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

XXVI. RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED ON THE REPORTS OF THE FOURTH COMMITTEE
2873. 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, and its resolution 2621 (XXV) of 12 October 1970, containing the programme of action for the full implementation of the Declaration, Recalling further its previous resolutions on the item, in particular resolution 2703 (XXV) of 14 December 1970, Reaffirming that the administering Powers, in accordance with Chapters XI and XII of the Charter of the United Nations, 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 human and natural resources of those Territories against abuses, Reiterating its conviction that any economic or other activity which impedes the implementation of the Declaration 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, Noting with deep concern the intensified activities of those foreign economic, financial and other interests in those Territories which, contrary to the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly, are directly and indirectly assisting the Governments of South Africa and Portugal, as well as the illegal racist minority régime in Southern Rhodesia, and impeding the realization by the peoples of the Territories of their legitimate aspirations for self-determination and independence,

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

2. Affirms that the activities of foreign economic, financial and other interests operating at present in the colonial Territories of Southern Rhodesia and Namibia, as well as in those under Portuguese domination, constitute a major obstacle to political independence and to the enjoyment of the natural resources of those Territories by the indigenous inhabitants;

3. 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;

4. Reiterates its declaration 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 those foreign economic and other interests in the Territories under colonial domination which are designed to perpetuate the subjugation of dependent peoples;

6. Deplores the support given by the colonial Powers and other States to those foreign economic and other interests engaged in exploiting the natural and human resources of the Territories without regard to the welfare of the indigenous peoples, thus violating the political, economic and social rights and interests of the indigenous peoples and obstructing the full and speedy implementation of the Declaration in respect of those Territories;

7. Condemns the construction of the Cabora Bassa project in Mozambique and the Cunene River Basin project in Angola, which are designed to entrench further colonialist and racialist domination over the Territories of southern Africa and which are a source of international tension;

8. Deplores the policies of those Governments which have not yet prevented their nationals and bodies corporate under their jurisdiction from participating in the Cabora Bassa and the Cunene River Basin projects, and urgently requests the Governments concerned to take all the necessary measures to terminate this participation and to have them withdraw immediately from all activities related to those projects;

9. Calls upon the administering Powers to abolish every discriminatory and unjust wage system which prevails in the Territories under their administration and to apply in each Territory a uniform system of wages to all the inhabitants without any discrimination;

10. Calls upon 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 southern Africa, which are detrimental to the interests of the inhabitants of those Territories, in order to put an end to such enterprises and to prevent new investments which run counter to the interests of the inhabitants;

11. Requests all States to take effective measures to end the supply of funds and other forms of assistance, including military equipment, to those régimes, which use such assistance to repress the national liberation movements;

12. Requests the Special Committee to continue to study this question, including in particular the efforts being made by non-governmental organizations' to acquaint world public opinion with the role of foreign economic and other interests in impeding the implementation of the Declaration, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its twenty-seventh session;

13. Requests the Secretary-General to render all possible assistance to the Special Committee in the preparation of the study and to give the widest possible publicity to that study when it is completed, as well as to previous studies and any other related aspects of the question.

2028th plenary meeting,
20 December 1971.

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[1] Official Records of the General Assembly, Twenty-sixth Session, Supplement No. 23A (A/8423/Rev.1/Add.1).