24 November 1981

70th plenary meeting

Question of the United States Virgin Islands

The General Assembly,

Having considered the question of the United States Virgin Islands,

Having examined the relevant chapters of the report of the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples,

Recalling its resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960, containing the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, and all other resolutions and decisions of the United Nations relating to the United States Virgin Islands,

Noting the active co-operation given by the administering Power, both through its participation in the work of the Special Committee and through its willingness to receive visiting missions to small Territories under its administration,

Having heard the statement of the administering Power,

1. Approves the chapter of the report of the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples relating to the United States Virgin Islands;

2. Reaffirms the inalienable right of the people of the United States Virgin Islands to self-determination and independence in accordance with the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples;

3. Reaffirms its conviction that questions of territorial size, geographical location, size of population and limited natural resources should in no way delay the speedy implementation of the Declaration with regard to the Territory;

4. Requests the Government of the United States of America, as the administering Power, to take all necessary measures, in consultation with the freely elected representatives of the people of the United States Virgin Islands, to expedite the process of the decolonization of the Territory in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter of the United Nations and the Declaration contained in General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV);

5. Reaffirms that it is the obligation of the administering Power, in consultation with the freely elected representatives of the people of the Territory, to inform the local people of the possibilities open to them in the exercise of their inalienable right to self-determination and independence and to enable them to exercise that right freely and without interference in accordance with General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV);

6. Reaffirms that the administering Power has the responsibility for taking such measures as will ensure the preservation of the identity and cultural heritage of the people of the Territory;

7. Urges the administering Power, in consultation with the freely elected representatives of the people of the United States Virgin Islands, to safeguard the inalienable right of the people of the Territory to the enjoyment of their natural resources by taking effective measures which guarantee the right of the people to own and dispose of those resources and to establish and maintain control over their future development;

8. Reaffirms the responsibility of the administering Power, under the Charter, for the economic and social development of the United States Virgin Islands, and in this regard, notes that, although steady economic progress has continued in the Territory, especially in the area of service industries, there are still problems which need to be resolved, including those relating to unemployment and the infrastructure;

9. Notes the sustained efforts of diversification undertaken by the territorial Government and urges the administering Power, acting in co-operation with the Government of the United States Virgin Islands, to strengthen the economy of the Territory by, wherever possible, taking additional measures of diversification in all fields;

10. Requests the administering Power to continue to enlist the assistance of the specialized agencies and other organizations of the United Nations system in the development and strengthening of the economy of the Territory;

11. Requests the Special Committee to continue the examination of this question at its next session, including the possible dispatch of a further visiting mission to the United States Virgin Islands at an appropriate time and in consultation with the administering Power, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its thirty-seventh session.