A/RES/71/111
United Nations
Distr.: General
27 December 2016
General Assembly
Seventy-first session
Agenda item 58
Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 6 December 2016
[on the report of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee
(Fourth Committee) (A/71/502)]
71/111. Question of the British Virgin Islands
The General Assembly,
Having considered the question of the British Virgin Islands,
Having examined the relevant chapter of the report of the Special Com mittee
on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the
Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples for 2016, related to the
British Virgin Islands, 1
Taking note of the working paper prepared by the Secretariat on the British
Virgin Islands 2 and other relevant information,
Recognizing that all available options for self-determination of the Territory
are valid as long as they are in accordance with the freely ex pressed wishes of the
people of the British Virgin Islands and in conformity with the clearly defined
principles contained in General Assembly resolutions 1514 (XV) of 14 December
1960, 1541 (XV) of 15 December 1960 and other resolutions of the Assembly,
Expressing concern that 56 years after the adoption of the Declaration on the
Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, 3 there still remain
17 Non-Self-Governing Territories, including the British Virgin Islands,
Conscious of the importance of continuing the effective implementation of the
Declaration, taking into account the target set by the United Nations to eradicate
colonialism by 2020 and the plans of action for the Second 4 and Third International
Decades for the Eradication of Colonialism,
Recognizing that the specific characteristics and the aspirations of the people
of the British Virgin Islands require flexible, practical and innovative approaches to
the options for self-determination, without any prejudice to territorial siz e,
geographical location, size of population or natural resources,
_______________
1
Official Records of the General Assembly, Seventy-first Session, Supplement No. 23 (A/71/23), chap. X.
A/AC.109/2016/4.
3
Resolution 1514 (XV).
4
A/56/61, annex.
2
16-21307 (E)
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