UN Resolution 1514: Independence as a Right

On 14 December 1960 the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 1514, the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. It declared that subjecting peoples to alien domination was a denial of fundamental human rights, that all peoples have the right to self-determination, and, crucially, that 'inadequacy of political, economic, social or educational preparedness should never serve as a pretext for delaying independence'.

That last clause rejected the colonial argument that colonies needed more time to be 'ready'. The resolution passed 89 to 0, with 9 abstentions, including Britain, France, Belgium, Portugal and the United States. The large new bloc of African and Asian members made such a vote possible. In 1961 the UN created a Special Committee to monitor progress, and the resolution became a reference point for liberation movements and international law.