Page:Declaration on granting independence.djvu/4

Rh speakers, that during the past 15 years the United Nations had devoted much effort towards carrying out its Charter obligations relating to Trust and Non-Self-Governing Territories. However, it was a fact that progress had sometimes been slow and consequently there were still large areas under colonial rule. In the Interests of world peace and security, they held, the colonial powers should initiate immediate measures for the transfer of complete independence to all colonial countries and peoples.

They further stated that economic freedom was as essential as political freedom. Racial discrimination was condemned by them as a manifestation of colonialism—especially as practised by the Union of South Africa. Also condemned was interference by colonial powers in the internal affairs of their former dependent territories which, they considered, made a mockery of the independence granted. In this connexion, many speakers called attention to the situation in the Republic of the Congo (Leopoldville). The Asian-African declaration, they added, was in fact designed to obtain concerted action—through the United Nations—for the independence of dependent peoples and territories, without any conditions or reservations and without any undermining of their right freely to develop their own political, economic, social and cultural institutions.

Australia and New Zealand agreed with the United Kingdom's contention that colonialism was a necessary transitional phase and that Non-Self-Governing and Trust Territories had made remarkable progress towards independence, in accordance with the provisions of the United Nations Charter. Each case was governed by its own circumstances, and the test was always that of determining what would best suit the interests of the peoples whose destiny was at stake. In some cases, progress had been slow because of the special circumstances of a particular territory. In this connexion, Australia mentioned eastern New Guinea where, because of tremendous physical difficulties, the tasks to be undertaken were unique. In spite of that, remarkable progress had been made; it could be said that without the efforts of the administering authority the people of New Guinea would have had no immediate hopes of advancement or self government.

The representatives of Albania, Bulgaria, the Byelorussian SSR, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania and the Ukrainian SSR maintained that the immediate and complete liquidation of colonialism in all its forms would be an outstanding victory for the forces of peace, progress and freedom. The struggle of the peoples for liberation was a great historic process which could not be checked. The United Nations, they declared, was duty bound to put an end to the colonial system and the best contribution it could make would be to adopt the draft declaration submitted by the USSR.

Representatives of some Latin American Members said that the juridical traditions of their countries made them natural allies of the cause of independence for colonial peoples. However, they favoured independence and freedom everywhere, in all attitudes and under all systems, and they felt the debate should therefore be widened to include all issues relating to freedom—such as freedom of speech and freedom to worship.

The representatives of Guatemala, Honduras and Panama were among those who pointed out that colonialism still existed in the Western Hemisphere; remaining colonies in America represented an area of about 2,700,000 square kilometres, with a population of more than 3,000,000 people. The representative of Cuba maintained that the Assembly should recommend that self-determination and sovereignty be granted to the people of Puerto Rico.

Honduras, on 1 December, submitted a draft proposal—which it later revised twice—by which the General Assembly, among other things, would proclaim the elimination of colonialism throughout the world, in the Western hemisphere as elsewhere. It would also appoint a five-member commission to examine the situation in the Trust and Non-Self-Governing Territories, with a view to proposing to the General Assembly at its sixteenth session whatever concrete measures should be recommended or applied in each case in order to achieve the complete abolition of colonialism throughout the world.

The United States representative observed that, as a result of the application of Article 73 of the Charter, 34 countries—containing over 775 million people—had attained independence since 1946. The ending of the colonial era was already far advanced, and its complete end