United Nations list of non-self-governing territories

Chapter XI of the United Nations Charter defines a non-self-governing territory (NSGT) as a territory "whose people have not yet attained a full measure of self-government". Chapter XI of the UN Charter also includes a "Declaration on Non-Self-Governing Territories" that the interests of the occupants of dependent territories are paramount and requires member states of the United Nations in control of such territories to submit annual information reports concerning the development of those territories. Since 1946, the UNGA has maintained a list of non-self governing territories under member states' control. Since its inception, dozens of territories have been removed from the list, typically when they attained independence or internal self-government, while other territories have been added as new administering countries joined the United Nations or the UN General Assembly (UNGA) reassessed their status.

Since 1961 the list has been maintained by the Special Committee on Decolonization.

History

Chapter XI of the UN Charter contains a Declaration Concerning Non-Self-Governing Territories. Article 73(e) requires UN member states to report to the United Nations annually on the development of NSGTs under their control. From the initial reports provided by eight member states (Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States), a list was compiled in 1946 listing 72 NSGTs. In several instances, administering states were later allowed to remove dependent territories from the list, either unilaterally (as in the case of French overseas territories such as French Polynesia), or by a vote of the General Assembly (as in the cases of Puerto Rico, Greenland, the Netherlands Antilles and Suriname).

File:UN-Non-Self-Governing Territories.svg

Map of territories on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories.

The list draws its origins from the period of colonialism and the Charter's concept of non-self-governing territories. As an increasing number of formerly colonized countries became UN members, the General Assembly increasingly asserted its authority to place additional territories on the list and repeatedly declared that only the General Assembly had the authority to authorize a territory's being removed from the list upon attainment of any status other than full independence. For example, when Portugal joined the United Nations it contended that it did not control any non-self-governing territory, claiming that areas such as Angola and Mozambique were an integral part of the Portuguese state, but the General Assembly rejected this position. Similarly, Western Sahara was added in 1963 when it was a Spanish colony. As with Namibia, which was seen, due to its former status as a League of Nations mandate territory, as a vestige of German colonial legacy in Africa, until it was removed in 1990 upon its independence. A set of criteria for determining whether a territory is to be considered "non-self-governing" was established in General Assembly Resolution 1541 (XV) of 1960. Also in 1960, the General Assembly adopted Resolution 1514 (XV), promulgating the "Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples", which declared that all remaining non-self-governing territories and trust territories were entitled to self-determination and independence. The following year, the General Assembly established the Special Committee on the Situation with Regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (sometimes referred to as the Special Committee on Decolonization, or the "Committee of 24" because for much of its history the committee was composed of 24 members), which reviews the situation in non-self-governing territories each year and reports to the General Assembly. A revised list in 1963 listed 64 NSGTs.

Resolutions adopted

1946

• UNGA Resolution 64(I) regarding the Establishment of the Trusteeship Council.
• UNGA Resolution 66(I) regarding Transmission of information under Article 73 e of the Charter.

1947

• UNGA Resolution 142(II) regarding Standard form for the guidance of Members in the preparation of information to be transmitted under Article 73 e of the Charter.
• UNGA Resolution 143(II) regarding Supplemental documents relating to information transmitted under Article 73 e of the Charter.
• UNGA Resolution 144(II) regarding Voluntary transmission of information regarding the development of self-governing institutions in the Non-Self-Governing Territories.
• UNGA Resolution 145(II) regarding Collaboration of the specialized agencies in regard to Article 73 e of the Charter.
• UNGA Resolution 146(II) regarding Creation of a special committee on information transmitted under Article 73 e of the Charter.

1960

• UNGA Resolution 1514 (XV) Declaration on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples.
• UNGA regarding Principles which should guide members in determining whether or an obligation exists to transmit the information called for under Article 73e of the Charter.

1961

• UNGA Resolution 1654 (XVI) regarding the situation with regard to the implementation of the Declaration on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples.

1966

• International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights adopted by the UNGA on 16 December 1966.
• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights adopted by the UNGA on 19 December 1966.

1990–2000

• UNGA Resolution A/RES/43/45 regarding Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.
• UNGA Resolution A/RES/43/46 regarding Dissemination of information on decolonization.
• UNGA Resolution A/RES/43/47 regarding International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism.

2001–2010

• UNGA Resolution 55/145 regarding Dissemination of information on decolonization.
• UNGA Resolution 55/146 regarding 2nd International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism.
• UNGA Resolution 55/147 regarding Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.
• United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Resolution 2007/25 regarding Support to Non-Self-Governing Territories by the specialized agencies and international institutions associated with the United Nations.

2011–present

• UNGA Resolution 65/116 regarding Dissemination of information on decolonization.
• UNGA Resolution 65/117 regarding Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.
• UNGA Resolution 65/118 regarding Fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.
• UNGA Resolution 65/119 regarding 3rd International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism.

Current entries

The following 17 territories are currently included in the list.

Overview of non-self-governing territories

Territory	Administering state	Domestic legal status	Other claimant(s)	Population	Area		Referendum(s)	See also
American Samoa	Template:Flagu	Unincorporated unorganized territory		55,519		No official referendum has been held.	Politics of American Samoa
Anguilla	Template:Flagu	Overseas territory		14,108		No official referendum has been held.	Politics of Anguilla
Bermuda	Template:Flagu	Overseas territory		62,000		A 1995 Bermudian independence referendum was held. 74% of votes cast were against independence.	Politics of Bermuda
British Virgin Islands	Template:Flagu	Overseas territory		28,103		No official referendum has been held.	Politics of the British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands	Template:Flagu	Overseas territory		55,500		No official referendum has been held.	Foreign relations of the Cayman Islands
Falkland Islands	Template:Flagu	Overseas territory	Argentina	3,662		Two referendums have been held in 1986 and 2013 on whether the Falklands should join Argentina. On both occasions, voters overwhelmingly chose continued British control.	Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute
French PolynesiaTemplate:Efn	Template:Flagu	Overseas country		271,000		No official referendum has been held.	Politics of French Polynesia
Gibraltar	Template:Flagu	Overseas territory	Template:Flagu	29,752		There were referendums in 1967 and in 2002, both returning an overwhelming victory for the pro-British side.	Status of Gibraltar
Guam	Template:Flagu	Unincorporated organized territory		159,358		Three status referendums have been held, one in 1976 and two in 1982 (one in January and the other in September), with all three of them supporting an improved Commonwealth status under US control.	Politics of Guam
Montserrat	Template:Flagu	Overseas territory		5,000		No official referendum has been held.	Government of Montserrat
New CaledoniaTemplate:Efn	Template:Flagu	Sui generis collectivity		252,000		There were referendums in 1987, 2018, 2020, and 2021, all deciding against independence.	Politics of New Caledonia
PitcairnTemplate:Efn	Template:Flagu	Overseas territory		50		No official referendum has been held.	Politics of the Pitcairn Islands
Template:Country data Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da CunhaTemplate:Efn	Template:Flagu	Overseas territory		5,396		No official referendum has been held.	Politics of Saint Helena
Tokelau	Template:Flagu	Territory		1,411		There were two referendums on self-determination in Tokelau in 2006 and 2007, with both coming just shy of the required two-thirds "yes" margin.	Politics of Tokelau
Turks and Caicos Islands	Template:Flagu	Overseas territory		31,458		No official referendum has been held.	Politics of the Turks and Caicos Islands
Template:Country data US Virgin Islands	Template:Flagu	Unincorporated organized territory		106,405		A 1993 United States Virgin Islands status referendum was held. The status quo was widely preferred among voters, but the result was invalidated because of the low turnout.	Politics of the United States Virgin Islands
Western SaharaTemplate:Efn	Template:Flagu (de jure, but not de facto)	Disputed	Template:Indented plainlist	619,060		The United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara has attempted to organize a referendum since 1991, but none has been held so far.	Political status of Western Sahara

Notes

Former entries

The following territories were originally listed by UN General Assembly Resolution 66 (I) of 14 December 1946 as Trust and Non-Self-Governing Territory. The dates show the year of independence or other change in a territory's status which led to their removal from the list, after which information was no longer submitted to the United Nations.

Change in status by administering state

Overview of non-self-governing territories that had a change in status

Trust / Territory	Change in status	Current status	Administering state	Population	Area / km2	Area / mi2	Year removed	See also
Alaska	Granted statehood (full integration with the United States)	US state	Template:Flagu	683,478	1,700,130	656,424	1959	Legal status of Alaska
Template:Country data British Hong Kong	Removed from the list on request of China	Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (since 1 July 1997): Hong Kong	Template:Flag decoration United Kingdom	7,018,636	1,092	422	1972	Politics of Hong Kong
Cocos (Keeling) Islands	Voted to integrate into Australia	External territory of Australia	Template:Flagu	596	14	5	1984	Shire of Cocos
Cook Islands	Gained self-rule	State in free association with New Zealand	Template:Flag decoration New Zealand	12,271	237	92	1965	Politics of the Cook Islands
Dutch Guiana	Granted more autonomy	Suriname	Netherlands	475,996	163,270	63,039	1955	Politics of Suriname
French Guiana	Became an overseas department (full integration with the French Republic)	Overseas department and region of France	Template:Country data French Fourth Republic	209,000	83,534	32,253	1947	Politics of French Guiana
French Polynesia (later reinstated)	Became an overseas territory (semi-autonomous collectivity of the French Republic)	Overseas country of France: French Polynesia Overseas state private property of France: Template:Flag decoration Clipperton Island	Template:Country data French Fourth Republic	298,256	4,441	1,715	1947	Politics of French Polynesia
Greenland	Incorporated into Denmark as Greenland County (1953). Gained home rule as a Country within the Kingdom of Denmark (1979). Increased autonomy (2009)	Autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark	Template:Flag decoration Denmark	57,564	2,166,086	836,330	1954	Politics of Greenland
Guadeloupe	Became an overseas department (full integration with the French Republic)	Overseas department and region of France: Guadeloupe Overseas collectivities of France: Saint Barthélemy Saint Martin	Template:Country data French Fourth Republic	408,000	1,628	629	1947	Politics of Guadeloupe, Saint Barthélemy, and Saint Martin
Hawaii	Granted statehood (full integration with the United States)	US state	Template:Flagu	1,283,388	28,311	10,931	1959	Legal status of Hawaii
Martinique	Became an overseas department (full integration with the French Republic)	Overseas department and region of France	Template:Country data French Fourth Republic	401,000	1,128	436	1947	Politics of Martinique
Template:Flagu	Granted more autonomy	Constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands: Aruba Curaçao Sint Maarten Special municipalities of the Netherlands: Bonaire Sint Eustatius Saba	Netherlands	225,369	960	371	1955	Politics of Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and the Netherlands Antilles
New Caledonia (later reinstated)	Became an overseas territory (semi-autonomous collectivity of the French Republic)	Sui generis collectivity of France Overseas collectivity of France: Wallis and Futuna	Template:Country data French Fourth Republic	224,824	19,060	7,359	1947	Politics of New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna
Niue	Gained self-rule	State in free association with New Zealand	Template:Flag decoration New Zealand	1,444	260	100	1974	Politics of Niue
Northern Mariana Islands	Became a Commonwealth	Unincorporated territory of the United States with Commonwealth status	Template:Flagu	53,883	168	65	1990	Politics of the Northern Mariana Islands
Panama Canal Zone	Removed from the list on request of Panama	Part of Colón, Panamá, and Panamá Oeste provinces of Panama	Template:Flagu				1947	Politics of Panama
File:Flag of the Government of Portuguese Macau (1976–1999).svg Portuguese Macau	Removed from the list on request of China	Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (since 20 December 1999): Macau	Portugal	545,674	28	11	1972	Politics of Macau
Puerto Rico	Became a Commonwealth (semi-autonomous unincorporated territory of the United States)	Unincorporated territory of the United States with Commonwealth status	Template:Flagu	3,958,128	8,870	3,420	1952	Political status of Puerto Rico
Réunion	Became an overseas department (full integration with the French Republic)	Overseas department and region of France	Template:Country data French Fourth Republic	868,000	2,512	970	1947	Politics of Réunion
Saint Pierre and Miquelon	Became an overseas department and then an overseas territory (semi-autonomous collectivity of the French Republic)	Overseas collectivity of France	Template:Country data French Fourth Republic	7,044	242	93	1947	Politics of Saint Pierre and Miquelon

Joined another state

Overview of non-self-governing territories that joined another state

Non-self-governing territory	State joined	Current status	Administering state	Population	Area		Year removed	See also
British Cameroons	Northern Cameroons joined Nigeria Southern Cameroons joined Cameroon	Adamawa, Borno and Taraba states of Nigeria, Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon	Template:Flagu				1961	Politics of Nigeria Politics of Cameroon
Template:Flagicon Ifni	Integrated into Morocco	Sidi Ifni, Guelmim-Oued Noun, Morocco	Template:Flagu	51,517		1969	Politics of Morocco
Template:Country data Portuguese India	Annexed by India	The Indian state of Goa and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu	Portugal				1961	Annexation of Goa
Template:Flagicon French India	Integrated into India	Puducherry union territory and Chandannagar of West Bengal state of India	Template:Flagu	973,829		1947	Coup d'état of Yanaon
Template:Country data Netherlands New Guinea	Integrated into Indonesia as Irian Jaya	Papua and West Papua provinces of Indonesia	Template:Flagu			1963	Act of Free Choice
North Borneo	Joined with Malaya to form Malaysia	Malaysian state of Sabah and the federal territory of Labuan	Template:Flagu	285,000		1963	Malaysia Agreement
Template:Flagicon São João Batista de Ajuda	Integrated into the Republic of Dahomey (now Benin)	Ouidah commune, Atlantique department, Benin	Portugal				1961	Politics of Benin
Colony of Sarawak	Joined with Malaya to form Malaysia	Malaysian state of Sarawak	Template:Flagu	546,385		1963	Malaysia Agreement
Template:Flagicon British Togoland	Joined British Gold Coast colony	Volta, Northern and Upper East regions of Ghana	Template:Flagu				1957	Foreign relations of Ghana

Independence

Overview of non-self-governing territories that gained independence

Non-self-governing territory	Sub-unit	Independent as	Administering state	Population	Area		Year removed	See also
Template:Flagicon Aden Protectorate		South Yemen	Template:Flagu			1967	Yemeni unification in 1990
Template:Country data Portuguese Angola		Template:Flagicon Angola	Portugal	7,024,000		1975	Including the enclave of Cabinda
Template:Country data British Leeward Islands	Antigua	Antigua and Barbuda	Template:Flagu				1981
Bahamas		The Bahamas	Template:Flagu			1973
Barbados		Barbados	Template:Flagu			1966
Basutoland		Lesotho	Template:Flagu			1966
Template:Country data Bechuanaland Protectorate		Botswana	Template:Flagu				1966
Brunei		Brunei Darussalam	Template:Flagu	5,765		1984
Template:Flagicon French Cameroun		Cameroon	Template:Flagu				1960	Trust Territory
Template:Country data Portuguese Cape Verde		Cape Verde	Portugal			1975
Belgian Congo		Template:Flagicon Congo Léopoldville	Template:Flagu	16,610,000		1960
Template:Flagicon British Cyprus		Cyprus	Template:Flagu			1960
Dutch East Indies		Indonesia (excluding Western New Guinea)	Template:Flagu				1950
East Timor		Template:Country data East Timor	Indonesia	688,711		2002	Politics of East Timor
Template:Flagicon Portuguese Timor		Indonesia	Portugal			2002	Indonesian occupation of East Timor
Template:Country data French Equatorial Africa	Template:Flagicon French Congo	Republic of the Congo	Template:Flagu				1960
	Template:Flagicon French Gabon	Gabon	Template:Flagu				1960
	Template:Flagicon Ubangi Shari	Central African Republic	Template:Flagu				1960
	Template:Flagicon French Chad	Chad	Template:Flagu				1960
Template:Flagicon Fiji Islands		Fiji	Template:Flagu				1970
File:Flag of The Gambia (1889–1965).svg Gambia Colony and Protectorate		The Gambia	Template:Flagu			1965
Template:Country data Gilbert and Ellice Islands	Template:Flagicon Gilbert Islands	Kiribati	Template:Flagu				1979
	Template:Flagicon Tuvalu (Ellice Islands)	Tuvalu	Template:Flagu				1978
Gold Coast		Ghana	Template:Flagu				1957
British Guiana		Guyana	Template:Flagu				1966
Template:Country data Portuguese Guinea		Guinea-Bissau	Portugal			1974
Template:Country data Spanish Guinea		Equatorial Guinea	Template:Flagu			1968
British Honduras		Belize	Template:Flagu	145,000		1981
French Indochina	Template:Flagicon French protectorate of Cambodia	Template:Flagicon Cambodia	Template:Flagu				1953
	Template:Flagicon French protectorate of Laos	Template:Country data Kingdom of Laos	Template:Flagu				1949
	Template:Country data Tonkin (French protectorate)	Template:Flagicon Democratic Republic of Vietnam	Template:Flagu				1945	Vietnamese unification in 1976
	Template:Country data Annam (French protectorate)
	Template:Country data French Cochinchina	Template:Flagicon State of Vietnam	Template:Flagu				1949	Vietnamese unification in 1976
Template:Flagicon Colony of Jamaica		Jamaica	Template:Flagu			1962
Template:Flagicon Colony of Kenya		Template:Country data Dominion of Kenya	Template:Flagu				1963	Formed by the unification of the Colony of Kenya and the Kenya Protectorate
Template:Country data British Leeward Islands	Template:Country data Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla	St. Kitts and Nevis	Template:Flagu				1983	Separated from Anguilla, which is still a non-self-governing territory
Template:Flagicon French Madagascar		Comoros	Template:Flagu				1975
Template:Flagicon French Madagascar		Madagascar	Template:Flagu				1960
Template:Country data Malayan Union		Federation of Malaya	Template:Flagu	132,364		1957	Later became Malaysia
Template:Flagicon Colony of Malta		Malta	Template:Flagu			1964
Template:Flagicon British Mauritius		Mauritius	Template:Flagu			1968
Template:Flagicon French protectorate of Morocco		Morocco	Template:Flagu				1956
Template:Country data Portuguese Mozambique		Mozambique	Portugal	7,300,000		1975
File:Civil Ensign of Australia.svg Trust Territory of Nauru		Nauru	Template:Flagu			1968
New Hebrides		Vanuatu	Template:FlagiconTemplate:Flagicon Anglo-French Condominium	100,000		1980
Template:Flagicon British Nigeria		Nigeria	Template:Flagu				1960
Northern Rhodesia		Zambia	Template:Flagu	3,545,200		1964
Nyasaland		Malawi	Template:Flagu			1964
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands		Marshall Islands	Template:Flagu	68,000		1990	Independent states in free association with the United States
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands		Federated States of Micronesia	Template:Flagu	111,000		1990	Independent states in free association with the United States
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands		Palau	Template:Flagu	20,956		1994	Independent states in free association with the United States
File:Flag of Papua New Guinea 1970.svg Territory of Papua and New Guinea		Papua New Guinea	Template:Flagu				1975
Template:Flagicon Ruanda-Urundi		Burundi	Template:Flagu				1962
Template:Flagicon Ruanda-Urundi		Rwanda	Template:Flagu				1962
Template:Flagicon Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe		São Tomé and Príncipe	Portugal			1975
Seychelles		Seychelles	Template:Flagu			1976
File:Flag of Sierra Leone 1916-1961.gif Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate		Sierra Leone	Template:Flagu			1961
Template:Flagicon Singapore		Federation of Malaya	Template:Flagu	4,608,167		1963	Singapore first became a state of Malaysia in 1963, before becoming independent in 1965.
Template:Flagicon British Solomon Islands		Solomon Islands	Template:Flagu			1978
Template:Country data British Somaliland		State of Somaliland	Template:Flagu				1960	Joined the Trust Territory of Somalia within a week to form the Somali Republic
Template:Country data French Somaliland		Djibouti	Template:Flagu	200,000		1977
Template:Flag decoration Trust Territory of Somaliland		Somalia	Template:Flagu				1960	Joined the State of Somaliland to form the Somali Republic
Template:Flagicon South West Africa		Namibia	South Africa	2,088,669		1990	Foreign relations of Namibia
Southern Rhodesia		Zimbabwe	Template:Flagu	6,930,000		1980
Swaziland		Template:Country data Swaziland	Template:Flagu			1968
Template:Country data Tanganyika		Template:Flagcountry	Template:Flagu				1961	Trust Territory. Later joined with the People's Republic of Zanzibar to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, now Tanzania
Template:Flagicon French Togoland		Togo	Template:Flagu				1960	Trust Territory
Trinidad and Tobago		Trinidad and Tobago	Template:Flagu			1962
French Tunisia		Tunisia	Template:Flagu			1956
Template:Flagicon Uganda Protectorate		Uganda	Template:Flagu				1962
Template:Country data French West Africa	French Sudan	Ivory Coast	Template:Flagu				1960
Template:Country data French West Africa	French Sudan	Mali	Template:Flagu				1960
Template:Country data French West Africa	French Sudan	Mauritania	Template:Flagu				1960
Template:Country data French West Africa	Template:Flagicon French Guinea	Guinea	Template:Flagu				1958
Template:Country data French West Africa	Template:Flagicon French Dahomey	Dahomey	Template:Flagu				1960
Template:Country data French West Africa	Template:Flagicon Colony of Niger	Niger	Template:Flagu				1960
Template:Country data French West Africa	Template:Flagicon Colony of Niger	Senegal	Template:Flagu				1960
Template:Country data French West Africa	Template:Flagicon Colony of Niger	Upper Volta	Template:Flagu				1960
File:Flag of the Samoa Trust Territory.svg Western Samoa Trust Territory		Western Samoa	Template:Flagu				1962
Template:Country data British Windward Islands		Dominica	Template:Flagu				1978
Template:Country data British Windward Islands		Grenada	Template:Flagu				1974
Template:Country data British Windward Islands		St. Lucia	Template:Flagu				1979
Template:Country data British Windward Islands		St. Vincent and the Grenadines	Template:Flagu				1979
Template:Country data Sultanate of Zanzibar		Template:Country data Dominion of Kenya	Template:Flagu				1963	The Dominion of Kenya was formed by the unification of the Colony of Kenya and the Protectorate of Kenya; the protectorate, a coastal strip (Mwambao), had been under Zanzibari sovereignty and administered by the UK
Template:Country data Sultanate of Zanzibar		Template:Country data Sultanate of Zanzibar	Template:Flagu			1963	The British protectorate over the Sultanate of Zanzibar was terminated in 1963 and the state was admitted to the UN; in 1964, the sultan was deposed and the People's Republic of Zanzibar was proclaimed; later that year, it joined with the Republic of Tanganyika to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, now Tanzania

Criticism

The list remains controversial in some countries for various reasons:

Referendums

One reason for controversy is that the list includes some dependencies that have democratically chosen to maintain their current status, or have had a referendum in which local government requirements were not met regarding the number of votes required to support a change of status or the number of voters participating (e.g., in the United States Virgin Islands).

Falkland Islands

The Falkland Islands is a British Overseas Territory with a population of 4,000 people and an autonomous government, that is also claimed by Argentina due to an inherited historical colonial claim to the islands by Spain. A ten-week undeclared war was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom, ending with continued British control over the islands. In March 2013, the Falkland Islands government organised a referendum on the status of the territory. With a 92% turnout, 99.7% of Falkland Islands voters voted to maintain the status quo, with only three islanders (0.2%) favouring a change.

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is largely a self-governing British territory on the tip of the Iberian Peninsula with a population of about 30,000 people, whose territory is claimed by Spain. It continues to be listed as an NSGT though its residents expressed a preference in two referendums to retain the status quo. In 1967, they were asked whether to retain their current status or to become part of Spain. The status quo was favoured by 12,138 votes to 44. In 2002, a proposal for a joint British–Spanish administration of the territory was voted down by 17,900 votes to 187. (The "no" vote accounted for more than 85% of Gibraltar's entire electorate). The United Nations did not recognise either referendum, with the 1967 referendum being declared in contravention of previous UN resolutions. The Spanish government does not recognize any right of the current Gibraltar inhabitants to self-determination, on the grounds that they are not the original population of the territory, but residents transferred by the colonial power, the United Kingdom.

Tokelau

The territory of Tokelau divides political opinion in New Zealand. In response to attempts at decolonizing Tokelau, New Zealand journalist Michael Field wrote in 2004: "The UN ... is anxious to rid the world of the last remaining vestiges of colonialism by the end of the decade. It has a list of 16 territories around the world, virtually none of which wants to be independent to any degree." Field further notes that Patuki Isaako, who was head of Tokelau's government at the time of a UN seminar on decolonization in 2004, informed the United Nations that his country had no wish to be decolonized, and that Tokelauans had opposed the idea of decolonization ever since the first visit by UN officials in 1976.

In 2006, a UN-supervised referendum on decolonization was held in Tokelau, where 60.07% of voters supported the offer of self-government. However, the terms of the referendum required a two-thirds majority to vote in favor of self-government. A second referendum was held in 2007, in which 64.40% of Tokelauans supported self-government, falling short of the two-thirds majority by 16 votes. This led New Zealand politician and former diplomat John Hayes, on behalf of the National Party, to state that "Tokelau did the right thing to resist pressure from [the New Zealand government] and the United Nations to pursue self-government". In May 2008, the United Nations' Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged colonial powers "to complete the decolonization process in every one of the remaining 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories". This led the New Zealand Herald to comment that the United Nations was "apparently frustrated by two failed attempts to get Tokelau to vote for independence from New Zealand".

Viability

A lack of population and landmass is an issue for at least one territory included on the list: the British overseas territory Pitcairn Islands, which has a population of less than 50 descended primarily from indigenous Polynesians and mutineers from HMS Bounty. Regardless, the territory's colonial status was disputed during the 2004 sexual assault trial where the seven defendants – comprising a third of the adult male population – unsuccessfully argued that the islanders had rejected British control ever since the 1789 mutiny and, as a result, British criminal law did not apply to them. Four other territories – Tokelau, Montserrat, the Falkland Islands and Saint Helena – are also less populous than any current UN member state.

In addition, some territories are financially dependent on their administering state.

Completely autonomous dependencies

File:UN Non-Self-Governing Territories.png

  Currently listed territories

  Formerly listed territories

Another criticism is that a number of the listed territories, such as Bermuda (see Politics of Bermuda), the Falkland Islands and Gibraltar, consider themselves completely autonomous and self-governing, with the "administering power" retaining limited oversight over matters such as defence and diplomacy. In past years, there were ongoing disputes between some administering powers and the Decolonization Committee over whether territories such as pre-independence Brunei and the West Indies Associated States should still be considered "non-self-governing", particularly in instances where the administering country was prepared to grant full independence whenever the territory requested it. These disputes became moot as those territories eventually received full independence.

Removed under other circumstances

Territories that have achieved a status described by the administering countries as internally self-governing – such as Puerto Rico, the Netherlands Antilles, and the Cook Islands – have been removed from the list by vote of the General Assembly, often under pressure of the administering countries.

Some territories that have been annexed and incorporated into the legal framework of the controlling state (such as the overseas regions of France, and the US states of Alaska and Hawaii) are considered by the UN to have been decolonized, since they then no longer constitute "non-self-governing" entities; their populations are assumed to have agreed to merge with the former parent state. However, in 1961, the General Assembly voted to end this treatment for the "overseas provinces" of Portugal such as Angola and Mozambique, which were active focus of United Nations attention until they attained independence in the mid-1970s.

Territories have also been removed for other reasons. In 1972, for example, Hong Kong (then administered by the United Kingdom) and Macau (then administered by Portugal) were removed from the list at the request of the People's Republic of China, which had just been recognized as holding China's seat at the United Nations. This was due to the PRC's belief that their presence on the list implied eventual independence of the territory, instead of their status being handled by bilateral negotiations.

Change of status

On 2 December 1986, New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France, was reinstated on the list of non-self-governing territories, an action to which France objected. Within France it has had the status of a collectivité sui generis, or a one-of-a-kind community, since 1999. Under the 1998 Nouméa Accord, its Territorial Congress had the right to call for three referendums on independence between 2014 and 2018. The first referendum was held on 4 November 2018 (56.4% against independence), the second referendum on 4 October 2020 (53.26% against independence), and the third referendum on 12 December 2021 (96.50% against independence). While in all three the independence was rejected, the result of the third referendum stems from the boycott by the pro-independence Kanak community in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Caledonia.

French Polynesia was also reinstated on the list on 17 May 2013, in somewhat contentious circumstances. Having been re-elected President of French Polynesia in 2011 (leader of local government), Oscar Temaru asked for it to be re-inscribed on the list; it had been removed in 1947. (French Polynesia is categorised by France as an overseas country, in recognition of its self-governing status.) During the year 2012, Oscar Temaru engaged in intense lobbying with the micro-states of Oceania, many of which, the Solomon Islands, Nauru and Tuvalu, submitted to the UN General Assembly a draft of a resolution to affirm "the inalienable right of the population of French Polynesia to self-determination and independence".

On 5 May 2013, Temaru's Union for Democracy party lost the legislative election to Gaston Flosse's pro-autonomy but anti-independence Tahoera'a Huiraatira party; obtaining only 11 seats against the party of Gaston Flosse, with 38 seats, and the autonomist party A Ti'a Porinetia with 8 seats.

At this stage, the United Nations General Assembly was due to discuss French Polynesia's re-inscription on the list twelve days later, in accordance with a motion tabled by Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Nauru. On 16 May, the Assembly of French Polynesia, with its new anti-independence majority, adopted a motion asking the United Nations not to restore the country to the list. On 17 May, despite French Polynesia's and France's opposition, the country was restored to the list of non-self-governing territories. Temaru was present for the vote, on the final day of his mandate as president. The United Nations affirmed "the inalienable right of the people of French Polynesia to self-determination and independence".

A few hours before the UN review of the resolution, during its first meeting, the new Territorial Assembly adopted by 46 votes to 10 a "resolution" expressing the desire of Polynesians to maintain their autonomy within the French Republic. In spite of this resolution adopted by the parties representing 70% of the Polynesian voters, the UN General Assembly inscribed French Polynesia on the list of the territories to be decolonized during its plenary assembly of 17 May 2013. France did not take part in this session while the United States, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom disassociated themselves from this resolution.

List not complete

Also controversial are the criteria set down in 1960 to 1961 by the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1514 (XV), United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1541 (XV), Principle 12 of the Annex, and United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1654 (XVI) which only focused on colonies of the Western world, namely Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This list of administering states was not expanded afterwards.

Nevertheless, some of the 111 members who joined the UN after 1960 gained independence from countries not covered by Resolution 1541 and were themselves not classified as "Non-Self-Governing Territories" by the UN. Of these that joined the UN between 1960 and 2008, 11 were independent before 1960 and 71 were included on the list (some as a group). Twenty new UN countries resulted from breakup of Second World states and of Yugoslavia: six were part of Yugoslavia, two were part of Czechoslovakia, and 12 were part of the Soviet Union (Ukraine and Belarus already had UN seats before the dissolution of the USSR, whose seat was reused by the Russian Federation without acceding anew). Out of the other ten, seven (mostly Arab) were colonies or protectorates of the "Western" countries, and one each was a non-self-governing part of Ethiopia (later independent Eritrea), Pakistan (East Pakistan, later independent Bangladesh) and Sudan (later independent South Sudan). Territories like Tibet, the Xinjiang Uygur Region (administered by China) and Siberia (or parts thereof; administered by the Soviet Union, later by Russia) have never been on the list. Also, the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), which considered themselves illegally occupied by the Soviet Union, were not on the list either. Western New Guinea (also known as West Papua), which was ceded to Indonesia, is also not on the list as well as Sarawak and Sabah, which were handed to Malaya during its territorial expansion through the formation of Malaysia in 1963. In 2018, the government of Vanuatu started seeking international support to have West Papua added to the list in 2019.

After the revocation of Norfolk Island's self-governing status by the Australian government in 2015, an island community group requested the UN add the island to the list of non-self-governing territories.

See also

• Colony
• Autonomous administrative division
• Dependent territory
• Independence referendum
• List of active separatist movements recognized by intergovernmental organizations
• List of sovereign states
• List of states with limited recognition
• List of territories governed by the United Nations
• Lists of active separatist movements
• Timeline of national independence
• United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1514 (XV)
• United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1541 (XV)
• United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1654 (XVI)
• United Nations trust territories
• Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization

External links

• The United Nations and Decolonization
• United Nations Trusteeship Council
• Non-Self-Governing Territories, listed by the United Nations General Assembly
• List of former Trust and Non-Self-Governing Territories, listed by United Nations
• United Nations and Decolonization – Committee of 24 – Resumed session, Monday, 13 June 2011 Template:Webarchive
• The Countries of the World – Appendix: Dependencies or Not?