Powers called to work on colonies

Tony Hotland ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Bandung   |  Sat, 05/17/2008 11:15 AM  |  World

The United Nations' decolonization body ended its annual meeting here Friday with chairman Marty Natalegawa of Indonesia reminding administering countries of their obligations as set out in UN General Assembly Resolution 1514.

Adopted in December 1960, the resolution states that all peoples have the right to self-determination, and immediate steps should be taken in non-self-governing territories to transfer power to these people without conditions or reservations.

There are 16 remaining colonized territories worldwide, all under the administration of four nations -- New Zealand, the U.S., the UK and France.

These countries insist the territories are historically part of their national sovereignty and as such should not be independent.

"Of the administering powers, only New Zealand is considered to have set a good example in its handling of Tokelau. The others seem to distance themselves from the committee. We need to rebuild their level of comfort with us," said Marty, Indonesia's ambassador to the UN.

He said the committee, known as the Committee of 24, would have to use different approaches in dealing with these administering powers because decolonization required unique, tailor-made solutions.

"We also need to consider the will of the territories because independence isn't always what they want," he said.

Non-self-governing territories can choose from three options. These are independence, integration and free association (special autonomy).

Marty, elected chairman in February, said the committee needed to revamp its current working method which was not conducive to creating substantial progress.

"When I look at the conclusions of the annual meetings, they're generally roll overs from previous meetings. If this continues, work on decolonization will grind to a halt," he said.

He said future meetings should also start focusing on issues related to these territories, such as environmental or educational development.

With the second decade of the decolonization expiring in 2010, Marty said administering powers and the UN committee needed to work closer to eventually make clear the fate of these non-self-governing territories.

Timor Leste was once listed by the UN as a colonized territory under the administration of Portugal. Between 1975 and 1999 it was under Indonesian control, before finally attaining independence in May 2002 and joining the UN in September of the same year.

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