Special Decolonization Committee Approves 3 Drafts Aimed at Enhancing Information Dissemination, Facilitating Visiting Missions to Non-Self-Governing Territories

The Special Committee on Decolonization opened the substantive portion of its 2025 session today and approved three draft resolutions relating to territories whose people have not yet attained a full measure of self-government.

The 29-member Special Committee — formally known as the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples — annually reviews the list of Non-Self-Governing Territories, as defined in Chapter XI of the Charter of the United Nations, to which the Declaration is applicable and hears statements from their representatives.

Acting without a vote on all three texts, the Special Committee approved its annual draft resolution “Dissemination of information on decolonization” (document A/AC.109/2025/L.3), by which the General Assembly would request the Secretary-General to further enhance the information provided on the United Nations decolonization website.  It would also ask the Department of Global Communications to continue its efforts to update web-based information on the assistance programmes available to the Non-Self-Governing Territories.

By the second resolution, “Information from Non‑Self‑Governing Territories transmitted under Article 73(e) of the Charter of the United Nations” (document A/AC.109/2025/L.4), the Assembly would ask the administering Powers to respect their obligations under the Charter and continue to transmit or regularly to the UN Secretary-General information relating to the economic, social and educational conditions in the Territories.

The third text, “Question of sending visiting and special missions to Territories” (document A/AC.109/2025/L.5), would have the Assembly stress the need to dispatch periodic visiting missions to Non-Self-Governing Territories to facilitate the full, speedy and effective implementation of the Declaration.  It would also call upon the administering Powers to cooperate with the United Nations, if they have not yet done so, or to continue to cooperate by facilitating UN visiting missions to the Territories under their administration.

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