1.
UNITED KINGDOM DEPENDENT TERRITORIES
WIND UP SPEECH BY MINISTER OF STATE
DSR 11C
The subject of decolonisation is one in which the
We have never
UN has a strong and legitimate interest.
Indeed, the ideals contained in
sought to deny this. the UN Charter chime exactly with our own thinking. We are particularly cognisant of our responsibilities
Britain's record is, I believe, second
under Article 73.
to none.
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Between 40 and 50 members of the Organisation have been former dependencies of ours which we have brought to independence through exercise of the inhabi- tants' right of self-determination in accordance with
the UN Charter. A small handful of territories have
chosen to remain dependent, usually for very practical reasons such as size of population or limitation of resource. But in accordance with our general policy in this area we are always ready to consider proposals from the inhabitants of our dependencies directed towards
their greater self-government.
Our regular reports to
the UN, which we are obliged to make under Article 73(e) of the Charter, highlight the fact that the inhabitants
the opportunity Fi sine full expressin ĥ this have democratic institutions and regular occasion to
express their views in free elections.
The General Assembly's principal committee on
decolonisation, the so-called 'Committee of Twenty Four'
was established by a resolution of the UN General Assembly
in 1961 on which the UK abstained.
The Committee was
mandated to examine the implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples which was contained in a 1960 resolution of
/the General
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