General Assembly

Distr. GENERAL  

20 November 1990

ORIGINAL:
ENGLISH

                                                        A/RES/45/32
                                                        44th plenary meeting
                                                        20 November 1990
                           Question of Guam
 
      The General Assembly,
 
      Having considered the question of Guam,
 
      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 resolutions and decisions of the United Nations relating to Guam, in
 particular General Assembly resolution 44/98 of 11 December 1989,
 
      Conscious of the need to ensure the full and speedy implementation of the
 Declaration in respect of the Territory,
 
      Having heard the statement of the representative of the United States of
 America, as the administering Power,
 
      Recalling that, in referendums held in Guam in 1987, the people of Guam
 endorsed a draft Commonwealth Act that, upon expeditious enactment by the
 Congress of the United States of America, would reaffirm the right of the
 people of Guam to draft their own constitution and to govern themselves,
 
      Noting that the draft Commonwealth Act provides that the Congress of the
 United States would recognize the inalienable right to self-determination of
 the Chamorro people, for which provisions would be made in the Guam
 constitution,
 
      Aware of the special circumstances of the geographical location and
 economic conditions of the Territory, and bearing in mind the necessity of
 diversifying and strengthening further its economy as a matter of priority in
 order to promote economic stability,
 
      Recalling that the 1977 Guam Land Use Plan recommended the release of
 2,100 hectares of surplus federal land to the Government of Guam, and noting
 that, according to information transmitted to the Special Committee in
 April 1990 by the Guam Commission on Self-Determination, 190 hectares had been
 transferred by the Navy to the Government of Guam, a further 462 hectares of
 the identified land had been released and an additional 175 hectares are in
 the process of being returned to the Government of Guam,
 
      Noting the potential for diversifying and developing the economy of Guam
 through commercial fishing and agriculture,
 
      Noting the statement of the representative of the administering Power
 concerning the growth in tourism and the desire of the Government of Guam for
 balanced economic growth,
 
      Noting also the statement of the representative of the administering
 Power that the cultural identity of the Chamorro people, the indigenous
 inhabitants of Guam, would be recognized,
 
      Recalling the dispatch in 1979 of a United Nations visiting mission to
 the Territory,
 
      Mindful that United Nations visiting missions provide an effective means
 of assessing the situation in the Non-Self-Governing Territories, and
 reiterating that the possibility of sending a further visiting mission to Guam
 at an appropriate time should be kept under review,
 
      1.   Approves the section 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 Guam;
 
      2.   Reaffirms the inalienable right of the people of Guam to
 self-determination and independence in conformity with the Declaration on the
 Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples;
 
      3.   Reiterates its conviction that such factors as territorial size,
 geographical location, size of population and limited natural resources should
 in no way delay the implementation of the Declaration, which fully applies to
 Guam;
 
      4.   Reiterates that it is the responsibility of the administering Power
 to create such conditions in the Territory as will enable the people of Guam
 to exercise freely and without interference their inalienable right to
 self-determination and independence in accordance with resolution 1514 (XV)
 and all other relevant resolutions of the General Assembly;
 
      5.   Reaffirms the importance of fostering an awareness among the people
 of Guam of the possibilities open to them with regard to their right to
 self-determination, and calls upon the United States of America, as the
 administering Power, in co-operation with the territorial Government, to
 expedite the process of decolonization strictly in accordance with the
 expressed wishes of the people of the Territory;
 
      6.   Reaffirms its strong conviction that the presence of military bases
 and installations in the Territory could constitute a major obstacle to the
 implementation of the Declaration and that it is the responsibility of the
 administering Power to ensure that the existence of such bases and
 installations does not hinder the population of the Territory from exercising
 its right to self-determination and independence in conformity with the
 purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations;
 
      7.   Urges the administering Power to continue to take all necessary
 measures not to involve the Territory in any offensive acts or interference
 against other States and to comply fully with the purposes and principles of
 the Charter, the Declaration and the resolutions and decisions of the General
 Assembly relating to military activities and arrangements by colonial Powers
 in Territories under their administration;
 
      8.   Reaffirms the responsibility of the administering Power, under the
 Charter, to promote the economic and social development of Guam, and in that
 connection calls upon the administering Power to take further steps to
 strengthen and diversify the economy of the Territory, with a view to reducing
 its economic dependence on the administering Power;
 
      9.   Reiterates that one of the obstacles to economic growth in Guam is
 the holding of large tracts of land by the United States federal authorities,
 and calls upon the administering Power, in co-operation with the territorial
 Government, to expedite the transfer of land to the people of the Territory
 and to take the necessary steps to safeguard their property rights;
 
      10.  Urges the administering Power, in co-operation with the territorial
 Government, to take effective measures to safeguard and guarantee the
 inalienable right of the people of Guam to own and dispose of the natural
 resources of the Territory, including marine resources, and to establish and
 maintain control over the future development of those resources, as well as to
 support measures by the territorial Government aimed at removing constraints
 to growth in commercial fishing and agriculture;
 
      11.  Also urges the administering Power to give full recognition to the
 status and rights of the Chamorro people;
 
      12.  Invites the specialized agencies and other organizations of the
 United Nations system to continue to take all necessary measures to accelerate
 progress in the social and economic life of the Territory;
 
      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 Guam at an appropriate time and in consultation with the
 administering Power, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its
 forty-sixth session.