Africa Day (25/05)

Every year on May 25, Africa Day is celebrated throughout the African continent. This day is also called African Freedom Day and is dedicated to the anniversary of the formation of the Organization of African Unity, created by 30 African leaders on May 25, 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. By decision of the UN, this day was declared African Liberation Day.

For the world community, this important date symbolizes the desire of African countries for unity in the interests of ensuring independent development, peace and prosperity on the continent.

In 1999, the United Nations General Assembly invited the Special Committee on Decolonization to observe annually the Week of Solidarity with the Peoples of Non-Self-Governing Territories beginning on 25 May and ending on 31 May.

The Week was proclaimed in 1972 (resolution 2911 (XXVII)) as beginning on May 25, African Liberation Day, the Week of Solidarity with the Colonial Peoples of Southern Africa, Guinea-Bissau and the Cape Verde Islands, fighting for freedom, independence and equality.

On 22 December 2004, the Assembly urged Member States to contribute to the efforts of the United Nations to make the world free of colonialism during the Second International Decade by providing full support to the work of the Special Committee on Decolonization to achieve this goal.

With regard to the situation of American Samoa, Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the United States Virgin Islands, the island of Guam, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat, Saint Helena, the Turks and Caicos Islands and Pitcairn, the Assembly reaffirmed the inalienable right of the peoples of these territories to self-determination in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples adopted by the General Assembly.

The Assembly reaffirmed that there is no alternative to self-determination and called on the administering Powers, in cooperation with the territorial Governments, to promote political education programs in the Territories to ensure greater public awareness of their right to self-determination.

The Assembly also reaffirmed the responsibility of the administering Powers to promote the socio-economic development and preservation of the cultural identity of the territories, and also requested the Territories and administering Powers to take all necessary measures to protect the environment of the territories under their administration in order to prevent any deterioration in the environmental condition.

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