Legal Definitions - trust territory

A trust territory refers to a non-self-governing territory that was placed under an international administrative system, primarily by the United Nations after World War II. The purpose of this system was to promote the political, economic, social, and educational advancement of the inhabitants of these territories, ultimately guiding them towards self-government or independence.

An administering authority, typically a member state of the UN, was responsible for managing the territory under the supervision of the UN Trusteeship Council. This system was a successor to the League of Nations mandate system established after World War I.

• Example 1: The Trust Territory of Togoland (British)

  After World War II, the former British Togoland, which had been a League of Nations mandate, became a UN trust territory administered by the United Kingdom. The UN oversaw the UK's administration, ensuring that the territory's people were prepared for their future. In 1956, a plebiscite was held under UN supervision, and the people voted to integrate with the Gold Coast (another British territory) upon its independence. In 1957, British Togoland officially joined the newly independent Ghana.

  This example illustrates how a trust territory, under international oversight, was guided towards determining its own political future, in this case, choosing to integrate with a neighboring independent state rather than forming a separate one.

• Example 2: The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands

  Following World War II, the United States was designated as the administering authority for the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, which comprised numerous islands in Micronesia previously under Japanese mandate. For decades, the US worked to develop the infrastructure and governance capabilities of the islands under the watchful eye of the UN. Eventually, the various island groups chose different political statuses: the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau became sovereign states in free association with the United States, while the Northern Mariana Islands became a commonwealth of the United States.

  This example demonstrates how a single trust territory could evolve into multiple distinct political entities, each achieving self-governance or a close association with the administering power, fulfilling the core objective of the trusteeship system to allow the inhabitants to determine their own destiny.