Question of the United States Virgin Islands : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly

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,

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, in particular General Assembly resolution 41/24 of 31 October 1986,

Taking note of the statement of the representative of the administering Power that the people of the Territory of the United States Virgin Islands, through their democratically elected legislature and executive, have primary responsibility for local government and control of their future, including the possibility of modifying their present relationship with the United States of America, and that the administering Power fully supports the principle that it is the right of the people concerned to decide and determine their own destiny,

Taking note of the general elections held on 4 November 1986 in the Territory,

Taking note of the statement of the representative of the territorial Government, that, owing to a lack of resources, the public education programmes envisaged by the Select Committee on Status and Federal Relations, established in 1983, had not been implemented, and that additional resources were also needed to initiate a study on the question of territorial jurisdiction over customs and immigration control and other areas of autonomy,

Taking note of the measures introduced by the territorial Government to strengthen the finances and economic development of the Territory by, inter alia, attracting foreign investments to industrial programmes and eliminating the budget deficit,

Emphasizing the importance of the continued participation of the United States Virgin Islands in the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean and the Caribbean Group for Co-operation in Economic Development, and welcoming the recent participation of the Territory in the Caribbean Council for Science and Technology,

Noting with satisfaction the policy of the administering Power that representatives of the Territory should participate in forums at which the Territory is the subject of discussion,

Aware of the special circumstances of the geographical location and economic conditions of the Territory and bearing in mind the necessity of diversifying and strengthening further its economy as a matter of priority in order to promote economic stability,

Recalling the dispatch in 1977 of a United Nations visiting mission to the Territory,

Mindful that United Nations visiting missions provide an effective means of assessing the situation in the small Territories and considering that the possibility of sending a further visiting mission to the United States Virgin Islands at an appropriate time should be kept under review,

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;

2.         Reaffirms the inalienable right of the people of the United States Virgin Islands 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 territorial size, geographical location, size of population and limited natural resources should in no way delay the speedy exercise by the people of the Territory of their inalienable right to self-determination and independence in conformity with the Declaration, which fully applies to the United States Virgin Islands;

4.         Reiterates that it is the responsibility of the United States of America, as the administering Power, to create such conditions in the United States Virgin Islands as will enable the people of the Territory to exercise freely and without interference their inalienable right to self-determination and independence in conformity with resolution 1514 (XV) and all other relevant resolutions of the General Assembly;

5.         Reaffirms that it is ultimately for the people of the United States Virgin Islands themselves to determine their future political status in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter of the United Nations, the Declaration and the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and, in that connection, calls upon the administering Power, in co-operation with the territorial Government, to facilitate programmes of political education in the Territory to foster an awareness among the people of the possibilities open to them in the exercise of their right to self-determination;

6.         Reaffirms the responsibility of the administering Power under the Charter to promote the economic and social development of the United States Virgin Islands;

7.         Urges the administering Power, in co-operation with the territorial Government, to strengthen the economy of the Territory by, inter alia, taking additional measures of diversification and continuing to develop the Territory's infrastructure with a view to reducing the heavy economic dependence of the Territory on the administering Power;

8.         Urges the administering Power, in co-operation with the Government 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 to guarantee their right to own and dispose of those resources and to establish and maintain control of their future development;

9.         Requests the administering Power to seek for the territorial Government a status similar to that of other dependent Territories within the Caribbean Group for Co-operation in Economic Development;

10.       Reiterates its call upon the administering Power to facilitate further the participation of the United States Virgin Islands in various intergovernmental bodies and organizations, including the organizations of the United Nations system and regional and subregional organizations;

11.       Urges the administering Power to continue to take all necessary measures to comply fully with the purposes and principles of the Charter, the Declaration and the relevant resolutions and decisions of the General Assembly relating to military activities and arrangements by colonial Powers in Territories under their administration;

12.       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 forty-third session.