Question of Territories under Portuguese administration

XXVIII. RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED ON THE REPORTS OF THE FOURTH COMMITTEE
3113. Question of Territories under Portuguese administration

The General Assembly, Having considered the question of Territories under Portuguese domination, 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,[1] including in particular the views expressed by the representatives of the national liberation movements of the Territories concerned who participated as observers in the relevant proceedings of the Special Committee,[2] Having examined the report of the Secretary-General concerning the present item,.[3] Having heard the statements of the representatives of the Frente Nacional para a Libertação de Angola and the Frente de Libertação de Moçambique, who participated in an observer capacity in the Fourth Committee's consideration of the item[4] in accordance with the decision taken by the General Assembly at its 2139th plenary meeting, on 3 October 1973,[5] 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, as well as all other resolutions relating to the question of Territories under Portuguese domination adopted by the General Assembly, the Security Council and the Special Committee, Recalling, in particular, the provisions of its resolution 2918 (XXVII) of 14 November 1972, and of Security Council resolution 322 (1972) of 22 November 1972 in which the Government of Portugal was called upon, inter alia, to enter into negotiations with the parties concerned, with a view to achieving a solution to the armed confrontation that exists in the African Territories under its domination and permitting the peoples of those Territories to exercise freely their right to self-determination and independence, and deeply deploring the refusal of that Government to comply with those provisions, Taking into consideration the programme of action adopted by the International Conference of Experts for the Support of Victims of Colonialism and Apartheid in Southern Africa, held at Oslo from 9 to 14 April 1973,[6] Bearing in mind the Declaration on Territories under Portuguese Domination, adopted by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity at its tenth ordinary session, held at Addis Ababa from 27 to 29 May 1973, Condemning the continued collaboration of Portugal, South Africa and the illegal racist minority régime in Southern Rhodesia, designed to perpetuate colonialist and racialist domination in the region, and the persistent intervention against the peoples of the Territories concerned by police and armed forces, as well as by mercenaries from South Africa and Southern Rhodesia, Condemning the repeated acts of aggression committed by the armed forces of Portugal against independent African States, which constitute a violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of those States and seriously disturb international peace and security in the African continent, as reaffirmed in Security Council resolution 312 (1972) of 4 February 1972, Condemning any attempt by Portugal to place any of the facilities in the Territories under its domination at the disposal of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or any of its members on a bilateral basis for military purposes, Strongly deploring the policies of those States, particularly some of the military allies of Portugal, which, in defiance of repeated requests addressed to them by the United Nations, continue to provide Portugal with military and other assistance both within the context of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and bilaterally, without which Portugal could not pursue its policies of colonial domination and oppression of the peoples of Angola and Mozambique, Deeply disturbed by the intensified activities of those foreign economic, financial and other interests which, contrary to the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly, are assisting Portugal in its colonial wars and obstructing the realization by the peoples of the Territories under Portuguese domination of their legitimate aspirations for freedom and independence, Noting with appreciation the concrete programmes of assistance being extended to the national liberation movements of those Territories by a number of Governments, as well as those initiated by organizations within the United Nations system and several non-governmental organizations, Noting with satisfaction the progress towards national independence and freedom being made by the national liberation movements in those Territories, both through their struggle and through reconstruction programmes, particularly in the liberated areas of Angola and Mozambique, Noting also with satisfaction the intention of the Special Committee to send a visiting mission to the liberated areas of Angola and Mozambique,

1. Reaffirms the inalienable right of the peoples of Angola and Mozambique and other Territories under Portuguese domination to self-determination and independence, as recognized by the General Assembly in its resolution 1514 (XV), and the legitimacy of their struggle by all ways and means at their disposal to achieve that right;

2. Reaffirms that the national liberation movements of Angola and Mozambique are the authentic representatives of the true aspirations of the peoples of those Territories and recommends that, pending the accession of those Territories to independence, all Governments, the specialized agencies and other organizations within the United Nations system and the United Nations bodies concerned should, when dealing with matters pertaining to the Territories, ensure the representation of those Territories by the liberation movements concerned in an appropriate capacity and in consultation with the Organization of African Unity;

3. Condemns in the strongest possible terms the persistent refusal of the Government of Portugal to comply with the provisions of the relevant resolutions of the United Nations and, in particular, the intensified armed repression by Portugal of the peoples of the Territories under its domination, including the brutal massacre of villagers,, the mass destruction of villages and property and the ruthless use of napalm and chemical substances, in order to stifle the legitimate aspirations of those peoples for freedom and independence;

4. Demands that the Government of Portugal should cease forthwith its colonial wars and all acts of repression against the peoples of Angola and Mozambique, withdraw its military and other forces and discontinue all practices which violate the inalienable rights of those populations, including the eviction from their homes and the regrouping of the African populations in aldeamentos and the settlement of foreign immigrants in the Territories;

5. Demands that the Government of Portugal treat the freedom fighters of Angola and Mozambique captured during the struggle for freedom as prisoners of war in accordance with the principles of the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, of 12 August 1949 [7] and in that connexion invites the International Committee of the Red Cross to continue to maintain close contact with the liberation movements as parties to the conflict, to provide reports on conditions in prisoner-of-war camps and on the treatment of prisoners of war detained by Portugal and to make the necessary arrangements to secure the exchange of prisoners of war;

6. Appeals to all Governments, the specialized agencies and other organizations within the United Nations system and non-governmental organizations to render to the peoples of Angola, Mozambique and other Territories under Portuguese domination, in particular the populations in the liberated areas of those Territories, all the moral, material and economic assistance necessary to continue their struggle for the achievement of their inalienable right to freedom and independence;

7. Urges all Governments, particularly those members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization which continue to render assistance to Portugal, to withdraw any assistance that enables Portugal to prosecute the colonial war in Angola and Mozambique, and to prevent the sale or supply of all arms and military matériel to Portugal, including civil aircraft, ships and other means of transport capable of being used for transporting military matériel and personnel, as well as supplies, equipment and material for the manufacture or maintenance of weapons and ammunition that it uses to perpetuate its colonial domination in Africa;

8. Appeals to all States to refrain from any collaboration with Portugal involving the use of any of the Territories under its domination for military purposes;

9. Calls upon all States to take forthwith all possible measures:

(a) To put an end to any activities that help to exploit the Territories under Portuguese domination and the peoples therein;

(b) To discourage their nationals and the bodies corporate under their jurisdiction from entering into any transactions or arrangements that contribute to Portugal's domination over those Territories;

(c) To exclude Portugal from taking part on behalf of Angola and Mozambique in any bilateral or multilateral treaties or agreements relating particularly to external trade in the products of those Territories;

10. Draws the attention of the Security Council, having regard to the explosive situation resulting from the policies of Portugal in the colonial Territories under its domination and from its constant provocations against the independent African States bordering those Territories, and in the light of the outright disregard by Portugal of the relevant resolutions of the United Nations, particularly Council resolutions 312 (1972) and 322 (1972), to the urgent need for taking, as a matter of priority, all effective steps with a view to securing the full and speedy implementation of General. Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) and of the related decisions of -the United Nations;

11 Requests the Secretary-General to follow the implementation of the present resolution and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its twenty-ninth session;

12. Invites the Secretary-General, bearing in mind the urgent need for mobilizing world public opinion against the criminal war of repression being waged by the Government of Portugal against the peoples of the Territories under its domination, to continue to take effective and concrete measures through all the media at his disposal to give widespread and continuous publicity to the critical situation obtaining in those Territories and the heroic struggle of their peoples towards freedom and independence;

13. Decides to keep the situation in these Territories under continuous review and to include in the agenda of its twenty-ninth session an item entitled "Question of Territories under Portuguese domination".

2198th plenary meeting,
12 December 1973

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[1] Ibid., Supplement No. 23 (A/9023/Rev.1), chaps. 1, IVVI and IX. [2] A/AC.109/PV.915 and Corr.1, 917, 920, 921 and 929. [3] A/9132 and Add.1 and 2. [4] Official Records of the General Assembly, Twenty-eighth Session, Fourth Committee, 2028th and 2055th meetings. [5] See "Other decisions", p. 111. [6] A/9061, annex, sect. IV. [7] United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, No. 972, p. 135.