either directly or indirectly, to the large southern African territories of Namibia and Southern Rhodesia, the Committee paid substantial attention to other territories, such as the British Virgin Islands and the Tokelau Islands--to which it sent visiting missions --Timor, and the U.S. territory of Guam. As in previous years, the Committee also took up the question of the status of Puerto Rico, despite the fact that the General Assembly in 1953 had recognized that the people of Puerto Rico had freely exercised the right to self-determination and achieved self-government when they approved Commonwealth status in 1952. The Committee agreed by consensus on September 7, 1976, to charge its Rapporteur (Syria) with bringing a 1974 report on Puerto Rico up to date and to resume discussion of the item in 1977 in order to consider appropriate measures as a follow-up to previous Committee resolutions on the subject. The Committee also considered a number of issues related to colonialism generally, such as the activities of foreign economic and other interests seen by the Committee as impeding the process of decolonization, military activities by colonial powers seen by the Committee as impeding decolonization, and activities by specialized agencies and other UN bodies that might assist the process of decolonization. The United States was a member of the Committee of 24 until 1971 and continues to discharge its obligations under Article 73(e) of the Charter by reporting to the Assembly through the Committee of 24 on conditions in the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and Guam. Nevertheless, the United States takes basic exception to the view that has come to predominate in the Committee that independence is the only acceptable form of self-determination. The United States continues to support the General Assembly's resolution 1541--like 1514, adopted in 1960--which enumerates several ways in which non-self-governing territories can attain self-determination. The United States also believes that the timing and manner of an act of self-determination should not be decided by the General Assembly, but by the people of the territory concerned and the administering authority. TRUST TERRITORY OF THE PACIFIC ISLANDS The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands is composed of more than 2,000 islands with a combined land area of approximately 700 square miles. The islands are located in the western Pacific Ocean just north of the Equator, ranging from about 10 to 220 north latitude and 130° to 1720 east longitude, and are divided into three large groups: the Marianas (with the exception of Guam) in the northwest, the Carolines to the south running from west to center, and the Marshalls in the east. The total population at the time of the most recent census (September 1973) was 114,973. The islands came under Japanese administration as a result of World War I and were administered by Japan between the World Wars under a League of Nations mandate. The United States gained control of the islands as a consequence of World War II. On July 18, 1947, the United States and the UN Security Council concluded an agreement making the islands a strategic trust territory under U.S. administration; they have been administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior since July 1, 1951. In accordance with Article 83 of the UN Charter, the Trusteeship Council has carried out on behalf of the Security Council the UN functions relating to the territory. TRUSTEESHIP COUNCIL CONSIDERATION The Trusteeship Council held its 43rd session in New York from June 29 to July 13, 1976. Guy Scalabre of France and James Murray of the United Kingdom were elected President and Vice President of the Council, respectively. Albert W. Sherer, Jr., served as U.S. Representative on the Council and Peter T. Coleman, Acting High Commissioner of the Trust Territory, served as the Special Representative. Senator Tosiwo Nakayama and Representative Raymond Setik, both from the Congress of Micronesia, served as special advisers. In addition, during the Council's debate, delegations from the Marshall Islands and from Palau District in the western Caroline Islands attended to present petitions calling on the United States to enter into status negotiations with their respective districts separate from the status talks with the Congress of Micronesia's newly created Commission on Future Status and Transition. Future Political Status At the invitation of the United States, a UN visiting mission consisting of representatives of Australia, France, and the United Kingdom had been in the Mariana Islands District from June 12 to 21, 1975, for the purpose of observing a plebiscite in which the people of the District voted overwhelmingly to approve a Covenant by the terms of which the islands will become a Commonwealth under U.S. Sovereignty following termination of the Trusteeship. Agreement. The mission reported, inter alia, that 93% of the registered voters had participated in the plebiscite, 78.8% of whom voted in support of the Covenant. In summing up, the mission's report said: "There was no improper interference by the Administering Authority. The campaign was freely fought. The poll was free and seen to be free." On July 13 the Trusteeship Council adopted a resolution taking note of the report of the visiting mission and expressing its appreciation of the work accomplished by the mission on its behalf. Ambassador Sherer told the Council that the Covenant had also been approved by both Houses of the U.S. Congress and that the President had signed it into law on March 24, 1976. The next step toward self-government in the Marianas, he said, would be the drafting of a local constitution to provide the basis for an elected Government of the Northern Mariana Islands. This process, including the election and installation of the new government, was expected to be concluded by January 1978. Ambassador Sherer reported that there had also been movement toward a greater degree of self-government in the Marshall Islands and the Caroline Islands, with the completion on November 8, 1975, of a draft Constitution of the Federated States of Micronesia. He said that it was expected that the document would be put to a vote of the people in the Marshalls and Carolines in mid-1977. He added that, although the United States had not taken a substantive position either in support of or in opposition to the draft constitution, the United States continued to encourage the unity of the Marshalls and Carolines within a single constitutional framework. Negotiations of a Compact of Free Association between the United States and a future Federated States of Micronesia progressed during the year and on June 2, 1976, a nearly complete document was initialled on Saipan by Ambassador F. Haydn Williams, the President's Personal Representative, and the members of the Joint Committee on Future Status of the Congress of Micronesia. Agreement was not reached, however, on questions relating to marine resources or the manner in which U.S. funds would be apportioned among the districts, and those sections were left for later negotiation. In general, the initialled text accorded to the United States full responsibility for defense and foreign affairs, while acknowledging that sovereignty resided in the Micronesian people and that their elected government would have full responsibility and authority for internal affairs. Ambassador Sherer reiterated the intention of the United States that the Trusteeship Agreement be terminated simultaneously for the entire Trust Territory, an event expected to occur by the end of 1981. He also assured the Council that the United States intended at the appropriate time to take up the matter of termination with the Trusteeship Council and the Security Council. Senator Nakayama raised the question of the status of the initialled Compact of Free Association, indicating that the uncompleted section on marine resources was of fundamental importance to the Micronesian side and that a new negotiating body, the Commission on Future Status and Transition, had been created by the Congress of Micronesia with a mandate to renegotiate the Compact to the extent necessary to bring it into conformity with the Constitution. He asserted that the initials on the Compact of the members of the now defunct Joint Committee on Future Status were not binding on the members of the new negotiating body or the Congress of Micronesia. Senator Nakayama called for the United States to support the Micronesian position with regard to law of the sea questions, to incorporate into the Compact of Free Association an assurance that Micronesia would have full enjoyment of its maritime resources as an archipelagic coastal state, and to support signatory status for Micronesia in any eventual Law of the Sea Convention. If the United States accepted this, he expressed his confidence that agreement could be reached on "what powers would be exercised by our respective governments in the law of the sea, or in any related administrative, foreign affairs, or defense matter," clearing the way to full agreement on the Compact of Free Association. Other Developments Fred M. Zeder, II, Director of the Department of the Interior's Office of Territorial Affairs, spoke to the Council about the program of economic development for the Trust Territory. He said that, on the recommendation of the U.S. Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, he had organized a task force to study and analyze U.S. programs in the Trust Territory. He stated that the Task Force report "fully documents specific areas of mismanagement, poorly conceived and ineptly executed policies and programs, and raises a number of questions concerning the continuing procedures and practices of this Office [of Territorial Affairs]." The report also contained specific recommendations on how to overcome the immediate problems, and Mr. Zeder told the Council of corrective action taken in eight areas to improve (1) financial accounting, (2) the legal system, (3) the establishment of priorities for capital improvement projects, (4) the contracting of capital improvement programs, (5) public works maintenance, (6) the physical inventory of property and equipment, (7) personnel, and (8) decentralization of the headquarters complex in Saipan. Acting High Commissioner Peter Coleman spoke to the Council concerning developments in the administration of the Trust Territory and indicated that the training and preparation of Micronesian citizens, with a view to placing them in key Government positions, remained a top priority. He reported that of the 37 positions subject to the advice and consent of the Congress of Micronesia, 22 (or 59%) were filled by Trust Territory citizens; 8 or (22%) by U.S. citizens; and 7 (or 19%) were vacant. Mr. Coleman's report also covered educational and medical facilities in Micronesia, as well as certain economic development activity. Congressman Setik informed the Council in some detail of the economic difficulties confronting Micronesia and actions taken to overcome them. He indicated a Micronesian desire to "redirect our economy towards viable development and greater selfsufficiency" and stated that the Congress of Micronesia and the Administration were in broad agreement on the need for restructuring and reorganizing the present government. Congressman Setik expressed satisfaction with the cooperation and assistance extended by the UNDP and expressed the hope of retaining that expertise for further assistance in developing and implementing an economic plan for Micronesia. Council Report Among the conclusions and recommendations in its report to the Security Council, the Trusteeship Council reaffirmed the right of the Micronesian people to self-determination; stated that the plebiscite in the Northern Marianas had been freely and properly conducted; reaffirmed its support for the unity of the Marshall Islands and Caroline Islands; noted that the status of free association presently under consideration, if approved by the people of the Caroline and Marshall Islands, would not be inconsistent with the Trusteeship Agreement; and noted with satisfaction that unity would not be imposed against the will of the individual districts, inasmuch as the Compact of Free Association would not come into effect in any district in which it was opposed by 55% of the voters. The Council recommended that consideration be given to preparing Micronesians for assuming the highest executive |