General Assembly

Distr. GENERAL  

5 December 1984

ORIGINAL:
ENGLISH

                                                   A/RES/39/36
                                                   5 December 1984
                                                   Meeting no. 87
 
                            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,
and all other resolutions and decisions of the United Nations relating to
Montserrat, including in particular its resolution 38/46 of 7 December 1983,
 
     Noting the statement of the representative of the administering Power
relating to the Territory, in which he said that his Government would respect
the wishes of the people of Montserrat in determining the future political
status of the Territory,
 
     Noting the statement of the Government of Montserrat that independence
was inevitable and desirable and that the Government would work towards that
end,
 
     Reaffirming the responsibility of the administering Power for the
economic and social development of the Territory,
 
     Noting with concern that during the period under review the general
slowdown in the world economy also affected Montserrat, particularly in its
vital sectors, such as tourism, construction, agriculture and manufacturing,
 
     Welcoming the establishment of the Civil Service Training Centre and
noting that the review of the organization and training needs of the civil
service was expected to be completed in 1984,
 
     Welcoming the contribution to the development of the Territory by the
United Nations Development Programme and those specialized agencies and other
organizations of the United Nations system operating in Montserrat and noting
in particular the increase envisaged by the Programme for the period
1982-1986,
 
     Aware of the special problems facing the Territory by virtue of its
isolation, small size, limited resources and lack of infrastructure,
 
     Recalling the dispatch, in 1975 and 1982, of United Nations visiting
missions to the Territory,
 
     Mindful that visiting missions provide an effective means of ascertaining
the situation in the small Territories,
 
     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);
 
     3.   Reiterates the view that such factors as territorial 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 contained in General Assembly resolution
     1514 (XV), which fully applies to Montserrat;
 
     4.   Notes with appreciation the continued participation of the United
     Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as the administering
     Power, in the work of the Special Committee in regard to Montserrat,
     thereby enabling it to conduct a more informed and 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, from a well-informed standpoint
     as to the available options, 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, in
     co-operation with the territorial Government, to launch programmes of
     political education so that the people of Montserrat will be fullly
     informed of the options available to them in the exercise of their right
     to self-determination and independence;
 
     7.   Calls upon the administering Power, in co-operation with the
     territorial Government, to continue to strengthen the economy and to
     increase its assistance to programmes of diversification in order to
     promote the economic and financial viability of the Territory;
 
     8.   Urges the administering Power to take the necessary measures, in
     co-operation with the territorial Government, to restore sustained and
     balanced growth to the economy of the Territory and to intensify its
     assistance in the development of all sectors thereof, which will benefit
     the people of the Territory, and expresses the hope that Montserrat's
     non-budgetary grant-in-aid status can be maintained;
 
     9.   Also urges the administering Power, in co-operation with the
     territorial Government, 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.  Further urges the administering Power, in co-operation with the
     territorial Government, to continue to provide the assistance necessary
     for the localization of the civil service at all levels, particularly the
     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.  Considers that the possibility of sending a further visiting mission
     to Montserrat at an appropriate time should be kept under review;
 
     13.  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 fortieth session.