Vietnam highlights importance of decolonisation at UN committee’s session

A Vietnamese diplomat emphasised the importance of decolonisation and respect for equal rights and self-determination of peoples in non-self-governing territories while attending a session of the 77th UN General Assembly’s Special Political and Decolonisation Committee (Fourth Committee) on October 13.

Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Tra, Deputy Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN. (Photo: VNA)

In her remarks, Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Tra, Deputy Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN, held that it is necessary to boost constructive political dialogue and seek durable peace on the basis of respecting fundamental principles of international law, the UN Charter, and relevant resolutions of the UN General Assembly, including Resolution 1514 on the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.

The UN also needs to ensure that activities of administering states do not negatively affect interests of the peoples in non-self-governing territories while assisting them to resolve emerging challenges and promote development in these territories, she added.

At the session, many countries also shared the view on the need to promote the current decolonisation process.

The Special Political and Decolonisation Committee, one of the six main committees of the UN General Assembly, is tasked with considering some special political and peacekeeping issues, including decolonisation.

There are 17 non-self-governing territories under the administration of administering states and the scope of the Fourth Committee, namely Western Sahara, Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Montserrat, Saint Helena, Turks and Caicos Islands, United States Virgin Islands, Gibraltar, American Samoa, French Polynesia, Guam, New Caledonia, Pitcairn, Tokelau./.

VNA