Three years into his presidency, Thomas Sankara was assassinated. His question however, did not die with him. Decolonization is never clean nor an easy task. It is not a simple transaction that can be made to suddenly remove all power from imperialism to a country. In SPECPOL, The fourth General Assembly, delegates will work to balance legal, psychological, and economical aspects of the agendas issued to grapple with the unfinished business of decolonization. Decolonization is an act of Justice. It seeks to remedy the historical wrongs that have sent numerous countries in peril.

Our first Agenda, “The Question of Self-Determination Movements in Africa in the Post-Colonial Era in Somaliland”, will focus on Somaliland’s pursuit of self determination, and self recognition. This agenda confronts a tension right in the middle of the United Nations system, as it also determines the right for a “people” to determine their political future. It also targets the right for sovereign states to maintain and preserve the integrity of their territories. For Thirty Five years now, Somaliland has functioned as a democratic, self governing state. Issuing its own currency, organizing political elections, and assuring the safety of its population. However, it has yet to be recognized by the United Nations Member States except that on December 26th of 2025, a decision was made by the State of Israel to formally recognize Somaliland, shattering the long standing diplomatic status in this situation.

Our second Agenda, “The Role of The United Nations in Facilitating the Decolonization of Natural Resources in Africa”, confronts the uneasy truth that when countries were given political independence, it did not include economical deliverance. From 1960 to the late 1970s, the UN passed key resolutions that gave countries the right to control their natural resources. These decisions supported nationalization, challenged unfair colonial agreements, and stated that resources should benefit the country itself. However, the UN has had limited success in turning these ideas into real outcomes. Today, over 80 percent of African countries are to this day commodity dependent, meaning their economies are still structured around the extraction and export of their raw natural resources, the same blueprint that was laid during the colonial times.

Decolonization is seen as an act of raising of flag by a UN committee but this was never and will never be enough. Political Sovereignty without Economical Sovereignty is an argument without weight. Territorial sovereignty without popular Recognition is by other words modern colonialism.