Question of French Somaliland.

31. RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED ON THE REPORTS OF THE FOURTH COMMITTEE*
59. Question of French Somaliland

The General Assembly, Having considered the question of so-called French Somaliland (Djibouti), Having examined the relevant chapter 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] Recalling its resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960 containing the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, Recalling also its resolutions 2228 (XXI) of 20 December 1966, 2356 (XXII) of 19 December 1967 and 3480 (XXX) of 11 December 1975 on so-called French Somaliland (Djibouti), Having heard the statements of the representatives of the liberation movements, the Front de libération de la Côrte des Somalis[2] and the Mouvement de libération de Djibouti,[3] Having also heard the statements of the President of the Government Council of the Territory,[4] as well as those of the representatives of the political parties, namely, the Ligue populaire africaine pour l'indépendance,[5] the Union nationale pour l'indépendance[6] and the Mouvement populaire de libération,[7] and of a petitioner,[8] Taking note of the solemn declarations of the leaders of the delegations of Ethiopia and Somalia before the Council of Ministers of the Organization of African Unity at its twenty-seventh ordinary session, held at Port Louis from 24 June to 3 July 1976, and before the Fourth Committee of the General Assembly,[9] affirming that their respective Governments would recognize, respect and honour the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of so-called French Somaliland (Djibouti) after its accession to independence, Taking note also of the resolution on the question of so-called French Somaliland (Djibouti) adopted by the Conference of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Non-Aligned Countries, held at Lima from 25 to 30 August 1975,[10] and of that part of the Political Declaration adopted by the Fifth Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, held at Colombo from 16 to 19 August 1976, regarding the question,[11] Having heard the statement of the representative of France, as the administering Power,[12] in particular the expressed commitment of his Government to lead the Territory to independence in 1977,

1. Reaffirms the inalienable right of the people of so-called French Somaliland (Djibouti) to self-determination and independence;

2. Reaffirms also its unqualified support of the right of the people of so-called French Somaliland (Djibouti) to immediate and unconditional independence in accordance with the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples;

3. Calls upon the Government of France to implement scrupulously and equitably, under democratic conditions, the programme for the independence of so-called French Somaliland (Djibouti), as outlined by the representative of France in his statement before the Fourth Committee of the General Assembly, within the indicated time frame, namely, the summer of 1977;

4. Urges the leaders of the Government Council of the Territory, as well as the representatives of the liberation movements, the Front de libération de la Côte des Somalis and the Mouvement de libération de Djibouti, and of the political parties and groups to enter into the broadest possible discussions on neutral grounds, under the auspices of the Organization of African Unity, with a view to resolving their differences, and to agree on a common political platform before the holding of a referendum, in conformity with the resolution adopted by the Council of Ministers at its twenty-seventh ordinary session[13] and subsequently approved by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity at its thirteenth ordinary session;

5. Also calls upon the Government of France to co-operate fully with the Organization of African Unity in its effort to convene, in accordance with the decision of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government, a round-table conference for the speedy implementation of the request contained in paragraph 4 above;

6. Requests the Government of France to consider the result of the referendum in its totality, thus respecting the territorial integrity of the future State;

7. Demands that the Government of France withdraw its military base from the Territory without delay;

8. Further calls upon the Government of France to allow and facilitate the return to the Territory of all refugees who are bona fide citizens of the Territory, in accordance with the Organization of African Unity Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa of 10 September 1969 and the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees of 1951;[14]

9. Requests the Government of France, in order to ensure the implementation of the request contained in paragraph 8 above, to set up an ad hoc committee in accordance with the recommendation of the FactFinding Mission of the Organization of African Unity;[15]

10. Reaffirms its resolution 3480 (XXX);

11. Endorses all resolutions adopted by the Organization of African Unity on the question of so-called French Somaliland (Djibouti), in particular resolutions CM/Res.431/Rev.1 (XXV)[16] and CM/Res.480 ( XXVII),[17] as well as the declaration adopted by the Organization of African Unity Co-ordinating Committee for the Liberation of Africa, as approved by the Council of Ministers at its twenty-seventh ordinary session and the Assembly of Heads of State and Government at its thirteenth ordinary session, and welcomes the solemn declarations by the leaders of the delegations of Ethiopia and Somalia before the Council of Ministers of the Organization of African Unity and before the Fourth Committee of the General Assembly that their Governments would recognize, respect and honour the independence and sovereignty of so-called French Somaliland (Djibouti) and its territorial integrity after its accession to independence;

12. Calls upon all States to refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of the Territory and to abstain from any action likely to impede or adversely affect the current process of the country's accession to independence;

13. Welcomes the statements by the representatives of the people of so-called French Somaliland (Djibouti) in which they declared that the Territory would become a member of the United Nations and of the Organization of African Unity immediately after independence;

14. Endorses the decisions of the Organization of African Unity and the United Nations to send representatives to observe the referendum and all subsequent stages of the independence process to ensure that the principle of self-determination in the Territory is carried out smoothly and in the most democratic manner;[18]

15. Urges all Member States, the specialized agencies and other organizations within the United Nations system, in co-operation with the administering Power, to render all possible moral and material assistance to the people of the Territory.

85th plenary meeting
1 December 1976

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[1] Ibid., chap. XIV. [2] Ibid., Thirty-first Session, Fourth Committee, 14th meeting, paras. 60-109, 17th meeting, paras. 44-49, and 21st meeting, paras. 22-34; and ibid., Fourth Committee, Sessional Fascicle, corrigendum. [3] Ibid., 17th meeting, paras 18-43. [4] Ibid., 14th meeting, paras. 22-58, and 20th meeting, paras. 5-15. [5] Ibid., 17th meeting, paras. 72-94. [6] Ibid., 20th meeting, paras. 35-60. [7] Ibid., 17th meeting, paras. 52-69. [8] Ibid., 20th meeting, paras. 63, 64, 68-70, 78, 79 and 84-87. [9] Ibid., 20th meeting, paras. 92-146 (Ethiopia); 14th meeting, paras. 110-130, and 17th meeting, paras. 13-17 (Somalia); and ibid., Fourth Committee, Sessional Fascicle, corrigendum. [10] A/ 10217 and Corr. 1, annex I, resolution I. [11] A/31/197, annex I, para. 37 [12] Official Records of the General Assembly, Thirty-first Session, Fourth Committee, 14th meeting, paras. 1-20. [13] Ibid., Thirty-first Session, Fourth Committee, 11th meeting, paras. 1-11; and ibid., Fourth Committee, Sessional Fascicle, corrigendum. [14] United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 189, No. 2545, p. 137. [15] See Organization of African Unity document CM/759 (XXVII), 1976. [16] See A/10297, annex I. [17] See A/31/196 and Corr.1, annex. [18] The Secretary-General subsequently announced (A/32/ 66) that, in accordance with the understanding reached when resolution 31/59 was adopted, he had carried out the necessary consultations with the parties concerned and had appointed Norway, Sri Lanka and Venezuela as members of the United Nations Mission to Observe the Referendum and Elections in French Somaliland (Djibouti), and that the three Member States concerned had designated the following persons to represent them on the Mission: Mr. Ignatius B. Fonseka (Sri Lanka), Miss Maria Clemencia López (Venezuela) and Mr. Tom Eric Vraalsen (Norway).