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ARTICLE 73
TEXT OF ARTICLE 73
Members of the United Nations which have or assume responsibilities for the administration of territories whose peoples have not yet attained a full measure of self-government recognize the principle that the interests of the inhabitants of these territories are paramount, and accept as a sacred trust the obligation to promote to the utmost, within the system of international peace and security established by the present Charter, the well-being of the inhabitants of these territories, and, to this end:
a. to ensure, with due respect for the culture of the peoples concerned, their political, economic, social, and educational advancement, their just treatment, and their protection against abuses;
b. to develop self-government, to take due account of the political aspirations of the peoples, and to assist them in the progressive development of their free political institutions, according to the particular circumstances of each territory and its peoples and their varying stages of advancement;
c. to further international peace and security;
d. to promote constructive measures of development, to encourage research, and to co-operate with one another and, when and where appropriate, with specialized international bodies with a view to the practical achievement of the social, economic, and scientific purposes set forth in this Article; and
e. to transmit regularly to the Secretary-General for information purposes, subject to such limitation as security and constitutional considerations may require, statistical and other information of a technical nature relating to economic, social, and educational conditions in the territories for which they are respectively responsible other than those territories to which Chapters XII and XIII apply.
INTRODUCTORY NOTE
1. The material included under section II A of this study, entitled "Determination of the territories to which Chapter XI of the Chapter applies", generally corresponds with comparable material included under section II C of the Repertory and its Supplements Nos. 1 and 2. The titles of the subheadings have, however, been modified. The material included under the subheading numbered II A 2 relates to an entirely new development which took place during the period under review.
2. The material included under section II B of this study, entitled "Transmission of Information under Article 73e and its examination", generally corresponds with comparable material included under sections II A and B of the Repertory and its Supplements Nos. 1 and 2. The material has, however, been consolidated under subheadings 1, 2, 4 and 6. The material included under subheadings 3 and 5 relates to entirely new developments which took place during the period under review.
3. Cross references to the Repertory and its Supplements Nos. 1 and 2 are given, where appropriate, in foot-notes.
4. Section II C of this study deals with the adoption by the General Assembly at its fifteenth session of the
Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples contained in resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December I960,[1]and with the question of establishing a time-limit for the elimination of colonialism.
5. The Declaration applies not only to the territories covered by Chapter XI of the Charter but also to Trust Territories, to which Chapters XII and XIII apply, and to all other territories which have not yet attained independence. It has been dealt with under Chapter XI, Article 73, however, because, as stated in Assembly resolution 1970 (XVIII), the Declaration regarding Non-Self-Governing Territories contained in Chapter XI cannot be dissociated from it.
6. Because of the importance of the Declaration in subsequent decisions of the General Assembly relating to Non-Self Governing Territories, the majority of which were taken within the context of the Declaration, its several provisions have not been treated separately, but are dealt with as a whole in section II C.
7. The actions taken and recommendations made by the General Assembly and, in some cases, by the Security Council to assist the peoples of colonial territories to achieve the objectives of the Charter are treated separately in this study under section II D. Decisions concerning French Somaliland and Oman are also included in section II D. In 1965 the former was added to the list of territories to which the Declaration on decolonization applied by the Special Committee on the application of the Declaration. In the same year, the Assembly invited the Special Committee to examine the situation in Oman.
8. Decisions relating specifically to individaul Trust Territories and to South West Africa, to which the Declaration on decolonization also applies, are not considered here. They are dealt with, as in the Repertory and its Supplements Nos. 1 and 2, under Articles 76 and 80 respectively.
- ↑ Referred to in this study as the Declaration on decolonization
