Trusteeship Council

In 1994, with the termination of the Trusteeship Agreement for the last Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands and Palau's admission as the 185th Member of the United Nations, the Trusteeship Council completed the task entrusted to it under the Charter with respect to the 11 Territories that had been placed under the Trusteeship System. The other 10, the majority of them in Africa and the Pacific, had already attained independence, either as separate States or by joining neighbouring States. The Trusteeship Council thereupon amended its rules of procedure and will in future meet only as and where occasion may require.

In a letter dated 2 June 1995 addressed to me (A/50/142), the Permanent Representative of Malta requested, on behalf of his Government, that the General Assembly include an item entitled "Review of the role of the Trusteeship Council" in the provisional agenda of its fiftieth session. The Government of Malta would like the Assembly to consider transforming the Council's role so that, in addition to its role under the Charter, the Council would hold in trust for humanity its common heritage and common concerns.

In my 1994 annual report on the work of the Organization, I recommended that the General Assembly proceed with steps to eliminate the organ, in accordance with Article 108 of the Charter. I regret that no decision to abolish the Trusteeship Council has been taken.

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