Summary of Points made in Session 1: General Policy towards Dependent Terrotries
verall Policy
It was felt that the FCO paper sounded curiously old-fashioned in still seeing the problem as one of decolonisation, a phase that ended long ago. The problem is now to decide what is the future for the remaining dependent territories in a regional and hemispherical context.
The UN Attitude
Certain participants expressed surprise at the apparent concern felt by the FCO over UN pressure. But it was pointed out that while this was not particularly significant while things were going well, when things went wrong the UN reaction to our colonialist image could be very damaging. Nonetheless, it was pointed out that we tried to decide policies on the merits of situations and not looking over our shoulder all the time at the UN reaction.
British Policy
The will for empire no longer exists in Britain. Our policy should be determined by our perceived national interest. It is all very well to say we should be guided by the wishes of the population, but those wishes will vary according to the circumstances of the options offered them. We also need to bear in mind what pressure is put on British policies by our membership of wider alliances. For the next two years at least we must also recognise that less money is going to be available for aid.
The Interest of the Dependent Territories
Independence is to the benefit of the dependent territories because it widens their options. But it does not end our obligations. Nor should we necessarily see the question as a strictly bilateral issue between Britain and the territories concerned: where appropriate, we should seek to involve other countries in seeking regional solutions.