the Leagfue of Nati.ons mandates. fhe General Assembly had contnenced its e'o rk in this fj-eld from its second session beglnning witlt the question of transformation of tlle mandated terrltories into lnternational tmsteeship by discussing such mette rsA/ 40/726 Bngl i sh Page 55 as ttre future a&nlnlstrati.on of palestine and t?re statusof Soutb West Af,rlca. At its fourttr session 1€ had decided to request for an advisory opinion of thetnternational Court' o! Justlce on the stetus of ttratterrltory. It also ln1tlated actlon on non-se]-f,_ governJ.ng terrltorles at its thj.rd session by eal1lng upon the colonial po\.rers to iurnlsh repo rts und.erArticle 73, clause (e) o; the Charter. The debates even at. this stage had begun to take the form of dernandfor decoloniEatlon and independence for non_self-qoverningteriitories wltlr ttre supfrort of the United States of AnErj-ca and the Latin Arnerican Retrrublics. The processof decolonlsation was, however, slow and untj.I 1950tlre countrLes which achleved lnd,ependence were only ahandful, namely, fndla (Lg4:.), pakistan (1947), Burma(1948), Sri L,anka (l-94S) and Indonesia (19LS). Durlng,the fifties, howeve r, a measure of prcgress lras actrievedwltlr the reeognition of the independence of C€mbodla,Laos and Vletnam foll-owJ.ng upon the Geneva Agreementsln f954 as also of the French protectorates of Morocco and X\rrlisia and the Brltlsh territories in Malaya andGold Coast (Chana). It was, however, the adoptlon oftlre 'Declaration on +-he granting of independence tocolonlal countlles and peoplesr, at the fl.fteenth sesslonof tlre General Asseldbly in 1960 tbat paveC . the !.,ay foremancl.patlon of colonial terri.torles in Africa, in whichy€ar aLone seventeen countries becare independent ardwere admltted as nehbe::s of the Unlted Natj.ons folloredby four other countrles 1n 1961. T,he GeneraL Assembly
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing the history and process of decolonization, specifically the transformation of mandated territories into independent states. The focus is on international relations, politics, and governance, with mentions of the United Nations, colonial powers, and the General Assembly. The text does not mention economic development, natural resources, or specific industries, which suggests that it is not primarily focused on these areas.

**Category**
International relations, Humanitarian aid and relief