Trusteeship in Action: The United Nations Mission to Western Samoa

Since the United Nations Charter was agreed upon at San Francisco, with its provisions for a system of trusteeship for certain dependent territories, there has been considerable conjecture concerning the impact which this new machinery might have on “the colonial problem.” Extravagant claims have been made that this crystallization of the concept of collective responsibility was a panacea, that it could provide a suitable resolution for the forces which have for so long exercised a disturbing influence on our society. The trusteeship system has been compared both favorably and unfavorably with the League of Nations mandates system. It has been both lauded and condemned before it has had an opportunity to demonstrate what, if any, are its capacities.