38 Right Against Decolonisation as a Facet of Right to Development

Dr. Aneesh V. Pillai

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Table of contents

1. Learning outcome

2. Introduction

3. United Nations Charter

3.1. Article 73 of the UN Charter

3.2. Article 76 of the UN Charter

3.3. Declaration on Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and People,1960

4. Other U N initiatives

5. Other activities of the Special Committee

6. Department of Political Affairs

7. Conclusion

 

1. Learning Objective

The students will be able to know how decolonisation is a part of the right to development, and how it is a group right

2. Introduction

Right to development is group right because it aims at the right of the people, or the country to remain developed in all aspects- social, political, cultural, economic etc. So, unless the people are able to govern themselves, none of these developments will be possible. So, decolonisation assumes a lot of importance. The United Nations has created a body called International Trusteeship Council to take care of the interests of the trust territories, and to help them achieve independence.

In a vast political reshaping of the world, more than 80 former colonies comprising some 750 million people have gained independence since the creation of the United Nations. At present, 17 Non-Self-Governing Territories (NSGTs) across the globe remain to be decolonized, home to nearly 2 million people. Thus, the process of decolonization is not complete. Finishing the job will require a continuing dialogue among the Powers, the Special Committee on Decolonization, and the peoples of the territories, in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions on decolonization.

The 17 NSGTs are Western Sahara, Anguilla, Bermuda, British virgin Islands, Falkland Islands, Monserrat, St.Helena, Turks and Caicos Islands, US Virgin Islands, Gibraltar, American Samoa, French Polynesia, Guam, New Caledonia, Pitcaim and Tokelan. Western Sahara, Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Falkland Islands, Monserrat,St. Helena,Turksand Caios Islands, Gibraltar and Pitcaim are administered by United Kigdom. US virgin Islands, and Guam are administered by United States of America. French Polynesia and New Caledonia are administered by France whereas Tokelau is administered by New Zealand. As a part of right to development, these places have the right to be administered by their own people, and UN is on its way for the realisation of that. There are various documents which deal with the right to fight colonisation starting from the UN Charter.

3. UN Charter

3.1. Article 73 of the United Nations Charter states:

Members of the United Nations which have or assume responsibilities for the administration of territories whose peoples have not yet attained a full measure of self-government recognize the principle that the interests of the inhabitants of these territories are paramount, and accept as a sacred trust the obligation to promote to the utmost, within the system of international peace and security established by the present Charter, the well-being of the inhabitants of these territories, and, to this end:

  1. to ensure, with due respect for the culture of the peoples concerned, their political, economic, social, and educational advancement, their just treatment, and their protection against abuses;
  2. to develop self-government, to take due account of the political aspirations of the peoples, and to assist them in the progressive development of their free political institutions, according to the particular circumstances of each territory and its peoples and their varying stages of advancement;
  3. to further international peace and security;
  4. to promote constructive measures of development, to encourage research, and to co-operate with one another and, when and where appropriate, with specialized international bodies with a view to the practical achievement of the social, economic, and scientific purposes set forth in this Article; and
  5. to transmit regularly to the Secretary-General for information purposes, subject to such limitation as security and constitutional considerations may require, statistical and other information of a technical nature relating to economic, social, and educational conditions in the territories for which they are respectively responsible other than those territories to which Chapters XII and XIII apply.

3.2.  Article 76 of the UN Charter

This Article deals with the establishment of International Trusteeship Council the objective which is inter alia “to promote the political, economic, social, and educational advancement of the inhabitants of the trust territories, and their progressive development towards self-government or independence as may be appropriate to the particular circumstances of each territory and its peoples and the freely expressed wishes of the peoples concerned, and as may be provided by the terms of each trusteeship agreement”.

4. Declaration on Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, 1960

The Declaration considers decolonisation as a part of self determination and as a part of right to development. It focuses on the following points.

  1. The subjection of peoples to alien subjugation, domination and exploitation constitutes a denial of fundamental human rights, is contrary to the Charter of the United Nations and is an impediment to the promotion of world peace and co-operation.
  2. All peoples have the right to self-determination; by virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.
  3. Inadequacy of political, economic, social or educational preparedness should never serve as a pretext for delaying independence.
  4. All armed action or repressive measures of all kinds directed against dependent peoples shall cease in order to enable them to exercise peacefully and freely their right to complete independence, and the integrity of their national territory shall be respected.
  5. Immediate steps shall be taken, in Trust and Non-Self-Governing Territories or all other territories which have not yet attained independence, to transfer all powers to the peoples of those territories, without any conditions or reservations, in accordance with their freely expressed will and desire, without any distinction as to race, creed or colour, in order to enable them to enjoy complete independence and freedom.
  6. Any attempt aimed at the partial or total disruption of the national unity and the territorial integrity of a country is incompatible with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.
  7. All States shall observe faithfully and strictly the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the present Declaration on the basis of equality, non-interference in the internal affairs of all States, and respect for the sovereign rights of all peoples and their territorial integrity.

5 Other U. N. Initiatives

The Special Committee was established by the General Assembly pursuant to its resolution 1654 (XVI) of 27 November 1961. The Special Committee was requested to examine the application of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, contained in Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960, and to make suggestions and recommendations on the progress of the implementation of the Declaration. 3. By its resolution 1970 (XVIII) of 16 December 1963, the General Assembly decided to dissolve the Committee on Information from Non-Self-Governing Territories and requested the Special Committee to study the information transmitted under Article 73 e of the Charter of the United Nations. 4. At the same session and at each subsequent session, the General Assembly, after considering the report of the Special Committee,1 adopted a resolution by which it renewed the mandate of the Special Committee.

At its thirty-fifth session, the General Assembly, on the basis of a recommendation of the Special Committee, adopted resolution 35/118 of 11 December 1980, the annex to which contained the Plan of Action for the Full Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. 6. At its forty-third session, the General Assembly adopted resolution 43/47 of 22 November 1988, by which it declared the period 1990-2000 the International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism. 7. At its forty-sixth session, the General Assembly, in its resolution 46/181 of 19 December 1991, adopted as a plan of action for the International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism the proposals contained in the annex to the report of the Secretary-General dated 13 December 1991 (A/46/634/Rev.1 and Corr.1). The plan stated that the Special Committee, with the cooperation of the administering Powers, should: (a) Prepare periodic analyses of the progress and extent of the implementation of the Declaration; (b) Review the impact of the economic and social situation on the constitutional and political advancement of Non-Self-Governing Territories; (c) Organize during the Decade seminars in the Caribbean and Pacific regions alternately, as well as at United Nations Headquarters, to review the progress achieved in the implementation of the plan of action, with the participation of the peoples of the Non-Self-Governing Territories, their elected representatives, the administering Powers, Member States, regional organizations, specialized agencies, non-governmental organizations and experts. 8. In addition, the Special Committee was to continue to seek, as a matter of priority, the full cooperation of the administering Powers with regard to the dispatch of United Nations visiting missions to Non-Self-Governing Territories and, with the cooperation of the administering Powers, make every effort to facilitate and encourage the participation of representatives of Non-Self-Governing Territories in regional and international organizations, as well as in the specialized agencies of the United Nations system, the Special Committee itself and other United Nations decolonization bodies. 9. At its fifty-fifth session, the General Assembly adopted resolution 55/146 of Committee in updating it as necessary, with a view to using it as the basis for a plan of action for the Third International Decade.

At its sixty-eighth session, on 11 December 2013, the General Assembly, after considering the report of the Special Committee (A/68/23), adopted resolution 68/97, in which it approved the report covering the Committee’s work in 2013, including the programme of work envisaged for 2014, and requested the Special Committee to continue to seek suitable means for the immediate and full implementation of the Declaration, and in particular: (a) To formulate specific proposals to bring about an end to colonialism and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session;

(b) To continue to examine the implementation by Member States of resolution 1514 (XV) and other relevant resolutions on decolonization; (c) To continue to examine the political, economic and social situation in the Non-Self-Governing Territories and to recommend, as appropriate, to the General Assembly the most suitable steps to be taken to enable the populations of those Territories to exercise their right to self-determination, including independence, in accordance with the relevant resolutions on decolonization, including resolutions on specific Territories; (d) To develop and finalize, as soon as possible and in cooperation with the administering Power and the Territory in question, a constructive programme of work on a case-by-case basis for the Non-Self-Governing Territories to facilitate the implementation of the mandate of the Special Committee and the relevant resolutions on decolonization, including resolutions on specific Territories; (e) To continue to dispatch visiting and special missions to the Non-Self Governing Territories in accordance with the relevant resolutions on decolonization.

8. Other activities of the Special Committee

The Special Committee on decolonization examined two Non-Self-Governing Territories, New Caledonia and French Polynesia, and approved resolutions reaffirming the right of the peoples of those Territories to determine their own future at its 8th meeting held on 26th June 2015.

The Special Committee — known formally as the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples — also approved a number of other documents, including the conclusions and recommendations of its recent Caribbean Regional Seminar, held in Nicaragua in May.

On the Pacific island of New Caledonia — which is administered by France — the Special Committee approved a resolution by which the General Assembly would note that the Territory had entered into its most “seminal phase”, with a historic status referendum slated to take place in 2018. In that connection, it would encourage France and the people of New Caledonia to address in an amicable way concerns relating to the electoral process, which lingered despite a 5 June agreement reached on the matter.

9. Department of Political Affairs

This is a department of the United Nations which advises the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization (also known as the Committee of Twenty-Four), whose role is to assess progress in decolonozation and make recommendations to the General Assembly on ways to help eliminate all remaining vestiges of colonialism.

 

DPA’s Decolonization Unit monitors political, economic and social developments in each of the Non-Self-Governing Territories on the United Nations list, and prepares reports on each territory.It also works with the Department of Public Information to prepare informational materials for the territories, explaining the options available to them in moving toward full self-government based on the U.N. Charter. It provides substantive advice for the Special Committee and the General Assembly, where petitioners from the territories speak about the concerns and aspirations of their people. The DPA also assists the Special Committee in developing programmes of work toward the decolonization of individual territories. It provides political advice for the Special Committee on visits to territories considering shedding their colonial status, as well as for decolonization seminars held annually in the Pacific or the Caribbean, bringing together territory representatives and members of the Special Committee. It also maintains the United Nations website on Decolonization.

10. Conclusion

Thus, efforts are going on to give country status of the United Nations continue. Right against decolonisation is a group right because it is te right not of a person, but of a people, who later become a nation. It is a facet of right to development because, to be independent from colonisation is also a part of right to development. There are various institutions like the IMF, and the World Bank which help the developing countries to become developed. But, to what extent they help the developing countries is to be examined.

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Reference

  • http://legal.un.org/repertory/art73.shtml
  • http://legal.un.org/repertory/art76.shtml
  • http://www.un.org/en/decolonization/declaration.shtml