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United Nations Press Release

New York, 22 December 1975

SC/3683 - EXTRACT

Security Council Unanimously Adopts Resolution on East Timor

The Security Council1 this afternoon unanimously adopted a resolution calling on Indonesia to withdraw without delay all its forces from East Timor, while calling upon Portugal to co­-operate fully with the United Nations so as to enable the people in the territory to exercise freely their right to self-determination.

The Council also requested the Secretary-General to send urgently a Special Representative to East Timor to make an on-the-spot assessment of the existing situation and to establish contact with all parties in the area and all States concerned, and to submit recommendations to the Council as soon as possible.2

In the preambular paragraphs, the adopted resolution (document S/11915) recognizes the inalienable right of the people of East Timor to self-determination and independence; deplores the intervention of Indonesian armed forces; and expresses regret that Portugal had not fully discharged its responsibilities.

[NAA: A1838, 935117/3, xvi]

  • 1 In 1975, membership of the Security Council, in addition to the five permanent members (China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States), was as follows: Byelorussia, Costa Rica, Guyana, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Mauretania, Sweden, Cameroon and Tanzania.
  • 2 On 30 December the appointment was announced of Vittorio Winspeare Guicciardi, Director-General of the UN Office in Geneva, as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Portuguese Timor.