I have the honour to request, in accordance with rule 14 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly, the inclusion in the agenda of the sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly of a supplementary item entitled “Compensation for damage caused by colonialism”.

   In accordance with rule 20 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly, an explanatory memorandum in support of the above request (annex I) and a draft resolution (annex II) are annexed hereto.

   It would be appreciated if the present letter and its annexes could be circulated as a document of the General Assembly.

 

(Signed) Abdurrahman M. Shalgham

Ambassador

Permanent Representative

 

The majority of the peoples currently represented at the United Nations have, in the course of their history, undergone the bitter experience of colonialism. The colonial Powers occupied their land and subjected them to the harshest and most inhuman forms of treatment, in blatant violation of human rights and the principles
of dignity enshrined in all divine religions and human cultures.

The damage of colonialism extended to every aspect of life in the colonized territories. The inhabitants were mere slaves to their colonial masters. In many cases, they were sold into slavery and transported to other countries at vast distances from their homeland. Colonialism perpetuated slavery, exploiting slaves and raw
materials from colonized territories in order to advance colonial countries and build modern civilization.

Inhabitants of colonized countries were killed and subjected to collective and individual imprisonment, forced migration, exile and enslavement. Attempts were made to obliterate their national languages and cultures and replace them with the language and culture of the colonizer.

The colonizer forcibly enlisted hundreds of thousands of inhabitants of colonized countries, who lost their lives in wars from which they had nothing to gain. As a result, their families were subjected to unbearable suffering.

The colonized countries sustained massive damage as a result of illegal economic exploitation, the massive draining of resources, the plundering of natural wealth and cultural and historic property, and environmental contamination caused by radiation from nuclear testing, which led to considerable human and material
damage.

The crimes of colonialism contributed significantly to the difficult economic and social situation which a majority of the peoples of the African continent continue to face. That predicament has forced millions of inhabitants to risk their lives in order to emigrate to the wealthy countries, their former colonial masters. While the colonists have departed from many countries, landmines and explosive remnants of war remain from the colonial era, which continue to take lives and hamper development efforts. The States that planted or left the landmines bear responsibility for their removal. They should promptly assist the affected countries in their efforts to remove landmines and explosive remnants of war by providing maps, the necessary technology and expertise.

In 1960, the United Nations General Assembly played an important role in ending colonization through the adoption of resolution 1514 (XV), containing the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.

The time has now come for it to complete that task by removing the damage of colonialism and criminalizing the latter as the worst human rights violation.

By virtue of resolution CM/RES/1339, adopted on 1 June 1991 in Abuja, the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Organization of African Unity, which has since been succeeded by the African Union, decided to establish a group to set out clearly the extent of Africa’s exploitation, the liability of the perpetrators and the strategy for achieving reparation.

In its statements and at its summits, the Non-Aligned Movement has called on colonial States to compensate colonized peoples for the damage inflicted. In order to build confidence among States, remove ill will and consolidate international cooperation on the basis of justice, equality and mutual respect, there is an urgent need for colonized peoples to receive an apology and equitable compensation. Poor peoples would thereby gain an opportunity to invest in programmes to combat illiteracy, poverty, hunger and disease. Compensation would also help to stem illegal migration from poor to wealthy countries.

A number of States with a colonial past have apologized to the peoples they colonized. Austria and Hungary have apologized to the Balkan peoples, Japan to China and Korea, and Australia to the indigenous Australians. Italy recently apologized to the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and agreed to pay compensation to the
Libyan people. Such initiatives should lead all States to criminalize colonialism and compensate its victims. The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya therefore requests the inclusion of a supplementary item on the agenda of the General Assembly entitled “Compensation for damage caused by colonialism”, and wishes to submit a draft resolution on the topic.



The General Assembly,


Recalling the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,...CONTINUES