questioned its administration of justice when the losing party contested the results of the general elections held in February. A visiting mission by the Special Committee or its “sister committee” is imperative if the country’s populace, well-being and destiny are to be preserved, he stressed.
A petitioner representing the Turks and Caicos Heritage Foundation pointed to continuing human rights violations against the native-born citizens of Turks and Caicos “at the hands of the administering Power”. Senior civil servants are required to retire at age 60 and are replaced with 70-year-olds who are imported from depressed economies, while new Turks and Caicos University graduates are ignored, resulting in their outward migration. Further noting the administering Power’s failure to restrict the sale of land to foreigners, he stressed: “Unchecked and unregulated acquisitions by foreign speculators have placed land acquisition beyond our means.”
Question of the United States Virgin Islands
A representative of OWA said the United States Department of Justice, Department of Interior and the land grant of the University of the Virgin Islands it controls, lead a strategy of ongoing interference, misinformation, propaganda and violation of local, national and international law to protect the United States’ colonized status. Pointing to a declining Government, a non-sustainable economy and deteriorating quality of life, he stressed: “The colonizer benefits from this colonial status […] controlling our natural resources and financial resources and violating its national laws and treaties.”
Update on Activities Related to Information Dissemination on Decolonization
Earlier this morning, the Committee heard from UN officials about the Organization’s efforts in disseminating information on decolonization, before taking action on the related resolution.
Robert Skinner, Officer-in-Charge and Chief of Partnerships and Global Engagement in the Outreach Division of the Department of Global Communications, presented the Secretary-General’s report titled “Dissemination of information on decolonization during the period from April 2024 to March 2025” (document A/AC.109/2025/18). He highlighted the Department’s work to that end through meetings coverage, issuance of press releases, production of compelling multimedia stories across multiple languages and its various activities through UN WebTV, UN Photo, UN Visitors Services and the UN Library.
Josiane Ambiehl, Chief of the Decolonization Unit of the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, said the Unit prepared and updated the 2025 working papers on Non-Self-Governing Territories and continues to maintain and update the "United Nations and Decolonization" website, ensuring accessibility and multilingualism. She noted, however, that website updates could not be completed in the fourth quarter of 2024 due to a 50 per cent reduction in capacity related to the Organization’s liquidity situation. Nevertheless, the website recorded 1.7 million page views and 1.1 million sessions in 2024, representing increases of 14.6 per cent and 21.2 per cent, respectively, compared to 2023.
Importance of Visiting Missions
Commending the UN’s work, Syria’s representative underscored the importance of vising missions in disseminating information on decolonization. Cuba’s delegate, voiced hope that “the financial crisis of the United Nations” “will not lead to years of delay” in the Committee’s work.
“We need to keep alive the hope of Non-Self-Governing Territories, we need to keep that fire burning alive,” underscored Fiji’s representative who voiced concern with the Committee’s limited progress.
Administering Powers Impeding Decolonization, Socioeconomic Progress in Non-Self-Governing Territories
Venezuela’s delegate, speaking on behalf of the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations, strongly condemned “the blatant and detrimental use of modern practices of colonialism, which deliberately prevent […] the development of international economic cooperation” and impede the social, cultural and economic development of nations” — a point echoed by Rwanda’s representative. Administering and occupying Powers must engage in dialogue towards “a fair and comprehensive solution” for each case.
The Russian Federation’s representative, pointing to administering Powers’ deliberate policy to profit from territorial governance, underscored the Special Committee’s duty to protect the real interests of the Territories’ inhabitants and prompt the administering Powers to create conditions for their self-determination.
Adoption of Agenda, Organization of Work for Session
At the meeting’s outset, members approved the session’s agenda and its organization of work, without a vote. They also decided to accede to requests for hearings on the following agenda items, as laid out in its organization of work: Questions of the British Virgin Islands, the Falkland Islands (Malvinas)*, French Polynesia, Gibraltar, New Caledonia, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the United States Virgin Islands and Western Sahara.
It also decided to accede to 68 requests for hearing on the topic entitled “Special Committee decision of 20 June 2024 concerning Puerto Rico: hearing of petitioners”, welcoming petitioners on that topic on Monday, 16 June.
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* A dispute exists between the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Malvinas)