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Declaration on the Granting of Independence By 1960, UN membership had grown from the fifty-one founding members to nearly one hundred members. Many of these new members were countries that had gained their independence in the previous fifteen years. Despite the success of the UN’s decolonization policies, many countries felt the organization was working too slowly.Dozens of territories were still not self-governing and needed support to achieve independence. The UN General Assembly discussed the issue of decolonization and decided to put an effort into making it a higher priority. On December 14, 1960, it issued the “Declaration on the granting of independence to colo- nial countries and peoples,” also known as Resolution 1514.This declaration affirmed the right of all peoples to independence,including political freedom to help determine how they are governed. Also included in the declaration was a section stating that the United Nations was opposed to violent means of bringing about self-government. This was a serious problem in a number of Non-Self-Governing Territories, as several groups would sometimes fight for control of the region and the residents of the territory would become the innocent victims of this battle for power. The goal of the United Nations was to usher in political independence by peaceful means. FROM RESOLUTION 1514 ON GRANTING INDEPENDENCE TO COLONIAL PEOPLES Immediate steps shall be taken, in Trust and Non-Self-Governing Territories or all other territories which have not yet attained inde- pendence, to transfer all powers to the peoples of those territories, without any conditions or reservations, in accordance with their freely expressed will and desire, without any distinction as to race, creed or colour, in order to enable them to enjoy complete indepen- dence and freedom.

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Chapter Three