Trusteeship Council

The fifteenth session of the Trusteeship Council, which had opened at Headquarters on January 25, 1955, ended on March 28, 1955Cameroons under French administration: The Council considered the report of its drafting committee2 on conditions in French-administered Cameroons on February 24 and 25. On the basis ofthe draft report and clarifying amendments, the Council requested the administering authority totransmit a concise statement evaluating the effects of the association of the Cameroons with the French Union on the future political development of the territory. The administering authority was further asked to inform the Council of the results of studies being undertaken concerningthe status of the inhabitants of the territory and to consider the possibility of establishing a Cameroonian citizenship. By a vote of 7 to 1 with 4 abstentions, the Council, noting that thebill providing for the extension of the powers of the Territorial Assembly and the establishment of an Executive Council had not as yet been submitted to the French Parliament for adoption, recommended that steps be taken as soon as possible to realize these goals and, in particular, that the Territorial Assembly be given powers to discuss political questions and to take decisions on all matters internal to the territory. Unanimous approval was given a recommendation expressing the hope that the French National Assembly would put into effect as soon as possible the proposed legislation converting Douala, Yaoundé and N'Kongsamba into communes de plein 1 For information on the early part of the fifteenth session, exercice. Continued development of elected municipal institutions throughout the territory was also recommended. A recommendation by the drafting committee on the question of the reorganization of the traditional chiefdoms, concerning which a bill was awaiting action in the French Parliament, was amended by theCouncil to delete any inference that the Council was not reaffirming its earlier view that universal suffrage should be achieved. The Council, in the amended recommendation, expressed the hope that the bill would be adopted and implemented before the next elections, if necessary.