Question of South West Africa
- Author: UN General Assembly
- Document source:
-
Date:
19 May 1967
S-V. RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY DURING ITS FIFTH SPECIAL SESSION
2248 Question of South West Africa
I
Reaffirms the territorial integrity of South West Africa and the inalienable right of its people to freedom and independence, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) and all other resolutions concerning South West Africa;II
1. Decides to establish a United Nations Council for South West Africa (hereinafter referred to as the Council) comprising eleven Member States to be elected during the present session and to entrust to it the following powers and functions, to be discharged in the Territory:
(a) To administer South West Africa until independence, with the maximum possible participation of the people of the Territory;
(b) To promulgate such laws, decrees and administrative regulations as are necessary for the administration of the Territory until a legislative assembly is established following elections conducted on the basis of universal adult suffrage;
(c) To take as an immediate task all the necessary measures, in consultation with the people of the Territory, for the establishment of a constituent assembly to draw up a constitution on the basis of which elections will be held for the establishment of a legislative assembly and a responsible government;
(d) To take all the necessary measures for the maintenance of law and order in the Territory;
(e) To transfer all powers to the people of the Territory upon the declaration of independence;
2. Decides that in the exercise of its powers and in the discharge of its functions the Council shall be responsible to the General Assembly;
3. Decides that the Council shall entrust such executive and administrative tasks as it deems necessary to a United Nations Commissioner for South West Africa (hereinafter referred to as the Commissioner), who shall be appointed during the present session by the General Assembly on the nomination of the Secretary-General;
4. Decides that in the performance of his tasks the Commissioner shall be responsible to the Council;
III
1. Decides that:
(a) The administration of South West Africa under the United Nations shall be financed from the revenues collected in the Territory;
(b) Expenses directly related to the operation of the Council and the Office of the Commissioner-thee travel and subsistence expenses of members of the Council, the remuneration of the Commissioner and his staff and the cost of ancillary facilities-shall be met from the regular budget of the United Nations;
2. Requests the specialized agencies and the appropriate organs of the United Nations to render to South West Africa technical and financial assistance through a co-ordinated emergency programme to meet the exigencies of the situation;
IV
1. Decides that the Council shall be based in South West Africa;
2. Requests the Council to enter immediately into contact with the authorities of South Africa in order to lay down procedures, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 2145 (XXI) and the present resolution, for the transfer of the administration of the Territory with the least possible upheaval;
3. Further requests the Council to proceed to South West Africa with a view to:
(a) Taking over the administration of the Territory;
(b) Ensuring the withdrawal of South African police and military forces;
(c) Ensuring the withdrawal of South African personnel and their replacement by personnel operating under the authority of the Council;
(d) Ensuring that in the utilization and recruitment of personnel preference be given to the indigenous people;
4. Calls upon the Government of South Africa to comply without delay with the tern-is of resolution 2145 (XXI) and the present resolution and to facilitate the transfer of the administration of the Territory of South West Africa to the Council;
5. Requests the Security Council to take all appropriate measures to enable the United Nations Council for South West Africa to discharge the functions and responsibilities entrusted to it by the General Assembly;
6. Requests all States to extend their whole-hearted co-operation and to render assistance to the Council in the implementation of its task;
V
Requests the Council to report to the General Assembly at intervals not exceeding three months on its administration of the Territory, and to submit a special report to the Assembly at its twenty-second session concerning the implementation of the present resolution;VI
Decides that South West Africa shall become independent on a date to be fixed in accordance with the wishes of the people and that the Council shall do all in its power to enable independence to be attained by June 1968. 1518th plenary meeting,19 May 1967. At its 1524th plenary meeting, on 13 June 1967, the General Assembly, in pursuance of section II, paragraph 1, of the above resolution, elected the members of the United Nations Council for South West Africa. The Council will be composed of the following Member States: CHILE, COLOMBIA, GUYANA, INDIA, INDONESIA, NIGERIA, PAKISTAN, TURKEY, UNITED ARAB REPUBLIC, YUGOSLAVIA and ZAMBIA. At the same meeting in pursuance of section II, paragraph 3, of the above resolution, the General Assembly considered the question of the appointment of the United Nations High Commissioner for South West Africa. On the proposal of the Secretary-General,[2] the Assembly appointed Mr. Constantin A. STAVROPOULOS, Legal Counsel of the United Nations, as Acting United Nations High Commissioner for South West Africa.
[1] official Records of the General Assembly, Fifth Special Session, Annexes, agenda item 7, document A/6640. [2] Ibid., document A/6656, para. 3.
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