Question of the United States Virgin Islands.

33. RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED ON THE REPORTS OF THE FOURTH COMMITTEE*
34. Question of the United Nations States Virgin Islands

The General Assembly, Having considered the question of the United States Virgin Islands, 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] Recalling its resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960, containing the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, and all other resolutions and decisions of the United Nations relating to the United States Virgin Islands, Noting the active co-operation given by the administering Power, both through its active participation in the work of the Special Committee and through its willingness to receive visiting missions to small Territories under its administration, Recalling the report of the 1977 United Nations Visiting Mission to the United States Virgin Islands[2] Having heard the statement of the administering Power [3]

1. Approves the 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 relating to the United States Virgin Islands;[4]

2. Reaffirms the inalienable right of the people of the United States Virgin Islands to self-determination and independence in accordance with the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples;

3. Reaffirms its conviction that questions of territorial size, geographical location and limited resources should in no way delay the implementation of the Declaration with respect to the Territory;

4. Requests the Government of the United States of America, as the administering Power, to continue to take all necessary measures, in consultation with the freely elected authorities and representatives of the people of the United States Virgin Islands, to enable the people of the Territory to exercise fully their right to self-determination in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter of the United Nations and the Declaration;

5. Requests the administering Power to encourage further and meaningful discussion regarding the political and constitutional status of the Territory and to take such additional measures as would ensure preservation of the identity and cultural heritage of the people of the United States Virgin Islands;

6. Urges the administering Power, in consultation with the freely elected authorities and representatives of the people of the United States Virgin Islands, to safeguard the inalienable right of the people of the Territory to the enjoyment of their natural resources by taking effective measures which guarantee the right of the people to own and dispose of those natural resources and to establish and maintain control of their future development;

7. Expresses the view that measures to promote the economic development of the United States Virgin Islands are an important element in the process of self-determination and, to this end, calls upon the administering Power, together with the freely elected authorities and representatives of the people of the United States Virgin Islands, to take all measures necessary to achieve a viable and stable economy in the Territory;

8. Requests the administering Power to continue to enlist the assistance of the specialized agencies and other organizations within the United Nations system in the development and strengthening of the economy of the United States Virgin Islands;

9. Requests the Special Committee to continue the examination of this question at its next session, including the possible dispatch of a further visiting mission to the United States Virgin Islands at an appropriate time and in consultation with the administering Power, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its thirty-fourth session.

81st plenary meeting
13 December 1978

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[1] Ibid., vol. I, chaps. III and V, and vol. III, chap. XXVI. [2] Ibid., Thirty-second Session, Supplement No. 23 (A/32/ 23/Rov.1), vol. IV, chap. XXVII, annex. [3] Ibid., Thirty-third Session, Fourth Committee, 26th meet paras. 1-9. [4] Ibid., Thirty-third Session, Supplement No. 23 (A/33/ Rev.1), vol. Ill, chap. XXVI.