Examination of petitions

VI. RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED ON THE REPORTS OF THE FOURTH COMMITTEE
552. Examination of petitions

The General Assembly, Recalling that in its resolution 435 (V) of 2 December 1950 it expressed the opinion that the careful study of petitions is one of the fundamental responsibilities of the Trusteeship Council and that it is essential, in the interests of the inhabitants of the Trust Territories, to improve in every possible way the procedure for the examination of petitions, Recalling that in the same resolution it recommended that the Trusteeship Council consider a number of possible means of improving its procedure in respect of the examination of petitions, among them the constitution of the Ad Hoc Committee on Petitions as a standing committee and the desirability of the Administering Authorities submitting special information concerning action taken on the recommendations of the Council in respect of petitions examined, Considering that the Trusteeship Council, while revising to a limited extent in the course of its eighth and ninth sessions[1]1its procedure in respect of the examination of petitions, has not yet devised a procedure which accords fully with the importance of this function and with the interests of the inhabitants of the Trust Territories, and considering that the Council requested its members to give further study to means of perfecting a procedure for the examination of petitions, Considering that the number of petitions received has been increasing from year to year,

1. Recommends that the Trusteeship Council:

(a) Constitute a standing committee for the examination of petitions which shall meet as soon as possible whenever necessary between sessions of the Council as well as during sessions of the Council;

(b) Devise a procedure by which the standing committee will examine each petition in a preliminary way, within a prescribed period of time after the receipt of the petition by the Administering Authority concerned, and in conjunction with such observations as may be submitted thereon by the Administering Authority on its own initiative or at the request of the standing committee, or as may be obtained by the standing committee from any other official or responsible source which it deems useful, and will prepare, on the basis of this preliminary examination, proposals for action to be taken on each petition by the Council;

2. Requests the Administering Authorities to submit to the Trusteeship Council each year special information concerning action taken on the recommendations of the Council in respect of all petitions examined, except in those cases where the Council does not deem it necessary.

361st plenary meeting,
18 January 1952.


[1] See Trusteeship Council resolution 347 (IX).
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