Paper No:
WIZA
BRITISH POLICY TOWARDS THE OTHER DEPENDENT TERRITORIES
1 Since 1945, when the UN Charter formally acknowledged the
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right of colonial peoples to self-determination, successive British
Governments have given every help and encouragement to Dependent
Territories wishing to become independent. To this end, we are
committed to the creation of competent political and economic
institutions in our dependencies.
At the same time it has been a
consistent part of our policy that no Territory should be forced
into independence against the will of its population.
2. There are now 15 remaining British Dependent Territories,
and three Associated States for whose external relations and defence
we remain responsible. Separate papers have been prepared on
Hong Kong, the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar and Belize. Two
Territories, the British Indian Ocean Territory and British Antarctic
Territory, have no permanent populations, and the question of
independence does not therefore arise.
3. In the Pacific, the remaining Territories are Pitcairn (for which
independence can never be a realistic option since the population is
only 61) and the Gilbert Islands which are due or independence under
the name of Kiribati (pronounced Kiribass) on 12 July 1979. For this
purpose, high priority will need to be given to obtaining Parliamentary
approval for the independence bill. The inclusion of Ocean Island
(Banaba) in the territory has aroused strong opposition among members
of all political parties sympathetic to the Banaban cause.
The
4. We and the French are partners in the Condominium of the
New Hebrides which we plan to bring to independence in 1980.
internal political situation is highly complicated; a quasi-consti-
tutional conference, at ministerial level, is planned to take place
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