zation sponsored by 49 states, was nearly the same as a resolution adopted over U.S. opposition in 1975. The resolution, inter alia, (1) declared again that the continuation of colonialism in all its forms, "including racism, apartheid, the exploitation by foreign and other interests of the economic and human resources, and the waging of colonial wars to suppress the national liberation movements of the colonial territories in Africa," was incompatible with the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Colonialism Declaration; (2) reaffirmed the Assembly's determination to eradicate colonialism; (3) reaffirmed the legitimacy of the struggle of the people under colonial and alien domination to exercise their right to self-determination and independence by all the necessary means at their disposal; (4) approved the 1976 report of the Committee of 24, including the program of work envisaged for 1977; (5) called on all states and UN organizations to implement the recommendations in the report; (6) condemned the intensified activities of foreign economic and other interests that were impeding the implementa tion of the Colonialism Declaration; (7) strongly condemned all collaboration in both the nuclear and military fields with South Africa; (8) called on colonial powers to withdraw immediately and unconditionally their military bases and installations from colonial territories; and (9) called on administering powers to cooperate with the Committee of 24, to participate in its work relating to the territories under their administration, and to permit the access of visiting missions to the territories in order to secure first-hand information and ascertain the wishes and aspirations of their inhabitants. The resolution was adopted by a recorded vote of 121 to 2 (U.S.), with 8 abstentions. The United States voted against the resolution because of reservations about a number of the specific paragraphs, including the language on military activities and foreign economic interests, and about the report of the Committee of 24, which was approved in its entirety. A companion resolution,. 48/sponsored by 53 states, inter alia, (1) requested the Secretary General, having regard to the suggestions of the Committee of 24, to continue to give widespread and continuous publicity to the work of the UN in the field of decolonization through all the media at his disposal; and (2) invited all states, UN organizations, and nongovernmental organizations with a 48/ Resolution 31/144. special interest in the field to undertake or intensify, in cooperation with the Secretary General, the large-scale dissemination of information on decolonization. This resolution was adopted by a recorded vote of 132 to 0, with 2 abstentions (U.S.). The United States abstained because, although it supports the dissemination of objective information on decolonization, it has reservations concerning the Committee of 24 language calling for greater publicity about such items as the role of foreign economic and other interests and military activities. Finally, the Assembly adopted without objection a resolution497 sponsored by 40 states that (1) decided to hold in 1977 an "International Conference in Support of the Peoples of Zimbabwe and Namibia" for the purpose of mobilizing worldwide support for and assistance to the peoples of those territories in their struggle for self-determination and independence; (2) welcomed Mozambique's offer to hold the conference at Maputo; (3) requested the Secretary General, in cooperation with the Committee of 24 and the Council for Namibia, to organize the conference, in consultation with the OAŬ; and (4) requested the Committee of 24 and the Council of Namibia to report to the 32nd General Assembly on the results of the conference. 49/ Resolution 31/145. INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. Court's primary functions are to decide such cases as are submitted to it by states and to give advisory opinions on legal questions at the request of intergovernmental bodies authorized pursuant to the Statute of the Court and the UN Charter. The Court is composed of 15 judges, no two of them of whom may be nationals of the same state. (See Appendix II, p. 415, for membership.) On February 12, 1976, the Court elected Judge Eduardo Jiménez de Aréchaga of Uruguay and Judge Nagendra Singh of India to serve respectively as President and Vice President for a term of 3 years. Four new judges elected to the Court in 1975--Taslim Olawale Elias (Nigeria), Hermann Mosler (Federal Republic of Germany), Shigeru Oda (Japan), and Salah El Dine Tarazi (Syria) --were installed at a public hearing on February 18. On April 12, the Court adopted a revised text of its 1968 resolution concerning the internal judicial practice of the Court. The resolution is designed to inform the public of the internal processes utilized by the Court in its deliberations, which are held in private in accordance with article 33 of the Rules of the Court. The Court submitted a brief report to the 31st General Assembly on its activities in the 2 years from August 1, 1974, to July 31, 1976. The report contains information on the composition of the Court and on its jurisdiction, judicial work, statute, rules, and publications. The Assembly did not, however, discuss the report. CASES Only one case, the Aegean Sea Continental Shelf Case, was before the Court during 1976. On August 10, Greece filed an application with the Registry of the Court instituting proceedings. against Turkey in respect of a dispute concerning the respective legal rights of those states to authorize and carry out exploration for petroleum resources in certain areas of the Aegean adjacent to Greek islands opposite the Turkish coast. Greece asked the Court to adjudge and declare that the islands referred to in its application as Greek territory are entitled to that portion of the continental shelf which appertains to them according |