Trusteeship Council recommends early approval of Compact for Palau.

The Trusteeship Council has recommended that the process of approval of the compact of Free Association for Palau-one of the four administrative entities which make up the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands or Micronesia-be completed at the earliest possible date.

The Council acted at the end of three weeks of deliberations which began on 10 May, approving its conclusions and recommendations on the Trust Territory, to be incorporated into its report to the Security Council. The session, suspended on 27 May, is expected to resume later in the year to complete its report.

In those conclusions and recommendations, the Council noted that the people of Micronesia, in exercise of thcir right to self- government, as set out in the UN Charter, had elected to assume full responsibility for administration in the economic, social and educational fields.

Any difficulties over the interpretation of the new status agreements, it stated, should be resolved bilaterally by the parties concerned in accordance with procedures mutually agreed and laid down in those agreements. The Council also noted with satisfaction the assurances given by the Administering Authority that it would continue to fulfil its responsibilities under the Charter and the Trusteeship Agreement.

The vote was 3 in favour (France, United Kingdom, United States) to 1 against (Soviet Union). China, the fifth member of the Council, does not take part in its deliberations.

The USSR said the text reflected neither the discussions of the Council nor the "anti-Charter activities" of the Administering Authority. Rather it had been designed to 'Justify the annexationist aspirations" of the United States. Any change in the status of the Trust Territory could be approved only by the Security Council, in accordance with Article 83 of the Charter 'Not a

military base'

The United States said it respected Council decisions in carrying out its responsibilities under the Trusteeship Agreement and the Charter and Council resolution 2183 (Llll) of 28 May 1986. It had not turned the Trust Territory into a military base and had no intention of doing so.

The United Kingdom and France, which had drafted the recommendations, said the recommendations fully reflected the level of self-government the people of Micronesia had elected to

assume.

In resolution 2183 (Llll), the Council considered it "appropriate" for the Trusteeship Agreement to be terminated on entry into force of the Compacts of Free Association for the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau, and the Commonwealth Covenant in respect of the Northern Mariana Islands (see UN Chronicle, No. 3, 1987).

The Marshall Islands Compact entered into force on 21 October 1986. The Federated States of Micronesia Compact and the Northern Mariana Islands Covenant both entered into force on 3 November 1986. Political status

of Palau

The Compact of Free Association for Palau provides for the United States to exercise defence responsibilities for the entity. However, because the Palau Constitution forbids nuclear activity in the area, local courts ruled that the Compact must be approved by the same margin as required for a constitutional amendment-75 per cent.

A Visiting Mission sent by the Trusteeship Council to observe a plebiscite on the Compact in June 1987 reported that 67.59 per cent of the voters favoured the Compact.

Palau subsequently enacted legislation authorizing a referendum on a constitutional amendment to permit adoption of the Compact by a simple majority. The constitutional amendment was approved on 4 August.

A second Visiting Mission of the Trusteeship Council was sent to observe a 21 August plebiscite on Compact approval, at which 73.04 per cent of the voters voted in favour.

Eight months later, on 22 April 1988, the Supreme Court of Palau declared null and void the constitutional amendment permitting approval of the Compact by a simple majority, thus invalidating the 21 August plebiscite results. The Government of Palau has appealed the Supreme Court ruling.

On 28 March 1988, the United States Senate authorized entry into force of the Compact as soon as Palau had completed constitutional procedures to approve the Compact. Similar legislation is now before the United States House of Representatives.

The United States reported that the office of the High Commissioner for the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands had been abolished and its functions transferred to the Office of Territorial and International Affairs in the United States Department of Interion

Certain transitional programmes are being carried out by a newlycreated Office of Transition in Saipan.

The United States said it continued to foster political institutions and economic and social advancement in the Trust Territory and would continue to discharge its responsibilities as Administering Authority under the Charter and Trusteeship Agreement.

'Imposing' legislation?

The Soviet Union said the United States was trying to impose its internal legislation over the Territory and replace the Trusteeship Agreement with domestic regulations. The United States was trying to force on the Territory a neo-colonial situation, turning it into a strategic military training ground in the western Pacific. Using economic pressures, the United States had guided the political development of the Trust Territory to serve its own military and strategic interests.

The once united Territory had been divided into island entities, while the Micronesian Congress, which had tried to preserve the Territory's unity and establish an independent government, had been dissolved, the Soviet Union said. Article 83 of the Charter established that all functions of the United Nations relating to strategic areas should be exercised by the Security Council. Naturally, that included the question of the termination of the trusteeship, said the Soviet Union. Until there was a corresponding decision by the Security Council, the United States was obliged to supply the United Nations with all the information required on the situation in the entire Trust Territory

Limited options

The United States called allegations that it intended to use Palau for nuclear or military purposes "nonsense". There was no United States military presence in Palau and none was intended. Limited military options available to the United States in Palau had been identified in a subsidiary agreement to the Compact and could be exercised only after consultations with the Palauan Government,

Those options included; anchorage rights for visiting United States Navy ships in Palau's main harbour and use of a nearby 40acre area for non-nuclear support facilities; contingency joint use with Palau of its two airfields; contingency use of areas for limited logistics installations; and occasional access to uninhabited areas for training exercises. If there had been a need to establish military bases in Palau, the United States could have done so at any time under the Trusteeship Agreement.

Under the Compact, the Government of Palau assured the United States that in carrying out security responsibilities, the United States had the right to operate nuclear-capable or nuclearpropelled vessels and aircraft without either confirming or denying the presence or absence of such weapons within the jurisdiction of Palau". Thus, the socalled nuclear issue amounted to whether United States Navy ships would visit Palau on the same basis as they did the ports of other friends and allies, the United States said.

An original Trust Territory

Micronesia is one of the original 11 Trust Territories under the Trusteeship System and is designated a "strategic area?' under the UN Charter. The Trusteeship Council therefore reports to the Security, Council about conditions in the Territory under Article 83 of' the Charter which states: "All functions of the United Nations relating to strategic areas, including the approval of the terms of the trusteeship agreements and of their alteration or amendment shall be exercised by the Security Council."

The Trust Territory consists of three archipeligos: the Marshalls, the Carolines and the Marianas. The 2,100 islands and atolls are scattered over an area of some 7.8 million square kilometres of the western Pacific, north of the equator. Its combined land area is 1,854 square kilometres.

Its 1986 population was estimated at 168,431: Federated States of Micronesia 94,534: Marshall Islands, 39,060; Northern Mariana lslands, 21,065; and Palau, 13,772.

The Territory has four administrative entities: the Federated States of Micronesia, consisting of the islands of Yap, Truk, Ponape and Kosrac (within the Carolines), the Marshall Islands; Palau,- and the Northern Mariana Islands, which in 1976 werc administratively separated from the Government of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.