GA4:

One of the crowning jewels of success for the United Nations (UN) is decolonization. The UN has committed to protecting the rights of all peoples by assisting Nations that lack self-governance to choose their own political, economic and social destinies. In 1946, the UN had compiled a list of 72 territories considered “non-self governing.” Today, there are 17 territories left on the list; however, progress has slowed significantly with only one being removed in 1994 and French Polynesia being re-added in 2013. 

Article 73 of the United Nations Charter (UN Charter), “requires countries administering those colonies to develop self government, to take due account of the political aspirations of the peoples, and to assist them in the progressive development of their free political institutions.” While decolonization can be viewed as a good thing, it is not without its set-backs. The often long transition times, violence and backlash from anti-independence groups are some of the more prominent issues with decolonization. The Representatives of South Africa pointed out that it is important to note that oftentimes the struggles of the Territory cannot be properly addressed and remedied as the current political power in charge is hundreds of miles away and does not have first hand knowledge of what is happening on the ground. The Committee should proceed with careful consideration as they navigate this topic.

The UN is pushing, yet again, in their fourth decade for the eradication of colonialism for the international community to continue to implement plans of action to gain some momentum. France has been making strides in an effort to continue decolonization with New Caledonia. While the territory narrowly missed independence in 2018, France remains committed to the Noumea Accords and continuing to move forward with decolonization. With France making moves to reignite the fire for decolonization, the Committee should think of ways other members of the international community can re-evaluate their plans and begin implementing them to move towards getting more territories self-governance and eradicate colonialism by 2028.

Decolonization is not an easy task, but hopefully this committee will be able to navigate its way to a solution to kickstart progress on this topic.