trust territory

Country or area placed within the United Nations trusteeship system and, as such, administered by a UN member state on the UN's behalf. A trust territory could be one of three types: one administered under a mandate given by the UN, or its predecessor, the League of Nations; a territory which was removed from an enemy state, namely Germany, Italy, or Japan, at the end of World War II; or a territory which had been placed voluntarily within the trusteeship system by a member state responsible for its administration. The last territory remaining under the UN trusteeship system, the Republic of Palau, became independent in 1994.

Overseen by the UN Trusteeship Council, the trusteeship system obliged countries administering trust territories to ensure peace and security, encourage respect for human rights, and, wherever possible, to promote progress towards self-government or full independence.