Question of the United States Virgin Islands : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly

 

Question of the United States Virgin Islands

  The General Assembly, Having considered the question of the United States Virgin Islands, Having examined the relevant chapters of the report of the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, Recalling its resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960, containing the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, and all other resolutions and decisions of the United Nations relating to the United States Virgin Islands, including in particular its resolution 40/49 of 2 December 1985, Noting with appreciation the continued active participation of the United States of America, as the administering Power, and of the representative of the territorial Government in the work of the Special Committee in regard to the United States Virgin Islands, thereby enabling it to conduct a more informed and meaningful examination of the situation in the Territory, with a view to accelerating the process of decolonization for the purpose of the full implementation of the Declaration, Taking note of the statement of the representative of the administering Power that the Territory of the United States Virgin Islands enjoys a large measure of self-government through its elected representatives, namely, the Governor, members of the Legislature and the Territory's delegate to the United States House of Representatives, and that a delegate - elected for a two-year period - participates in the House of Representatives without the right to vote although he participates and votes in the Committees, Noting that general elections are to be held in November 1986 in the Territory, Noting that, during the period under review, despite some setbacks to its industrialization programme, the economy of the Territory improved, and that, in particular, tourism, construction and private investment increased and the level of unemployment decreased, and taking note of the infrastructural developments taking place in the Territory, Welcoming the continued participation of the United States Virgin Islands, as an associate member, in the work of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean and its subsidiary bodies, including the Caribbean Development and Co-operation Committee, and noting the continued participation of a representative of the Territory, as a member of the delegation of the administering Power, in annual meetings of the Caribbean Group for Co-operation in Economic Development since 1982, Noting the continued policy of the administering Power that representatives of the Territory should participate in forums where the Territory was the subject of discussion, Aware of the special circumstances of the geographical location and economic conditions of the Territory and bearing in mind the necessity of diversifying and strengthening further its economy as a matter of priority in order to promote economic stability, Recalling the dispatch in 1977 of a United Nations visiting mission to the Territory, Mindful that United Nations visiting missions provide an effective means of assessing the situation in the small Territories, and considering that the possibility of sending a further visiting mission to the United States Virgin Islands at an appropriate time should be kept under review, particularly in the light of the referendum referred to in paragraph 5 below and the preparations for that event,

1. Approves the chapter of the report of the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples relating to the United States Virgin Islands;

2. Reaffirms the inalienable right of the people of the United States Virgin Islands to self-determination and independence in conformity with the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, contained in General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV);

3. Reiterates the view that such factors as territorial size, geographical location, size of population and limited natural resources should in no way delay the speedy exercise by the people of the Territory of their inalienable right to self-determination and independence in conformity with the Declaration, which fully applies to the United States Virgin Islands;

4. Reiterates that it is the responsibility of the United States of America, as the administering Power, to create such conditions in the United States Virgin Islands as will enable the people of the Territory to exercise freely and without interference their inalienable right to self-determination and independence in conformity with resolution 1514 (XV) and all other relevant resolutions of the General Assembly;

5. Takes notes of the statement of the administering Power that the Government of the United States Virgin Islands had decided that, before a referendum on the issue was called, more time was necessary for the purpose of allowing a further opportunity to study the implications of the various future status options and that, in that connection, it stood ready to respond to the wishes of the people of the Territory concerning their future status;

6. Reaffirms that it is ultimately for the people of the United States Virgin Islands themselves to determine their future political status in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter of the United Nations, resolution 1514 (XV) and other relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and, in that connection, calls upon the administering Power, in co-operation with the territorial Government, to facilitate programmes in the Territory to foster an awareness among the people of the possibilities open to them in the exercise of their right to self-determination;

7. Reaffirms the responsibility of the administering Power under the Charter to promote the economic and social development of the United States Virgin Islands;

8. Urges the administering Power, in co-operation with the territorial Government, to strengthen the economy of the Territory by, inter alia, taking additional measures of diversification and continuing to develop the Territory's infrastructure with a view to reducing the heavy economic dependence of the Territory on the administering Power;

9. Urges the administering Power, in co-operation with the Government of the United States Virgin Islands, to safeguard the inalienable right of the people of the Territory to the enjoyment of their natural resources by taking effective measures to guarantee their right to own and dispose of those resources and to establish and maintain control of their future development;

10. Urges the administering Power to seek a status in the Caribbean Group for Co-operation and Economic Development for the territorial Government, similar to that of other dependent Territories within the Group;

11. Reiterates its call upon the administering Power to facilitate further the participation of the United States Virgin Islands in various regional and intergovernmental bodies and organizations, particularly in their central organs, and in other organizations of the United Nations system;

12. Urges the administering Power to continue to take all necessary measures to comply fully with the purposes and principles of the Charter, the Declaration and the relevant resolutions and decisions of the General Assembly relating to military activities and arrangements by colonial Powers in Territories under their administration;

13. Requests the Special Committee to continue the examination of this question at its next session, including the possible dispatch of a further visiting mission to the United States Virgin Islands at an appropriate time and in consultation with the administering Power, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its forty-second session.