52 / 88
52
United Nations
The International Decade for
the Eradication of Colonialism
In 1988, the UN General Assembly proposed that the years between 1990
and 2000 be known as the International Decade for the
Eradication
of
Colonialism.The goal of the decade would be “ushering in the twenty-first
century, a world free from colonialism.” Ideally, the United Nations wanted
no territories remaining on the Non-Self-Governing Territories list by the
end of the twentieth century.
To fulfill this goal, the United Nations, and especially the Special Com-
mittee, would have to work hard. Several things were needed to meet their
objective.An essential part of ending colonialism was the cooperation of the
administering powers. For territories to become self-governing, they needed
the ongoing help and support of the countries governing them. Another
important part of the process of self-determination was making sure the
people of the territories had all the information they would need to make
informed decisions. Since every territory faced a different situation, stud-
ies also needed to be done on detailing specific actions that needed to be
taken to move each territory closer to self-determination.
PROGRESS IN THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL
DECADE FOR THE ERADICATION OF COLONIALISM
Namibia (formerly known as South West Africa): 1990
Federated States of Micronesia: 1990
Republic of the Marshall Islands: 1990
Northern Mariana Islands: 1990
Palau: 1994
The last four listed here had been a part of the Pacific Islands Trust Territory,
administered by the United States. This was the final Trust Territory to
achieve self-determination.