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The Turks and Caicos, an island nation south of the Bahamas in the Caribbean Sea, is also a Non-Self-Governing Territory of the United Kingdom.

One of the most important concerns to be dealt with before a terri- tory can become self-governing is violence and oppression. If, for exam- ple, two factions are fighting for control of a territory, the people will not feel safe enough to make necessary steps toward self-government. When they are being terrorized, they are not free to make decisions about their future. Political candidates might face the threat of assassination, and resi- dents could be intimidated into voting a certain way. In this case, the fact that the territory held an election would not necessarily mean the will of the people had been done. Resolution 1514 states,“All armed action or repressive measures of all kinds directed against dependent peoples shall cease in order to enable them to exercise peacefully and freely their right to complete independence, and the integrity of their national territory shall be respected.”

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Chapter Three