A/RES/60/117 A-B
further visiting missions to the Territories at an appropriate time and in consultation
with the administering Powers,
Mindful also that, in order for the Special Committee to enhance its
understanding of the political status of the peoples of the Territories and to fulfil its
mandate effectively, it is important for it to be apprised by the administering Powers
and to receive information from other appropriate sources, including the
representatives of the Territories, concerning the wishes and aspirations of the
peoples of the Territories,
Recognizing the need for the Special Committee to embark actively on a public
awareness campaign aimed at assisting the peoples of the Territories in gaining an
understanding of the options of self-determination,
Mindful, in this connection, that the holding of regional seminars in the
Caribbean and Pacific regions and at Headquarters and other venues, with the active
participation of representatives of the Non-Self-Governing Territories, provides a
helpful means for the Special Committee to fulfil its mandate, and that the regional
nature of the seminars, which alternate between the Caribbean and the Pacific, is a
crucial element in their success, while recognizing the need for reviewing the role of
those seminars in the context of a United Nations programme for ascertaining the
political status of the Territories,
Mindful also that, by holding a Caribbean regional seminar in Canouan,
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, from 17 to 19 May 2005, the Special Committee
was able to hear the views of the representatives of the Territories and Member
States as well as organizations and experts in the region, 5 in order to review the
political, economic and social conditions in the Territories,
Conscious of the particular vulnerability of the Territories to natural disasters
and environmental degradation and, in this connection, bearing in mind the
applicability to the territories of the programmes of action of the United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development, 6 the World Conference on Natural
Disaster Reduction, 7 the Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of
Small Island Developing States, 8 the International Conference on Population and
Development, 9 the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), 10
the World Summit on Sustainable Development, 11 the World Conference against
Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance 12 and other
relevant United Nations world conferences and summits,
_______________
5
Ibid., Sixtieth Session, Supplement No. 23 (A/60/23), chap. II, annex.
See Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, 3–
14 June 1992 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.93.I.8 and corrigenda), vol. I: Resolutions adopted
by the Conference.
7
See A/CONF.172/9, chap. I.
8
See Report of the Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States,
Bridgetown, Barbados, 25 April–6 May 1994 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.94.I.18 and
corrigenda), chap. I.
9
Report of the International Conference on Population and Development, Cairo, 5–13 September 1994,
(United Nations publication, Sales No. E.95.XIII.18), chap. I, resolution 1, annex.
10
Report of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), Istanbul, 3–14 June 1996
(United Nations publication, Sales No. E.97.IV.6), chap. I, resolution 1, annex II.
11
Report of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, South Africa, 26 August–
4 September 2002 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.03.II.A.1 and corrigendum), chap. I,
resolution 2, annex.
12
See A/CONF.189/12 and Corr.1, chap. I.
6
3