General Assembly

The 24-member Committee that monitors implementation of the 1960 Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples in 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories approved by consensus today an omnibus draft resolution on the questions of American Samoa, Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Guam, Montserrat, Pitcairn, Saint Helena, Turks and Caicos Islands and United States Virgin Islands.

The Special Committee on Decolonization today approved three draft resolutions dealing with various aspects of its work, as it continued its session at Headquarters.

The Special Committee on Decolonization today called on the United States to expedite a process that would allow Puerto Ricans to fully exercise their inalienable right to self-determination and independence, requesting the General Assembly to consider the question of Puerto Rico comprehensively in all its aspects.

An “eighteenth century attitude” prevailed in continued efforts by Spain to incorporate the disputed territory of Gibraltar – against the will of the Gibraltarian people - that Territory’s Chief Minister told the Special Committee on Decolonization this morning, as it considered the questions of Gibraltar, the Western Sahara and the Falkland Islands (Malvinas).

Following statements by petitioners and an impassioned plea by the President of Argentina to leave behind an “outdated story” of prejudice and cliché, the Special Committee on Decolonization today reiterated that ending the “special and particular” colonial situation relating to the Falkland Islands (Malvinas)* required a peaceful, negotiated settlement of the sovereignty dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom.

The Palestinian Rights Committee this afternoon approved the provisional programme of the upcoming United Nations Asian and Pacific Meeting in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace, to be held in Bangkok, as it also heard reports on previous international meetings, as well as on the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

The Special Committee on Decolonization this morning, resuming its session, approved by consensus requests for hearings from several Non-Self-Governing Territories in the coming days, as well as three draft resolutions on the transmission and dissemination of information on decolonization.

Through the direct engagement of its Member States, the General Assembly had been able to respond promptly to many important and serious situations during its current session, the President of the 193-nation body said today at a Headquarters press conference on a wide range of issues, including the upcoming Rio summit on sustainable development, the crisis in Syria, and combating violence against women.

QUITO, ECUADOR, 1 June — As the three-day Pacific Regional Seminar on the Implementation of the Third International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism drew to a close today, the Chairman of the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization, Diego Morejón-Pazmiño of Ecuador, said participants had had the opportunity to bring to light the challenges still confronting the Non-Self-Governing Territories in the process of decolonization.

PARIS, 1 June — Civil society organizations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel must play a more active role to bring about a just, stable peace in the region, speakers said today during the day-long United Nations Meeting of Civil Society in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace, which took place in Paris. Entitled “Civil society action towards ending the occupation: harnessing the power of youth and women”, the event featured four workshops.