TNAG-0598-FCO40-745-Involvement-of-United-Nations-with-Dependent-Territories-1977 — Page 45

CONFIDENTIAL

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that reserved powers are exercised in consultation with the locally elected element in the government; Advisory Committees on Public Security, and (without prejudice to the advice of independent Public Service Commissioners) consultation with Ministers on senior appointments, are indicated;

that although the Governor has discretionary powers in some fields, the constitution is interpreted in such a way that local people run their own affairs. If it can be demonstrated that the Governor has never rejected the advice of Exco (as in the Caymans), so much the better;

that the local people can secure further modifications in the constitution and in their status at any time, if they so wish. The General Assembly would need to be convinced that the residual elements of dependence could be removed at a later stage, and that we would not oppose this;

that the constitution had been subjected to popular approval after the options open had been fully explained to the voters. The Committee of 24 has shown itself to be particularly keen on political education, and public information campaigns in connection with important votes.

9. At present the best way of sugaring the pill would be to copy the procedure followed for Niue, and to obtain UN verification in two stages. First, a fact-finding mission ascertains the popular resistance to independence. Then the local government and the administering power go through the procedures for amending the constitution to bring it to its final stage of development. Perhaps two years after the original mission a second observes the "act of self-determination". The course of events is summarised in the report of the second mission to Niue in 1974 (document A/AC109/1982). It is conceivable that once Namibia and Rhodesia are off the Committee's books, interest in the small territories will wane, and that the procedure might be telescoped. Present- ation of the facts by us in the Committee, supported by a local politician brought to New York, might take the place of the fact-finding mission. The missions to Montserrat, BVI and the Caymans (especially the latter) have already supplied the fact-finding component and could be further exploited if you decide that these territories are cases for this treatment.

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CONFIDENTIAL

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