Which event relating to decolonization occurred last during the Cold War?

The event relating to decolonization that occurred last during the Cold War is the independence of the eastern bloc and satellite states from the Soviet Union. This process took place in the late 1980s and early 1990s, culminating in significant political changes across Eastern Europe. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the subsequent dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 marked a critical shift, allowing multiple countries that were previously under Soviet control to assert their independence, thereby concluding a major phase of decolonization that was intertwined with the broader geopolitics of the Cold War.

In contrast, India's independence from British rule was achieved in 1947, far earlier in the timeline. The endorsement of decolonization by the United Nations is also an earlier event, as the UN was established in 1945 and began addressing decolonization shortly thereafter. Similarly, Canada’s independence through the Canada Act occurred in 1982, which, while significant, is still earlier than the final wave of decolonization in Eastern Europe that directly resulted from the dissolution of the Soviet influence. Each of these events played a role in the decolonization process, but the independence of the eastern bloc states signifies the lasting impact of the Cold War