Activities of foreign economic and other interests which are impeding the implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples in Southern Rhodesia, Namibia and Territories under Portuguese domination and in all other Territories under colonial domination and efforts to eliminate colonialism, apartheid and racial discrimination in southern Africa

XXV. RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED ON THE REPORTS OF THE FOURTH COMMITTEE
2703. Activities of foreign economic and other interests which are impeding the implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples in Southern Rhodesia, Namibia and Territories under Portuguese domination and in all other Territories under colonial domination and efforts to eliminate colonialism, apartheid and racial discrimination in southern Africa

The General Assembly, Having considered the item entitled "Activities of foreign economic and other interests which are impeding the implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples in Southern Rhodesia, Namibia and Territories under Portuguese domination and in all other Territories under colonial domination and efforts to eliminate colonialism, apartheid and racial discrimination in southern Africa", Having examined 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 this question,[1] Recalling its, resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960 containing the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, in particular the eighth pre-ambular paragraph thereof, and its resolution 2425 (XXIII) of 18 December 1968, Recalling further the relevant provisions of its resolution 2621 (XXV) of 12 October 1970 containing the programme of action for the full implementation of the Declaration, Convinced that any economic or other activity which impedes the implementation of resolution 1514 (XV) and obstructs efforts aimed at the elimination of colonialism, apartheid and racial discrimination in southern Africa and other colonial Territories violates the political, economic and social rights and interests of the people in those Territories and is therefore incompatible with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, Recalling that the administering Powers have the obligation to ensure the political, economic, social and educational advancement of the inhabitants of the Territories under their administration and to protect the population and the natural resources of those Territories against abuses, in accordance with Chapters XI and XII of the Charter,

1. Approves 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 this question;

2. Reaffirms the inalienable right of the peoples of dependent Territories to self-determination and independence and to the natural resources of their Territories, as well as their right to dispose of those resources in their best interests;

3. Affirms that foreign economic, financial and other interests operating in colonial Territories constitute a major obstacle to political independence as well as to the enjoyment of the natural resources of those Territories by the indigenous inhabitants;

4. Declares that any administering Power, by depriving the colonial peoples of the exercise of their rights or by subordinating them to foreign economic and financial interests, violates the obligations it has assumed under Chapters XI and XII of the Charter of the United Nations;

5. Condemns the present activities and operating methods of foreign economic and other interests in the Territories under colonial domination;

6. Condemns in particular the construction of the Cabora Bassa project, which is contrary to the vital interests of the people of Mozambique and represents a plot designed to perpetuate the domination, exploitation and oppression of the peoples of this part of Africa by the Government of Portugal and the minority racist régimes of South Africa and Southern Rhodesia, and which would lead to international tensions;

7. Requests the colonial Powers and States concerned, whose companies are participants in the construction of the Cabora Bassa project, to withdraw their support from the scheme and put an end to the participation of their companies in the project;

8. Calls upon the administering Powers to abolish the discriminatory and unjust system of wages applied to the inhabitants of the Territories under their administration and in all other Territories under colonial and racist régimes, notably in southern Africa, and to apply one system of wages to all the inhabitants without any discrimination;

9. Requests the colonial Powers and States concerned to take legislative, administrative and other measures in respect of their nationals who own and operate enterprises in colonial Territories, particularly in Namibia, Southern Rhodesia and the Territories under Portuguese administration, in order to put a stop to their activities which are detrimental to the interests of the inhabitants of the Territories;

10. Requests all States to take effective measures to stop the supply of funds and other forms of assistance, including military equipment, to colonial régimes that use such assistance to repress the national liberation movements;

11. Requests the colonial Powers and States concerned, whose companies and nationals are engaged in such activities, to comply fully with the provisions of General Assembly resolutions 2288 (XXII) of 7 December 1967, 2425 (XXIII) of 18 December 1968 and 2554 (XXIV) of 12 December 1969, and also to adopt effective measures to prevent new investments, particularly in southern Africa, which ran counter to the above-mentioned resolutions;

12. Deplores the attitude of the colonial Powers and States concerned which have not taken any action to implement the relevant provisions of the resolutions of the General Assembly;

13. Requests the Special Committee to continue to study this question and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its twenty-sixth session;

14. Requests the Secretary-General to use all the facilities at his disposal to render assistance to the Special Committee in the pursuit of this study.

1928th plenary meeting,
14 December 1970.

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[1] Ibid., Twenty-fifth Session, Supplement No. 23A (A/8023/Rev.1/Add.1).