Question of American Samoa.

35. RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED ON THE REPORTS OF THE FOURTH COMMITTEE
23. Question of American Samoa

The General Assembly, Having considered the question of American Samoa, 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 American Samoa, Taking into account the statement of the administering Power relating to developments in American Samoa,[2] Conscious of the need to promote progress towards the full implementation of the Declaration in respect of American Samoa, Bearing in mind the constructive results achieved as a consequence of previous visiting missions to Non-Self-Governing Territories and reiterating its conviction that the dispatch of such missions is essential for securing adequate and first-hand information on the conditions prevailing in those Territories and on the views, wishes and aspirations of the peoples therein with regard to their future status, Aware of the special circumstances of the geographical location and economic conditions of American Samoa and stressing the necessity for diversifying the Territory's economy as a matter of priority in order to reduce its dependence on fluctuating economic activities,

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 American Samoa;[3]

2. Reaffirms the inalienable right of the people of American Samoa to self-determination and independence in conformity with the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples;

3. Reiterates the view that such factors as size, geographical location, size of population and limited natural resources should in no way delay the speedy implementation of the Declaration, which fully applies to the Territory;

4. Calls upon the Government of the United States of America, as the administering Power, to take all necessary steps, taking into account the freely expressed wishes of the people of American Samoa, to expedite the process of decolonization of the Territory in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter of the United Nations and the Declaration;

5. Welcomes the invitation extended by the Government of the United States to the Special Committee to send a visiting mission to American Samoa in 1981;

6. Reaffirms the responsibility of the administering Power for the economic and social development of the Territory;

7. Calls upon the administering Power to take all possible steps to strengthen and diversify the economy of American Samoa and to work out concrete programmes of assistance and economic development for the Territory;

8. Urges the administering Power to continue to foster close relations and co-operation between the people of the Territory and the neighbouring island communities;

9. Urges the administering Power, in co-operation with the freely elected representatives of American Samoa, 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 and, in this connexion, notes the decision of the administering Power concerning the transfer to the Government of American Samoa of all mineral rights in submerged lands off the territorial coastline;

10. Requests the Special Committee to continue the examination of this question at its next session, including the dispatch of a visiting mission to American Samoa, in consultation with the administering Power, and to report to the General Assembly at its thirty-sixth session on the implementation of the present resolution.

57th plenary meeting
11 November 1980

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[1] Ibid., chaps. III and XVI. [2] Ibid., Thirty-fifth Session, Fourth Committee, 13th meeting, paras. 57-63. [3] Ibid., Thirty-fifth Session, Supplement No. 23 (A/35/Rev.1), chap. XVI.