The United Nations Special Committee on the Situation with Regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, or the Special Committee on Decolonization (C-24), is a committee of the United Nations General Assembly that was established in 1961 and is exclusively devoted to the issue of decolonization.
History When the United Nations was created, there were 750 million people living in territories that were non-self-governing. However, the Charter of the United Nations included, in Chapter XI, provisions calling for recognition of the rights of inhabitants of territories administered by its Member States. It called for these Member States to aid in the establishment of self-governance through the development of free political institutions, as well as to keep in mind the political aspirations of the people.
The Charter also created, in Chapter XII, the international trusteeship system. This system allowed for the administration and supervision of territories placed under the control of the United Nations by Member States wishing to grant independence to their colonial possessions. These "Trust" territories were administered by the United Nations Trusteeship Council, which was created by Chapter XIII of the Charter.
Hoping to speed up the process of decolonization, the General Assembly passed Resolution 1514 (XV), also known as the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. The Declaration stated that all peoples have the right to self-determination and that immediate steps should be taken to end colonialism unconditionally.
Original member states On 27 November 1961, the General Assembly created the precursor to the Special Committee by Resolution 1654 (XVI), which established a Special Committee of 17 member states to examine the application of the Declaration and to make recommendations on how to better implement it. The original member states were:
On 7 December 1962, the General Assembly added seven seats to the committee, bringing the total number of member states up to 24. The number increased again in 2004, 2008, and 2010. The number 24 continues to be used when describing the Committee even though it now has 29 member states.
International Decades for the Eradication of Colonialism
In 1990, the General Assembly proclaimed 1990–2000 as the First International Decades for the Eradication of Colonialism by Resolution 43/47, with the ultimate goal being the full implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. The General Assembly adopted the report of the Secretary-General dated 13 December 1991 as the Plan of Action for the Decade.
On 8 December 2000, the General Assembly proceeded to proclaim the Second International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism, lasting from 2001 to 2010 via Resolution 55/146. The Resolution called upon Member States to redouble their efforts to implement the Plan of Action during the Second Decade.
On 10 December 2010, the General Assembly proclaimed 2010–2020 as the Third International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism via Resolution 65/119. The Resolution called upon Member States to intensify their efforts to continue to implement the Plan of Action during the Third Decade.
In 2020, the General Assembly proclaimed 2021–2030 as the Fourth International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism via Resolution 75/123.United Nations: International Decades for the Eradication of Colonialism
Working methods The Committee holds its main session in New York in June, as well as an annual seminar in the Caribbean and Pacific in alternate years. In 2018, the seminar was held in St. George's, Grenada.
At each main session, the Committee reviews the list of territories to which the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples is applicable and makes recommendations on its implementation and on the dissemination of public information on decolonization to the local population. It also hears statements from Non-Self-Governing Territories (NSGTs), dispatches missions to these NSGTs and organizes seminars on the political, social and economic situation in the NSGTs.
The Committee reports to the General Assembly on its work through the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization).
Listed non-self-governing territories
Currently, there are 17 territories on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories.
Territory Capital Currency Language(s) Population Administering Power UN Continental Region UN Geographical Subregion Notes Source(s)Also known in the conventional form as the Territory of American Samoa.Pago PagoUnited States dollarEnglish44,620OceaniaPolynesiaPolitical status: Unincorporated unorganized territory of the United States, administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior.Swains Island is claimed by Tokelau as Olohega.American Samoa at the CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 11 January 2024.The ValleyEastern Caribbean dollar English15,753AmericasCaribbeanAnguilla at the CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 11 January 2024.HamiltonBermudian dollarEnglish63,913AmericasCaribbeanBermuda at the CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 11 January 2024.Road TownUnited States dollarThe economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous United States Virgin Islands to the west. The U.S. dollar is the legal currency.English30,030AmericasCaribbeanBritish Virgin Islands at the CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 11 January 2024.George TownCayman Islands dollarEnglish81,546AmericasCaribbeanCayman Islands at the CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 11 January 2024. (disputed)StanleyFalkland Islands poundEnglish3,662AmericasSouth AmericaPolitical status: Disputed territory. Administered by the United Kingdom as an overseas territory named the Falkland Islands, claimed by Argentina as the Islas Malvinas (see Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute).Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) at the CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 11 January 2024.Also known as the Overseas Country of French Polynesia.PapeeteCFP francFrench278,786OceaniaPolynesiaPolitical status: Overseas collectivity and overseas country of France.French Polynesia at the CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 11 January 2024. (disputed)GibraltarGibraltar poundEnglish34,003EuropeSouthern EuropePolitical status: Disputed territory. Administered by the United Kingdom as an overseas territory, claimed by Spain (see Status of Gibraltar).Gibraltar at the CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 11 January 2024.HagåtñaUnited States dollarEnglish168,801OceaniaMicronesiaGuam at the CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 11 January 2024.PlymouthEastern Caribbean dollarEnglish4,390AmericasCaribbeanNouméaCFP francFrench271,407OceaniaMelanesiaPolitical status: Sui generis collectivity of France.New Caledonia at the CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 11 January 2024.Officially the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands.AdamstownNew Zealand dollarEnglish47OceaniaPolynesiaPitcairn Islands at the CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 11 January 2024.Officially Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.JamestownSaint Helena poundEnglish5,633AfricaWestern AfricaSaint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha at the CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 11 January 2024.(none)Tokelau has no official capital, each atoll has its own administrative centre.New Zealand dollarEnglish1,499OceaniaPolynesiaTokelau at the CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 11 January 2024.Grand TurkCommonly known as Cockburn Town.United States dollarEnglish44,542AmericasCaribbeanTurks and Caicos Islands at the CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 11 January 2024.Charlotte AmalieUnited States dollarEnglish87,146AmericasCaribbeanU.S. Virgin Islands at the CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 11 January 2024.Western Sahara (disputed)El Aaiún (claimed)DisputedArabicSpanish565,581None (de facto)AfricaNorthern AfricaEncyclopædia Britannica: Western Sahara . Retrieved 11 January 2024.
These territories do not have representation equivalent to other regions of their parent states. , several have rejected a change of status through referendums, such as New Caledonia in 2018, 2020, and 2021, the Falkland Islands in 2013, and Gibraltar in 2002. Likewise, in 2013, the elected Assembly of French Polynesia opposed the territory's inclusion in the list."Tahiti assembly votes against UN decolonisation bid" , Radio New Zealand International, 17 May 2013 Others, such as Guam, have voted for a change in status but been refused by their colonising state.
Membership
The following are the current member states of the committee:
* Original member state
Controversy Territories with independence movements are disputed for their qualification as colonial countries and their admission for decolonization. Various current and previous member states on various occasions have disputed and blocked the admission and re-admission of their respective territories for decolonization.
China has blocked the admission of Hong Kong, Inner Mongolia, Macao, Tibet, and Xinjiang as non-self-governing territories. China considers Hong Kong and Macao as territories forcibly ceded to European powers, the territories are possessions rather than colonies, and that China enjoys sovereignty over these territories. China claims that these regions are currently self-governed and are generally not considered colonial holdings. However, the annexations of Tibet and Xinjiang led to their current status as autonomous regions of China, and there have been various disputed accounts of forced sterilization and abortion in Tibet and Xinjiang, alleged forced labor and internment in Xinjiang, and Western accusations of forced assimilation, political control, and stripping of political representation to people of all these regions. Russia has disputed at least 26 territories as colonial countries from admissions for decolonization. Among these Russian territories are Adygea, Altai, Bashkortostan, Buryatia, Chechnya, Chukotka, Chuvashia, Crimea, Dagestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Kalmykia, Karachay-Cherkessia, Karelia, Khakassia, Khanty-Mansi, Komi, Mari El, Mordovia, Nenets, North Ossetia–Alania, Sakha (Yakutia), Tatarstan, Tuva, Udmurtia, and Yamalo-Nenets. Historically, forced ethnic migrations have been conducted to retain control over certain territories. Though these territories enjoyed varying degrees of self-governance through sovereignty pacts reached with the Russian Federation, these pacts have since expired, and regional autonomy has gradually eroded. The United States retains Puerto Rico as an unincorporated organized territory, which the committee has deemed insufficient in providing them self-determination. However, its Commonwealth status compelled the committee to remove it from the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories in 1952. Despite the United States Virgin Islands being on the list of Non-Self Governing Territories, 81.60% of the voters voted to remain as a U.S. territory with only 13.44% wanting "integration with the U.S." and 4.96% preferring independence in the 1993 United States Virgin Islands status referendum that was albeit invalidated due to less than half of the eligible voters turning out.
Various organizations including the British delegates claimed that the committee is 'no longer relevant' to the United Kingdom Overseas Territories as many of its member states are colonizers themselves, controlling various territories wanting independence.
Bureau As of 2025, the officers comprising the bureau of the Special Committee are:
Name Country Position Menissa Rambally Chair Ernesto Soberon Guzman Vice-chair Hari Prabowo Vice-chair Michael Imran Kanu Vice-chair Koussay Aldahhak Rapporteur
Recommendation on Puerto Rico