United Nations trust territories
Modern states composed solely of former trust territories
Modern states composed partially of former trust territories
The United Nations trust territories were the successors of the remaining League of Nations mandates, and came into being when the League of Nations ceased to exist in 1946. All the trust territories were administered through the United Nations Trusteeship Council and authorised to a single country. The concept is distinct from a territory temporarily and directly governed by the United Nations.
The one League of Nations mandate not succeeded by a trust territory was South West Africa, at South Africa's insistence. South Africa's apartheid regime refused to commit to preparing the territory for independence and majority rule, as required by the trust territory guidelines, among other objections. South-West Africa eventually gained independence in 1990 as Namibia.
All trust territories have either attained self-government or independence. The last was Palau, formerly part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, which became a member state of the United Nations in December 1994.
Trust territories (and administering powers)
Former German Schutzgebiete
All these territories previously were League of Nations mandates.
| Trust territories | United Nations Trusteeship Power | Prior name | Prior sov. | Comments | Current state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| British Cameroon | United Kingdom | Kamerun | German colonial empire | Following a plebiscite, Northern Cameroons became part of Nigeria in May 1961 and Southern Cameroons joined Cameroon in October 1961.[1] | Nigeria |
| Republic of Cameroon | |||||
| French Cameroon | France | Achieved independence as Cameroon in 1960.[2] | |||
| Territory of Nauru | Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom | German New Guinea | Granted independence from Australia (administering authority) in 1968.[3] | Nauru | |
| Territory of New Guinea | Australia | In 1975, it was legally unified with the Territory of Papua and granted independence as Papua New Guinea.[4] The western half of the island, formerly Dutch and now part of Indonesia, was never part of either territory. | Papua New Guinea | ||
| Ruanda-Urundi | Belgium | German East Africa | Separately gained independence in 1962 as Republic of Rwanda and Kingdom of Burundi.[5] | Republic of Rwanda | |
| Republic of Burundi | |||||
| Tanganyika Territory | United Kingdom | Granted independence in 1961.[6] Federated with the former British protectorate Zanzibar in 1964 to form Tanzania.[7] | United Republic of Tanzania | ||
| French Togoland | France | Togoland | Became independent as Togo in 1960.[8] | Togo | |
| British Togoland | United Kingdom | This territory was merged in 1956 with the British colony of the Gold Coast,[9] which was granted independence as Ghana in 1957.[10] | Ghana | ||
| Western Samoa | New Zealand | German Samoa | Granted independence in 1962,[11] known since 1997 simply as Samoa.[12] | Independent State of Samoa |
Former Japanese possessions
| Trust territories | United Nations Trusteeship Power | Prior name | Prior sov. | Current state | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands | United States | South Seas Mandate | Empire of Japan | Northern Mariana Islands | Became US Commonwealth in 1986.[13] |
| Marshall Islands | Became an associated state of the United States after signing a Compact of Free Association in 1986.[14] | ||||
| Federated States of Micronesia | Became an associated state of United States after signing a Compact of Free Association in 1986.[14] | ||||
| Palau | Became an associated state of United States after signing and ratifying a Compact of Free Association going into effect in 1994.[15] |
Former Fascist Italian possessions
Italy was the only country to keep its former possession upon becoming a trust Territory.
| Trust territories | United Nations Trusteeship Power | Prior name | Prior sov. | Current state | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Territory of Somaliland | Italy | Italian East Africa | Italian Empire | Somalia | In 1960, the Trust Territory merged with the State of Somaliland to form the Somali Republic [16] |
Proposed trust territories
- Jerusalem: Under the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine, Jerusalem would have become a corpus separatum territory under United Nations Trusteeship Council administration. Both Palestinian Arabs and the Yishuv opposed this solution.[17]
- Korea: In wartime talks, Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed that Korea be placed under an American–Soviet trust administration. The plan was eclipsed after Roosevelt's death on 12 April 1945, although it was expressed in the December Moscow Conference, and caused considerable civil unrest in Korea.[18]
- Vietnam: Roosevelt also proposed that French Indochina be placed under an international trusteeship as an alternative to French colonial rule and immediate independence.[19]
- Italian Libya: Between 1945 and 1947, the Soviet Union made various proposals that Tripolitania be placed under Soviet trusteeship for ten years, or a joint trusteeship with the United Kingdom and the United States, or that Libya as a whole become an Italian trusteeship.[20]
- Mandatory Palestine: The United States government under Harry Truman proposed a UN trusteeship status for the Mandatory Palestine in 1948.[21][22]
- Ryukyu Islands and Bonin Islands: the Treaty of San Francisco included provisions which provided the United States the right to convert its administration over the Ryukyu and Bonin Islands into a trust territory, but it never did so before sovereignty was voluntarily reverted to Japan.[23]
See also
- List of territories governed by the United Nations
- Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
References
- ^ Nohlen, Dieter; Krennerich, Michael; Thibaut, Bernhard, eds. (1999). Elections in Africa: a data handbook. Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press. p. 177. ISBN 978-0-19-829645-4.
- ^ "Cameroon - Independence, French-British Rule | Britannica". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 25 January 2026. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
- ^ Buchanan, Kelly (31 January 2018). "Nauru – 50 Years of Independence | In Custodia Legis". The Library of Congress. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
- ^ Papua New Guinea Independence Act 1975 (Cth)
- ^ Feared, David Halberstam Special To the New York Times violence Was (1 July 1962). "Rwanda and Burundi Become Independent African Countries". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
- ^ Leys, Colin (1962). "Tanganyika: The Realities of Independence". International Journal. 17 (3): 251–268. doi:10.2307/40198635. ISSN 0020-7020.
- ^ "Zanzibar and Tanganyika Unite to Form Tanzania | History | Research Starters | EBSCO Research". EBSCO. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
- ^ "Togo | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
- ^ "Historical Documents - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
- ^ "Ghana Gains Independence from the United Kingdom | History | Research Starters | EBSCO Research". EBSCO. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
- ^ "Western Samoa Gains Independence from New Zealand | History | Research Starters | EBSCO Research". EBSCO. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
- ^ "Constitution Amendment Act (No 2) 1997". www.paclii.org. Archived from the original on 16 February 2026. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
- ^ "Proclamation 5564 -- United States Relations With the Northern Mariana Islands, Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands | Ronald Reagan". www.reaganlibrary.gov. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
- ^ a b Rep. Fascell, Dante B. [D-FL-19 (14 January 1986). "Text - H.J.Res.187 - 99th Congress (1985-1986): Compact of Free Association Act of 1985". www.congress.gov. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Del. de Lugo, Ron [D-VI-At Large (12 December 1989). "Text - H.J.Res.175 - 101st Congress (1989-1990): Palau Compact of Free Association Implementation Act". www.congress.gov. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
- ^ "Historical Documents - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
- ^ "Historical Documents - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
- ^ Gang Man-gil (1994). "한국사 17: 분단구조의 정착 1" ["17 Korean history: the settlement of the division structure 1"], pp. 133–137. 한길사 [Hangilsa], ISBN 978-89-356-0086-1
- ^ Bradley, Mark Philip (31 December 2010), Anderson, David L. (ed.), "1. Setting the Stage: Vietnamese Revolutionary Nationalism and the First Vietnam War", The Columbia History of the Vietnam War, Columbia University Press, pp. 93–119, doi:10.7312/ande13480-003, ISBN 978-0-231-13480-4, archived from the original on 9 November 2021, retrieved 9 November 2021
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link) - ^ St John, Ronald Bruce (April 1982). "The Soviet Penetration of Libya". The World Today. 38 (4): 131–138. JSTOR 40395373.
- ^ "The United States and the Recognition of Israel: A Chronology". Compiled by Raymond H. Geselbracht from Harry S. Truman and the Founding of Israel (Westport, Connecticut, 1997) by Michael T. Benson. Harry S. Truman Library and Museum. Archived from the original on 31 October 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
- ^ Pugh, Jeffrey D. (1 November 2012). "Whose Brother's Keeper? International Trusteeship and the Search for Peace in the Palestinian Territories". International Studies Perspectives. 13 (4): 321–343. doi:10.1111/j.1528-3585.2012.00483.x. ISSN 1528-3577. Archived from the original on 12 October 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
- ^ "ARGENTINA, AUSTRALIA, BELGIUM, BOLIVIA, BRAZIL, etc. - Treaty of Peace with Japan (with two declarations)" (PDF). 8 September 1951. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2017.
Bibliography
- The United Nations and Decolonization: Trust Territories that Have Achieved Self-Determination
- WorldStatesmen – Index of Possessions and Colonies
External links
Media related to United Nations Trust Territories at Wikimedia Commons