24 November 1981

Activities of foreign economic and other interests which are impeding the implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples in Namibia and in all other Territories under colonial domination and efforts to eliminate colonialism, apartheid and racial discrimination in southern Africa

The General Assembly,

Having considered the item entitled "Activities of foreign economic and other interests which are impeding the implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples in Namibia and in all other Territories under colonial domination and efforts to eliminate colonialism, apartheid and racial discrimination in southern Africa",

Having examined 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 this question, Taking into consideration the chapters of the report of the United Nations Council for Namibia relating to the question,

Recalling its resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960, containing the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, its resolution 2621 (XXV) of 12 October 1970, containing the programme of action for the full implementation of the Declaration, and its resolution 35/118 of 11 December 1980, the annex to which contains the Plan of Action for the Full Implementation of the Declaration, as well as all other resolutions of the United Nations relating to the item,

Taking into account the relevant provisions of the Maputo Declaration in Support of the Peoples of Zimbabwe and Namibia and the Programme of Action for the Liberation of Zimbabwe and Namibia, adopted by the International Conference in Support of the Peoples of Zimbabwe and Namibia, held at Maputo from 16 to 12 May 1977, as well as the Lagos Declaration for Action against Apartheid, adopted by the World Conference for Action against Apartheid,

Recalling the Declaration on Namibia and the Programme of Action in Support of Self-Determination and National Independence for Namibia, contained in General Assembly resolution S-9/2 of 3 May 1978,

Recalling also the Panama Declaration and Programme of Action on Namibia adopted by the United Nations Council for Namibia at its extraordinary plenary meetings held at Panama from 2 to 5 June 1981,

Bearing in mind the relevant resolutions adopted by the Council of Ministers of the Organization of African Unity at its thirty-seventh ordinary session, held at Nairobi from 15 to 26 June 1981, and endorsed by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity at its eighteenth ordinary session, held at Nairobi from 24 to 27 June 1981,

Bearing in mind also the relevant provisions of the Declaration adopted by the Conference of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Non-Aligned Countries, held at New Delhi from 9 to 13 February 1981, as well as the final communique of the Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting of the Co-ordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Countries on the Question of Namibia, held at Algiers from 16 to 18 April 1981,

Taking into account the relevant provisions of the Special Declaration on Namibia adopted by the International Conference on Sanctions against South Africa, held in Paris from 20 to 27 May 1981,

Bearing in mind further the Declaration on Foreign Investment in South Africa adopted by the Council of Ministers of the Organization of African Unity at its thirty-fifth ordinary session, held at Freetown from 18 to 28 June 1980,

Reaffirming the solemn obligation of the administering Powers under the Charter of the United Nations to promote the political, economic, social and educational advancement of the inhabitants of the Territories under their administration and to protect the human and natural resources of those Territories against abuses,

Reaffirming that any economic or other activity which impedes the implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Counties and Peoples and obstructs efforts aimed at the elimination of colonialism, apartheid and racial discrimination in southern Africa and other colonial Territories is in direct violation of the rights of the inhabitants and of the principles of the Charter and all relevant resolutions of the United Nations,

Reaffirming that the natural resources of all Territories under colonial and racist domination are the heritage of the peoples of those Territories and that the exploitation and depletion of those resources by foreign economic interests, in particular in southern Africa, in association with the illegal racist minority regime of South Africa, constitute a direct violation of the rights of the peoples and of the principles stated in the Charter and all relevant resolutions of the United Nations,

Noting with profound concern that the colonial Powers and certain States, through their activities in the colonial Territories, have continued to disregard United Nations dicisions relating to the item and that they have failed to implement in particular the relevant provisions of General Assembly resolutions 2621 (XXV) of 12 October 1970 and 35/28 of 11 November 1980, by which the Assembly called upon the Governments which had not yet done so to take legislative, administrative or other measures in respect of their nationals and the bodies corporate under their jurisdiction that own and operate enterprises in colonial Territories, particularly in Africa, which are detrimental to the interests of the inhabitants of those Territories, in order to put an end to such enterprises and to prevent new investments which run counter to the interests of the inhabitants of those Territories,

Condemning the intensified activities of those foreign economic, financial and other interests which continue to exploit the natural and human resources of the colonial Territories and to accumulate and repatriate huge profits to the detriment of the interests of the inhabitants, particularly in southern Africa, thereby impeding the realization by the peoples of the Territories of their legitimate aspirations for self-determination and independence,

Strongly condemning the support which the racist minority regime of South Africa continues to receive from those foreign economic, financial and other interests which are collaborating with it in the exploitation of the natural and human resources of the international Territory of Namibia, in the further entrenchment of its illegal racist domination over the Territory and in the strengthening of its system of apartheid,

Taking into account the report of the United Nations Council for Namibia on the hearings on Namibian uranium held in New York from 7 to 11 July 1980,

Strongly condemning the investment of foreign capital in the production of uranium and the collaboration by certain Western countries and other States with the racist minority regime of South Africa in the nuclear field which, by providing that regime with nuclear equipment and technology, enable it to develop nuclear and military capabilities and to become a nuclear Power, thereby promoting South Africa's continued illegal occupation of Namibia,

Deploring that South Africa and the colonial Powers continue to engage in activities and dispositions of a military character and to establish and maintain bases and other military installations in Namibia and other colonial Territories in violation of the principles and purposes of the Charter and of General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV),

Deeply concerned about the conditions in other colonial Territories, including those in the Caribbean region and certain Territories in the Pacific region, where foreign economic, financial and other interests continue to deprive the indigenous populations of their rights over the wealth of their countries, and where the indigenous peoples of those Territories continue to suffer from a loss of land ownership as a result of the failure of the administering Powers concerned to restrict the sale of land to foreigners, despite the repeated appeals of the General Assembly,

Conscious of the continuing need to mobilize world public opinion against the involvement of foreign economic, financial and other interests in the exploitation of natural and human resources, which impedes the independence of colonial Territories and the elimination of racism, particularly in southern Africa,

1. Reaffirms the inalienable right of the peoples of dependent Territories to self-determination and independence and to the enjoyment of the natural resources of their Territories, as well as their right to dispose of those resources in their best interests;

2. Reiterates that any administering or occupying Power which deprives the colonial peoples of the exercise of their legitimate rights over their natural resources or subordinates the rights and interests of those peoples to foreign economic and financial interests violates the solemn obligations it has assumed under the Charter of the United Nations;

3. Reaffirms that, by their depletive exploitation of natural resources, the continued accumulation and repatriation of huge profits and the use of those profits for the enrichment of foreign settlers and the entrenchment of colonial domination over the Territories, the activities of foreign economic, financial and other interests operating at present in the colonial Territories, particularly in southern Africa, constitute a major obstacle to political independence and to the enjoyment of the natural resources of those Territories by the indigenous inhabitants;

4. Condemns the activities of foreign economic and other interests in the colonial Territories as impeding the implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, as well as the efforts to eliminate colonialism, apartheid and racial discrimination;

5. Condemns the policies of Governments which continue to support or collaborate with those foreign economic and other interests engaged in exploiting the natural and human resources of the Territories, including in particular illegally exploiting Namibia's marine resources, thus violating the political, economic and social rights and interests of the indigenous peoples and obstructing the full and speedy implementation of the Declaration in respect of those Territories;

6. Strongly condemns the continuing collaboration of certain Western countries and other States with South Africa in the nuclear field which, by providing the racist regime with nuclear equipment and technology, enables it to increase its nuclear capability, and calls upon all Governments to refrain from all such collaboration with that regime;

7. Requests the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples to continue to monitor closely the situation in other Non-Self-Governing Territories so as to ensure that all economic activities in those Territories are aimed at strengthening and diversifying their economies in the interests of the indigenous peoples and their speedy accession to independence, and that those peoples are not exploited for political, military and other purposes detrimental to their interests;

8. Strongly condemns those Western countries and all other States, as well as the transnational corporations, which continue their investments in, and supply of armaments and oil and nuclear technology to, the racist regime of South Africa, thus buttressing it and aggravating the threat to world peace;

9. Strongly condmens the collusion by the Governments of certain Western countries and other States, particularly those of the United States of America, the Federal Republic of Germany and Israel, with the racist regime of South Africa in the nuclear field and calls upon the Government of France and all other Governments to refrain from supplying the racist minority regime of South Africa, directly or indirectly, with installations that might enable it to produce uranium, plutonium and other nuclear materials, reactors or military equipment;

10. Calls upon all States, in particular the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Japan, Belgium, Israel and Italy, to take urgent, effective measures to terminate all collaboration with South Africa in the political, diplomatic, economic, trade, military and nuclear fields and to refrain from entering into other relations with the racist regime of South Africa in violation of the relevant resolutions of the United Nations and of the Organization of African Unity;

11. Calls once again upon all Governments which have not yet done so to take legislative, administrative or other measures in respect of their nationals and the bodies corporate under their jurisdiction that own and operate enterprises in colonial Territories, particularly in Africa, which are detrimental to the interests of the inhabitants of those Territories, in order to put an end to such enterprises and to prevent new investments which run counter to the interests of the inhabitants of those Territories;

12. Requests all States to refrain from making any investments to the benefit of, or extending loans to, the minority racist regime of South Africa and to refrain from any agreements or measures to promote trade or other economic relations with it;

13. Calls upon those oil-producing and oil-exporting countries which have not yet done so to take effective measures against the oil companies which supply crude oil and petroleum products to the racist regime of South Africa;

14. Requests all States which have not yet done so to take effective measures to end the supply of funds and other forms of assistance, including military supplies and equipment, to the regimes which use such assistance to repress the peoples of the colonial Territories and their national liberation movements;

15. Condemns all military activities and dispositions of a military character in Namibia and other colonial Territories which are prejudicial to the interests of the peoples of those Territories and to their right to self-determination and independence;

16. Calls upon South Africa and the colonial Powers concerned to end the military activities and dispositions of a military character in Namibia and other colonial Territories and to eliminate the military bases in accordance with the provisions of the pertinent resolutions of the General Assembly, in particular paragraph 9 of the Plan of Action for the Full Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, adopted by the Assembly in its resolution 35/118;

17. Reiterates that the exploitation and plundering of the natural resources of Namibia by South African and other foreign economic interests, in violation of the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council and of Decree No. 1 for the Protection of the Natural Resources of Namibia, enacted by the Unied Nations Council for Namibia on 27 September 1974, are illegal and contribute to the maintenance of the illegal occupation regime;

18. Strongly condemns South Africa for its continued exploitation and plundering of the natural resources of Namibia in complete disregard of the legitimate interests of the Namibian people and for its illegal extension of the territorial sea and its proclamation of an economic zone off the coast of Namibia;

19. Calls once again upon all States to discontinue all economic, financial and trade relations with South Africa concerning Namibia and to refrain from entering into economic, financial or other relations with South Africa, acting on behalf of or concerning Namibia, which may lend support to its continued illegal occupation of that Territory;

20. Invites all Governments and organizations of the United Nations system, having regard to the relevant provisions of the Declaration on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order, contained in General Assembly resolution 3201 (S-VI) of 1 May 1974, and of the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States, contained in Assembly resolution 3281 (XXIX) of 12 December 1974, to ensure that the permanent sovereignty of the colonial Territories over their natural resources is fully respected and safeguarded;

21. Requests the United Nations Centre on Transnational Corporations to prepare from available sources a register indicating the profits which transnational corporations derive from their activities in colonial Territories and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its thirty-seventh session;

22. Calls upon the administering Powers to abolish every discriminatory and unjust wage system prevailing in the Territories under their administration and to apply an equitable system of wages;

23. Requests the Secretary-General to continue, through the Department of Public Information of the Secretariat, a sustained and broad campaign with a view to informing world public opinion of the facts concerning the pillaging of natural resources in colonial Territories and the exploitation of their indigenous populations by foreign monopolies and the support they render to the colonialist and racist regimes;

24. Appeals to all non-governmental organizations to continue their campaign to mobilize international public opinion for the enforcement of economic and other sanctions against the Pretoria regime;

25. Requests the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples to continue to examine this question and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its thirty-seventh session.