Press Release
GA/COL/3017
The Special Committee on the Situation with Regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples this morning stressed the need to dispatch periodic visiting missions to the Non-Self-Governing Territories in order to facilitate the full, speedy and effective implementation of the Declaration.
Adopting without a vote a resolution submitted by its Chairman on the issue, the Committee called upon the administering Powers to cooperate or continue to cooperate with the United Nations by receiving the Organization's visiting missions in the Territories under their administration. Also by the text, the Committee requested its Chairman to enter into consultation with the administering Power of Guam in order to facilitate the dispatch of a visiting mission to that Territory.
In other action this morning, the Committee also adopted, without a vote, a resolution of the question of New Caledonia, by which the Committee called upon the administering Power to transmit information regarding the political, economic and social situation in New Caledonia to the Secretary-General. The Committee also urged all the parties involved, in the interest of the people of New Caledonia and building on the positive outcome of the review of the Matignon and Nouméa Accords, to maintain their dialogue in a spirit of harmony.
In a referendum on 8 November 1998, New Caledonians ratified the Nouméa Accord, which would transfer sovereign powers from the administering Power -- France -- to New Caledonia at the end of a 20-year period of transition. It stated that the transfer of powers should be a gradual process leading to full sovereignty for the Territory. As a result of intensive consultations between the administering Power and the Territory's main local parties, the Accord was signed on 5 May 1998.
Also this morning, a report of the Special Committee was adopted, without a vote, in which the Committee observed that it might wish to decide to organize in the year 2000 a seminar at United Nations Headquarters to be attended by representatives of all Non-Self-Governing Territories. Further, the Committee recommended that the United Nations system be invited to apprise the Secretary-General of actions they had taken to implement General Assembly resolution 46/181 (1991) relating to the plan of action for the International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism (1990-2000). The Committee will meet again on Monday, 12 July, at 3 p.m. (more).
Committee Work Programme: The Special Committee on the Situation with Regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples met this morning to consider the question of sending visiting missions to Non-Self-Governing Territories and the question of New Caledonia. It had before it two related draft resolutions on those issues and the report of the Special Committee (aide-mémoire 10/99/Rev.1)
By the terms of a draft on the question of sending visiting missions to Territories submitted by its Chairman (document A/AC.109/199/L.8), the Committee would stress the need to dispatch periodic visiting missions to the Non-Self-Governing Territories in order to facilitate the full, speedy and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (Declaration on decolonization). It would call upon the administering Powers to cooperate or continue to cooperate with the United Nations by receiving the Organization's visiting missions in the Territories under their administration. The Committee would request the administering Powers to consider new approaches in the work of the Special Committee and would call upon them to cooperate with Committee in its efforts.
By the text, the Committee would request its Chairman to continue consultations with the administering Powers concerned on the implementation of paragraph two of the present resolution and to report thereon to the Special Committee as appropriate. It would also request its Chairman to enter into consultation with the administering Power of Guam with a view to facilitating the dispatch of a United Nations visiting mission to that Territory.
By the terms of a draft on the question of New Caledonia (document A/AC.109/1999/L.14) submitted by Fiji and Papua New Guinea, the Committee would invite the administering Power -- France -- to consider inviting to New Caledonia, at the time new institutions are established, a mission of information, which would comprise representatives of countries of the Pacific region. It would call upon the administering Power to transmit information regarding the political, economic and social situation in New Caledonia to the Secretary-General.
The Committee would urge all the parties involved, in the interest of the people of New Caledonia and building on the positive outcome of the review of the Matignon and Nouméa Accords, to maintain their dialogue in a spirit of harmony. The Committee would invite all the parties involved to continue promoting a framework for the peaceful progress of the Territory towards an act of self-determination in which all options are open and which would safeguard the rights of New Caledonians according to the letter and the spirit of the Matignon and Nouméa Accords, which are based on the principle that it is for the populations of New Caledonia to choose how to control their destiny.
[In a referendum on 8 November 1998, New Caledonians ratified the Nouméa Accord, which would transfer sovereign powers from the administering Power -- France -- to New Caledonia at the end of a 20-year period of transition. It stated that the transfer of powers should be a gradual process leading to full sovereignty for the Territory. As a result of intensive consultations between the administering Power and the Territory's main local parties, the Accord was signed on 5 May 1998.
With the Accord's ratification and the codification of its provisions into French law, its implementation was expected to proceed according to the following timetable. Elections were held on 9 May 1999 for the provincial assemblies and the Congress. The new assemblies and Congress would be in place by 14 May and the Government elected by 18 June 1999. The customary councils and the customary senate were to be designated by 28 August, while the first meeting of the provincial assemblies would take place by 14 August.]
Also before the Special Committee was its draft revised report (aides-mémoire 10/99 and Rev.1) containing an annotated list of pending matters, together with indication of action that might be taken.
The General Assembly, by paragraph 6 of its resolution 1654 (XVI) of 27 November 1961, had authorized the Special Committee to meet elsewhere -- other than at United Nations Headquarters -- whenever and wherever such meetings might be required for the effective discharge of its functions. That decision was further enforced by paragraph 3 (9) of the programme of action for the full implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, contained in General Assembly resolution 2621 (XXV) of 12 October 1970.
The draft report states that the Special Committee might wish to decide to consider accepting invitation as might be received in the year 2000 and to request the Secretary-General to seek the necessary budgetary provisions in accordance with established procedure. Similarly, it was also to consider recommending to the General Assembly that the Committee continue to be represented at seminars, meetings and conferences organized by the United Nations bodies and other intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations active in the field of decolonization.
According to the report, in keeping with its decision of 22 February 1999, the Committee would authorize its Chairman to hold consultations, as appropriate, concerning the level of participation and the composition of its delegation based on the principle of rotation. The Special Committee might wish to recommend that the General Assembly make appropriate budgetary provisions to cover such activities in the year 2000.
In a section concerning pattern of conferences, the draft report notes that, during the year, the Special Committee closely followed the guidelines set forth in the resolutions of the General Assembly, in particular resolution 53/208 of 18 December 1998. By organizing its programme of work and holding extensive consultations, it had been able to curtail considerably the number of its formal meetings. The report proposes that the Special Committee continue to make optimum and effective use of conference-servicing resources and might wish to streamline its report to the Assembly. The report also states that the Committee might wish to decide to continue consideration of the question of list of Territories to which the Declaration on decolonization was applicable at its next session, subject to any directives that the General Assembly might give at its fifty-fourth session.
Noting that the plan of action for the International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism provided for the holding of seminars alternately in the Caribbean and the Pacific region, as well as at United Nations Headquarters, the draft report observes that the Special Committee might wish to decide to organize in the year 2000 a seminar at Headquarters to be attended by representatives of all Non-Self-Governing Territories. The Special Committee might further recommend that United Nations organs, agencies and institutions be invited to apprise the Secretary-General of actions they had taken to implement General Assembly resolution 46/181 of 19 December 1991 relating to the plan of action and submit a report to the General Assembly.
Finally, the report states that the Special Committee might wish to recommend that the participation of representatives of Non-Self-Governing Territories in its work at Headquarters, as recommended by the plan of action for the International Decade, should continue to b facilitated through the reimbursement by the United Nations of expenses relating to their participation, under the terms and guidelines amended by the Committee and approved by the General Assembly at its forty-eighth session. Action The Special Committee adopted the draft resolution on the question of sending visiting missions (document A/AC.109/1999/L.8) without a vote.
The Special Committee also adopted the draft revised report, as orally amended. SAKIUSA RABUKA (Fiji) introduced the draft resolution on the question of New Caledonia (document A/AC.109/1999/L.14), and the Committee approved it without a vote. * *** *