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the Committee paid increased attention to other territories, such as Spanish Sahara, Portuguese Timor, and the U.S. territories of Guam, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands. The Government of Cuba and others also attempted in August 1975 to have the Committee adopt a resolution on Puerto Rico, which the General Assembly in 1953 had recognized to be self-governing. The Committee, however, by a vote of 11 to 9, with 2 abstentions, decided to postpone action on this proposal until 1976. The Committee also considered a number of issues related to colonialism generally, such as the activities of foreign economic and other interests seen as impeding the process of decolonization, military activities by colonial powers seen as impeding decolonization, and activities by specialized agencies and other UN bodies that might assist the process of decolonization. The Committee's work forms the basis for most of the General Assembly's action in the Fourth Committee on dependent area matters.

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, also 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 self-determination should be decided upon by the people of the territory concerned and the state that has the responsibility for administering it.

The number of non-self-governing territories has steadily declined over the years, and the accession of the Portuguese African territories to independence has relieved the Committee of 24 of a major preoccupation. However, there is still considerable UN interest in those that remain.

The Security Council during 1975 considered colonial problems concerning Namibia, the Western Sahara (Spanish Sahara), and Portuguese Timor.

TRUSTEESHIP SYSTEM

The Trusteeship Council held its 42nd session in New York in 1975 from May 27 to June 7, when it considered the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and on August 28 and 29, when it considered the Trust Territory of New Guinea. Minister James Murray of the United Kingdom and Ambassador Barbara M. White of the United States were elected President and Vice President of the Council, respectively.

In accordance with the UN Charter, the Trusteeship Council submitted its report on the strategic Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands to the Security Council and its report on Papua New Guinea to the General Assembly.

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 1° to 22° north latitude and 130° to 172° 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 September 1973 census 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.

During the Trusteeship Council's consideration of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, Ambassador White served as U.S. Representative, and Edward E. Johnston, High Commissioner of the Trust Territory, served as the Special Representative. Senator Wilfred Kendall and Representative Raymond Setik, both from the Congress of Micronesia, served as special advisers.

Future Political Status

In reporting on developments in the trust territory, Ambassador White discussed the steps taken since

the previous session of the Council toward the determination of Micronesia's future status. She said that formal negotiations had not resumed with the Joint Committee on Future Status of the Congress of Micronesia, although the United States wished to complete the negotiations and the transition to a new status as rapidly as the peoples of Micronesia were willing to move and was prepared to resume the negotiations at any time the Congress of Micronesia so desired.

Negotiations with the Northern Mariana Islands had been successfully concluded with agreement on a "Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America" upon termination of the Trusteeship Agreement. The Commonwealth Covenant had been signed on Saipan, February 15, 1975, by Ambassador F. Haydn Williams, the President's Personal Representative for Micronesian Status Negotiations, and members of the Marianas Political Status Commission. On February 20 the Mariana Islands District Legislature had unanimously approved the Covenant. On April 21 the United States had informed the Trusteeship Council of the proclamation by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior establishing June 17, 1975, as the date for the plebiscite to be held in the Mariana Islands District to approve or reject the Covenant. The United States also extended an invitation to the Trusteeship Council to send a visiting mission to observe the preliminary campaigning, the preparatory political education program, the plebiscite, and the subsequent vote tabulation.

In order to assure the objective conduct of the plebiscite, the United States had established the Office of Plebiscite Commissioner and on April 11 President Ford named Erwin D. Canham, Editor Emeritus of the Christian Science Monitor, to serve as Plebiscite Commissioner. As part of his duties he would carry out an objective plebiscite education program as well as supervise the plebiscite. He would be assisted by a special Plebiscite Advisory Committee and a Voter Registration Board, both of which were composed of citizens of the Northern Marianas and included supporters and opponents of the Covenant.

Ambassador White told the Council that if the plebiscite indicated approval of the Covenant by no less than 55%, the Covenant would be presented to the U.S. Congress. If both the people of the Northern Marianas and the U.S. Congress approved the Covenant, it would come into force in accordance with its provisions. The United States anticipated administering the Northern Marianas separately from the remaining districts of the territory as had been done during a previous period in the territory's history. The Trusteeship Agreement would continue to apply to the Northern Mariana Islands, however, and Ambassador White

assured the Council that it was still the U.S. intention that the Trusteeship Agreement be terminated for all parts of the trust territory simultaneously. She explained that under the terms of the Covenant the Northern Marianas would not achieve commonwealth status until the Trusteeship Agreement was terminated; the United States hoped to propose such termination in 1980 or 1981. It was hoped that by then the peoples of Micronesia would have completed the course to selfdetermination.

The Special Adviser, Senator Kendall, stated that he believed the Congress of Micronesia to be the sole legitimate spokesman for the peoples of all of Micronesia, and that the Congress of Micronesia, through its Joint Committee on Future Status, had the authority to negotiate the future political status for all of Micronesia. He further expressed the view that the upcoming plebiscite in the Northern Mariana Islands District would not give the people of that District the opportunity to compare the alternatives to the Covenant, namely, the Compact of Free Association and the Constitution of Micronesia. He asserted that the United States had knowingly followed a course in Micronesia detrimental to the interests, welfare, and perhaps unity of the remainder of Micronesia.

With regard to the negotiation of a final draft Compact of Free Association, Senator Kendall reported that the current draft had been found unacceptable in several respects: extent of U.S. authority in foreign affairs, the separate status of the Northern Mariana Islands District, and U.S. proposals for continuing financial support of Micronesia. He stated that it was up to the Administering Authority to provide concrete assurances that any resumption of negotiations would prove meaningful. If and when such assurances were offered, the Congress of Micronesia would be prepared to resume negotiations. He further indicated that an advisory referendum would be conducted on July 8 to elicit the wishes of the people in all the districts of Micronesia with regard to the future political status of the Trust Territory. In addition, a constitutional convention was scheduled to convene on July 12.

Senator Kendall's statement prompted Ambassador White to remind the members of the Trusteeship Council that the record clearly showed that the decision to enter into separate status negotiations with the representatives of the Mariana Islands District came after more than 20 years of petitions and statements by their elected representatives expressing the desire of the people of that District to be a part of the United States. She also noted that the Congress of Micronesia's Joint Committee on Future Status had formally indicated in 1969 that it would not oppose a political union which reflected the freely expressed desire of the

majority of the residents of that District. In a subsequent statement she reiterated that the United States had long followed a policy of encouraging the unity of Micronesia, shaping its policies of administration to that end, and that the primary forces for unity--such as the formation of the Congress of Micronesia and the establishment of a constitutional convention--stemmed from U.S. initiatives. The United States continued to support the unity of the Marshall Islands and the Caroline Islands. The United States had proposed an early meeting with the leaders of the Congress of Micronesia and the Joint Committee on Future Status to discuss the full range of questions relating to transition to a new political status, including the levels of U.S. financial aid to be provided during the remaining years of trusteeship. The U.S. invitation remained open, and it hoped, that discussion would resume in the near future that

Other Developments

The matter of the future political status of Micronesia clearly dominated the proceedings of the Council. Reporting on other developments, High Commissioner Edward E. Johnston stated that five of the eight major program departments in the executive branch were headed by Micronesians; that four of five deputy directorships were held by Micronesians; and that 21 of the 38 positions subject to the advice and consent of the Congress of Micronesia were filled by Trust Territory citizens. The number of Micronesian employees had risen by 12.5%. While the economy generally reflected the dollar devaluation and U.S. inflation, there were encouraging signs in agriculture and tourism. The trust territory had already benefited from a number of UNDP projects and the president of the Development Bank of Micronesia had been invited to attend the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank as an observer. Legislation was pending before the U.S. Congress which would enable the United States to sponsor the Micronesian

1/ On June 17 the people of the Marianas declared themselves in favor of the Commonwealth as defined in the Covenant by a majority of almost 80%, with 93% of the registered voters taking part. The Covenant was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on July 21, 1975. By the end of the year the Senate Interior Committee had approved the Covenant and the Committees on Armed Services and Foreign Relations, to which the Covenant had also been referred, had completed hearings.

In the July 8 territory-wide unofficial referendum, only 30% of those registered took part, and the results were inconclusive. The number of those supporting independence and those opposed to it were about even; those voting for and against free association were similarly divided; those in favor of maintaining the present status formed a small majority.

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