General Assembly

Distr. GENERAL  

7 December 1983

ORIGINAL:
ENGLISH

                                                   A/RES/38/46
                                                   7 December 1983
                                                   Meeting no. 86
 
                        Question of Montserrat
 
     The General Assembly,
 
     Having considered the question of Montserrat,
 
     Having examined the relevant chapters of the report 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,
 
     Recalling its resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960, containing the
Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples,
 
     Recalling also its resolution 37/27 of 23 November 1982 on the question
of Montserrat,
 
     Recalling the dispatch, in 1975 and 1982, of United Nations visiting
missions to the Territory,
 
     Noting the statement of the representative of the administering Power,
that the policy of his Government is to respect the wishes of the people of
the Territory in determining their future political status,
 
     Reaffirming the responsibility of the administering Power for the
economic and social development of the Territory,
 
     Noting that during the period under review the economy of Montserrat grew
in real terms and that in recent years no budgetary grant-in-aid from the
administering Power has been considered necessary to balance the regular
budget of the Territory,
 
     Noting that an in-service review of the organization and training needs
of the public service was undertaken in 1982 and that priority would be given
to the establishment of a civil service training centre,
 
     Mindful of the responsibility of the United Nations to help the people of
Montserrat to realize their aspirations in accordance with the objectives set
forth in the Declaration,
 
     Noting the assistance being rendered by those organizations of the United
Nations system operating in the Territory,
 
     Aware of the special problems facing the Territory by virtue of its
isolation, small size, limited resources and lack of infrastructure,
 
     Mindful that visiting missions provide an effective means of ascertaining
the situation in the Territories visited,
 
     1.   Approves the chapter of the report 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 relating to Montserrat;
 
     2.   Reaffirms the inalienable right of the people of Montserrat to
self-determination and independence in conformity with the Declaration on the
Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, contained in
General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960;
 
     3.   Reiterates the view that such factors as size, geographical
location, size of population and limited natural resources should in no way
delay the speedy exercise by the people of the Territory of their inalienable
right to self-determination and independence in conformity with the
Declaration, which fully applies to the Territory;
 
     4.   Notes with appreciation the continued participation of the
administering Power in the work of the Committee, which enables it to conduct
a more meaningful examination of the situation in the Territory with a view to
accelerating the process of decolonization for the purpose of the full
implementation of the Declaration;
 
     5.   Reiterates that it is the responsibility of the administering Power
to create such conditions in Montserrat as will enable its people to exercise
freely and without interference their inalienable right to self-determination
and independence in accordance with General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV), as
well as all other relevant resolutions of the Assembly;
 
     6.   Reaffirms that it is ultimately for the people of Montserrat
themselves to determine their future political status in accordance with the
relevant provisions of the Charter of the United Nations and the Declaration
and reiterates its call upon the administering Power to launch, in
co-operation with the territorial Government, programmes of political
education so that the people of Montserrat may be fully informed of the
options available to them in the exercise of their right to self-determination
and independence;
 
     7.   Calls upon the administering Power to continue, in co-operation with
the territorial Government, to strengthen the economy and to increase its
assistance to programmes of diversification;
 
     8.   Takes note of the growth of the manufacturing, construction and
tourist industries, and urges the administering Power, in co-operation with
the territorial Government, to intensify the development of other sectors of
the economy, in particular agriculture, livestock and fisheries, for the
benefit of the people of the Territory;
 
     9.   Urges the administering Power in co-operation with the territorial
Government, to continue to take effective measures to safeguard, guarantee and
ensure the rights of the people of Montserrat to own and dispose of their
natural resources and to establish and maintain control of their future
development;
 
     10.  Urges also the administering Power, in co-operation with the
territorial Government, to continue to render the assistance necessary for the
localization of the civil service, particularly at senior levels;
 
     11.  Takes note of the continued participation of the Territory in the
work of the Caribbean Group for Co-operation and Economic Development, as well
as such regional organizations as the Caribbean Community and the Caribbean
Development Bank, and calls upon the organizations of the United Nations
system, as well as donor Governments and regional organizations, to intensify
their efforts to accelerate progress in the economic and social life of the
Territory;
 
     12.  Requests the Special Committee to continue the examination of this
question at its next session, including the possible dispatch of a further
visiting mission to Montserrat at an appropriate time and in consultation with
the administering Power, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its
thirty-ninth session.