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Special Committee on Decolonization

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Special Committee on Decolonization

The Special Committee on Decolonization (its full official title being 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 known as the U.N. Special Committee of the 24 on Decolonization, the Committee of 24, or simply, the Decolonization Committee) was created in 1961 by the General Assembly of the United Nations with the purpose of monitoring implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples and to make recommendations on its application. The committee is also a successor to the former Committee on Information from Non-Self-Governing Territories, with which it was merged in 1963. The full official name of the Special Committee is "Special Committee on the Situation with Regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples".

Contents

Hoping to speed the progress of decolonization, the General Assembly had adopted in 1960 the Resolution 1514, also known as the "Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples" or simply "Declaration on Decolonization". It stated that all people have a right to self-determination and proclaimed that colonialism should be brought to a speedy and unconditional end.

Subsequently, in 1990, the General Assembly proclaimed 1990–2000 as the International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism and adopted a concrete Plan of Action to further its principles and relevant International Law on that matter. In 2001, the United Nations proceeded to proclaim the Second International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism. In 2011, the Third International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism was declared.

In 1945, the year the United Nations was established, 750 million people – almost a third of the world's population – lived in territories that were non-self-governing, dependent on colonial Powers. Today, fewer than 2 million people live in such territories.

As of 2016, several of the territories on the list have rejected independence (or any other change of status) through referendums, such as Gibraltar in 2002 and the Falkland Islands in 2013. Likewise in 2013 the elected Assembly of French Polynesia objected to that territory's inclusion on the list. There is also controversy surrounding the viability of several of the listed territories as independent nations, such as Pitcairn, which had a population estimated at just 57 in 2015.

Listed non-self-governing territories

As of 2016, there are 17 territories listed on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories:

Membership

The 17-member Special Committee was expanded to 24 members in 1962, and the size of its membership has varied since.

As of March 2014, the members are as follows:

The Special Committee also has 14 observers.

Recommendation on Puerto Rico

The Special Committee on Decolonization refers to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (a territory of the United States) as a nation in its reports, because, internationally, the people of Puerto Rico are often considered to be a Caribbean nation with their own national identity. Most recently, in a June 2016 report, the Special Committee called for the United States to expedite the process to allow self-determination in Puerto Rico. More specifically, the group called on the United States to expedite a process that would allow the people of Puerto Rico to exercise fully their right to self-determination and independence. ... [and] allow the Puerto Rican people to take decisions in a sovereign manner and to address their urgent economic and social needs, including unemployment, marginalization, insolvency and poverty".

Officers and bureau members

The Chair of the Special Committee for 2016 is Rafael Darío Ramírez Carreño (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela) . The two Vice Chairs are Rodolfo Reyes Rodriguez (Cuba) and Vandi Chidi Minah (Sierra Leone). The Rapporteur is Bashar Ja'afari of Syria. The Bureau of the Committee comprises these officers.

References

Special Committee on Decolonization Wikipedia


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