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Explanation of vote by New Zealand on L17
Before we move to vote on draft resolution L17 the New Zealand delegation wishes to place on record the reason for its vote.
We come to consideration of this draft resolution as both an administering power in terms of the Declaration and as a member state that has had first hand experience of the work of the Specialised Agencies and the International Institutions associated with the United Nations as it relates to non self governing territories falling under the authority of the Special Committee.
As members may be aware the past year has seen Tokelau, the dependency for which New Zealand is responsible, exercise freely its right to self‑determination. In a referendum overseen by representatives of the Decolonisation Committee and the UN Secretariat, the people of Tokelau decided to continue their status as a dependency of New Zealand. We accept and fully respect this decision.
Tokelau is one of the smallest, most fragile and vulnerable parts of the international community. What the UN family does to support and encourage it matters. Accordingly my delegation is pleased to confirm that it will be voting in support of draft resolution L17.
