A/RES/57/137 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 25 February 2003 Fifty-seventh session Agenda item 19 Resolution adopted by the General Assembly [on the report of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) (A/57/528)] 57/137. Question of Tokelau The General Assembly, Having considered the question of Tokelau, Having examined the chapter of the report of the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples relating to Tokelau, 1 Recalling the solemn declaration on the future status of Tokelau, delivered by the Ulu-o-Tokelau (the highest authority on Tokelau) on 30 July 1994, which states that an act of self-determination in Tokelau is now under active consideration, together with the constitution of a self-governing Tokelau, and that the present preference of Tokelau is for a status of free association with New Zealand, Recalling also its resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960, containing the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, and all resolutions and decisions of the United Nations relating to Non-Self-Governing Territories, in particular General Assembly resolution 56/71 of 10 December 2001, Recalling further the emphasis placed in the solemn declaration on the terms of Tokelau’s special relationship with New Zealand, including the expectation that the form of help that Tokelau could continue to expect from New Zealand in promoting the well-being of its people, besides its external interests, would be clearly established within the framework of that relationship, Noting with appreciation the continuing exemplary cooperation of New Zealand as the administering Power with regard to the work of the Special Committee relating to Tokelau and its readiness to permit access by United Nations visiting missions to the Territory, Noting also with appreciation the collaborative contribution to the development of Tokelau by New Zealand and the specialized agencies and other _______________ 1 A/57/23 (Part II) and Add.1, chap. XI. For the final text, see Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-seventh Session, Supplement No. 23. 02 54728