UN / DECOLONIZATION

Addressing the UN Special Committee on Decolonization today, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that "colonial situations are completely outdated and must be addressed with renewed vigor and creativity." UNTV

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:01:25
• Production Date: 24 February 2011
• Asset Language: Original
• Subject Topical: DECOLONIZATION; TRUST TERRITORIES; APARTHEID
• MAMS Id: U110224b

Description

STORY: UN / DECOLONIZATION
TRT: 1:25
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 24 FEBRUARY 2011, UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK CITY / RECENT

Shotlist

RECENT - UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior UN headquarters

FEBRUARY 2011, UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at podium
3. Wide shot, conference room
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“Last December, we commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples adopted by the General Assembly. On that occasion, I appealed to the international community to realize the full spirit of the Declaration, which called for the immediate and complete elimination of the colonial system in all its forms and manifestations in keeping with the principles of the Untied Nations Charter.”
5. Wide shot, conference room
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“Today, sixteen Non-Self-Governing Territories remain on the list, awaiting constructive, results-oriented initiatives. On a case-by-case basis, those Territories have to be given the opportunity to exercise their right to self-determination in order to take the interests of their peoples fully into account. Colonial situations are completely outdated and must be addressed with renewed vigor and creativity.”
7. Wide shot, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon leaving the conference room

Storyline

Addressing the United Nations (UN) Special Committee on Decolonization today, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for “the immediate and complete elimination of the colonial system” as indicated in the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.

Also known as the Declaration on decolonization, it states that all people have a right to self-determination and proclaimed that colonialism should be brought to a speedy and unconditional end.

When the UN was established in 1945, 750 million people, almost a third of the world's population, lived in Territories that were non-self-governing, dependent on colonial powers. Today, fewer than two million people live in such Territories.

Ban said that the 16 Territories that still remain on the list are “awaiting constructive, results-oriented initiatives.”

He added that such “colonial situations are completely outdated” and called for “renewed vigor and creativity” to address the issue.

The Special Committee was established in 1962 following the suspension of the work of the Trusteeship Council, one of the main bodies of the UN. Countries such as Tanzania, Cameron, Nauru and Samoa were placed under the administration of the Council as “Trust Territories” before their independence. There were a total of 11 such Territories.