"Despite this significant progress, 17 Territories remain Non-Self-Governing Territories," Guterres said on Wednesday. "We want to reaffirm the commitment of this Special Committee to assist each Territory in finding an appropriate format and timing for the completion of its decolonization process."
Guterres added that the UN committee should take into account particular circumstances of each territory, and noted the process requires sustained engagement of administering powers, non-self-governing territories and other stakeholders.
Among non-self-governing territories, the committee lists a number of territories under the administration of the United Kingdom, such as Bermuda, Turks and Caicos Islands, Gibraltar; United States Virgin Islands administered by the United States; French Polynesia and New Caledonia administered by France.
The UN General Assembly established the special committee on decolonization in 1961 with the goal to deal solely with issue of decolonization.
