“The United Nations shall establish under its authority an international trusteeship system

for the administration and supervision of such territories…”

                                                        — Article 75 of the UN Charter

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The United Nations General Assembly’s Fourth Committee, also known as the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (SPECPOL), deals with a diverse set of political issues, including peacekeeping efforts and peaceful uses of outer space. However, decolonization and its associated consequences remain the primary focus of the Committee.

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When it was first created, the Fourth Committee was solely responsible for trusteeship-and decolonization-related matters. However, after independence was granted to all the United Nations trust territories and the subsequent dismantling of the trusteeship system, the Committee's workload decreased. Consequently, the Fourth Committee was merged with the Special Political Committee, which had been created as a seventh main committee to deal with certain political issues.