Territories with independence movements are disputed for their qualification as colonial countries and their admission for decolonization. While she was pleased that over the last seven years, the Committee had adopted its resolutions by consensus, she also called for the prompt implementation of those resolutions, and reaffirmed Puerto Rico’s right to self-determination. The United States had not requested its independence from England; nor should the Boricua request their independence. She said she had called on the FBI to provide the names of agents involved in such incidents, but the FBI had declined. United Nations Radio covered meetings of the Assembly’s Fourth Committee (Special and Decolonization), dealing with Gibraltar, Puerto Rico, the Falklands Islands (Malvinas) and Western Sahara. Also, those responsible for the deteriorating health of the people must be held accountable. Finally, she urged the General Assembly to actively consider the question of Puerto Rico in all its aspects. The colonial question of Puerto Rico had been under consideration for more than 30 years and many resolutions had been developed. In the economic and social area, Puerto Rico was dependent on the United States, meaning that any self-determination process would be difficult. Despite the torturous route travelled in that process, only once in the last 35 years had Puerto Rico been the subject of General Assembly discussion, in 1953. Puerto Rico at the United Nations. Other petitioners addressing the Special Committee today were representatives of the following organizations: Colegio de Abogados de Puerto Rico, New Progressive Party, Madres contra la Guerra, Comité de Derechos Humanos de Puerto Rico, Boricuas por un Nuevo País, Coordinadora Nacional de las Actividades del Cerro de los Mártires, Puerto Rican Committee of the United Nations, Puerto Rican Independence Party, American Association of Jurists, Alianza Comunitaria de Boriken, Puertorriqueños Unidos En Accion, Colegio de Profesionales del Trabajo Social de Puerto Rico, ProLibertad Freedom Campaign, Unión Nacional de Estudiantes, New York Solidarity with Vieques, Oficina de Asuntos Comunitarios e Indígenas, Juventud Boricua, National Lawyers Guild International Committee, Frente Autonomista, Igualdad, Citizens Movement for Statehood, Socialist Workers Party, Frente Socialista de Puerto Rico, Movimiento Union Soberanista de Puerto Rico, League of United Latin American Citizens, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, High School Republicans of Puerto Rico, New York Coordinator to Free Oscar López Rivera, Puerto Rico No Se Vende, Accion Soberanista, Partido Nacionalista de Puerto Rico-Movimiento Libertador-Junta Nacional, Renacer Ideologico Estadista, Boricua Ahora Es, Graduate School of Public Health-University of Puerto Rico, Grupo por la Igualdad y la Justicia de Puerto Rico, Frente Patriotico Arecibeño, and the Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico. Further, they called for a moratorium on the sale of Vieques lands to large developers. The Special Committee on decolonization approved by consensus a resolution calling on the United States to "expedite a process that will allow the Puerto Rican people to fully exercise their . Finally, he said, the United States had not complied with promoting the processes that would ensure Puerto Rico’s right to self-determination. Full liberation was needed, as Puerto Rico was the oldest colony in the world. The General Assembly adopted the report of the Secretary-General dated 13 December 1991 as the Plan of Action for the Decade. [30] Likewise in 2013 the elected Assembly of French Polynesia objected to that territory's inclusion on the list. Consejo Nacional had been recognized as the only legitimate government of Puerto Rico and it should have a seat in the General Assembly. [10], At each main session, the Committee reviews the list of territories to which the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples is applicable and makes recommendations on its implementation and on the dissemination of public information on decolonization to the local population. In 1978, the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization determined that a "colonial relationship" existed between the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Meanwhile, resolution 2625 provided for a separate and different legal status vis-à-vis administering States for their territories, until they could exercise right to self-determination. Text Also Requests General Assembly to Consider Question; Urges Clean Up of Vieques Island, Release of Puerto Rican Political Prisoners. Last year, her group denounced the harassment and threats against those fighting for Puerto Rico’s independence, and she repeated the same message today. Those who sought to exercise that right were spied upon, threatened, fired or suspended. When they visit a national park, they would be told that it was the only tropical forest in the United States. [10] The number 24 continues to be used when describing the Committee even though it now has 29 members. Clearly, resolutions on decolonization and racial discrimination should be implemented. She said the people of Vieques demanded: the United States Navy stop detonations of unexploded bombs; the immediate removal of all hazardous materials; the immediate return of lands occupied by the Department of Fish and Wildlife; and the inclusion of Vieques citizens in the development of their island. Found inside â Page 241Evolución del Concepto de Libre Asociación en las Naciones Unidas " , Revista del Colegio de Abogados de Puerto Rico , Vol . 43 , No. 2 , May 1982 , pages 173-203 . 16 Resolution of the U.N. Special Committee on Decolonization ... Puerto Rican political prisoners in United States jails continued to serve punishment out of proportion to their crimes. 65th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women, Round-up of the Security Council's activities, Main part of the 75th session of the General Assembly. In the 2012 vote, she voted “no” to colonialism and did not support statehood because she wanted Puerto Rico to be a free independent country. He also called for the release of those who fought to remove the United States Navy from the island of Vieques. Your Excellency, My name is Darlene Elias, and I am a National Co Chair of the Green Party of the United States. “All we are asking for is solidarity in a just cause, authenticated as such by this Committee on innumerable occasions.”. Further, the respect for the sovereignty and identity of Puerto Ricans was outlined in resolution 1514. She understood that the Committee’s work was important for Puerto Ricans’ full enjoyment of their rights within a legal framework. That repression was selective and intense, as seen in the Vieques situation, the assassination of Filiberto Rios by the FBI and other violations of civil rights. Numerous resolutions had reaffirmed Puerto Ricans’ right to self-determination, in line with resolution 1514 (XV). Despite brutal aggression by the United States, his people continued to resist. Legislation on the issue of Puerto Rico was under consideration in the United States Congress. Found inside â Page 283However , in recent years , in spite of strong U.S. objections that it has no authority to do so , the Special Committee on Decolonization , at the instigation of Cuba , has held hearings on Puerto Rico under the agenda item concerning ... The Special Committee on Decolonization met today to consider a report prepared by the Rapporteur on the Special Committee's decision of 18 June 2012 concerning Puerto Rico (document A/AC.109 . The Puerto Rican government had hindered the democratic expression of its people, having taken unofficial steps to block discussions and ignore peoples’ claims. Moreover, those actions had demanded that the United States Government expedite the process that would allow Puerto Rico to exercise its right to independence. EDUARDO VILLANUEVA MUÑOZ, representative of the Human Rights Committee of Puerto Rico, requested the immediate release of prisoners held in federal jails, some as long as 27 years. He noted that the United States House of Representatives had another bill before it, recognizing the right of Puerto Ricans to convene such a constitutional assembly. If Puerto Ricans could unite around forcing the United States Navy out of Vieques, they could unite around resolving the problems of the persistent destructive system. This book describes the basic issues in U.S.-Puerto Rican relations and the position of the political parties and of individual leaders toward breaking out of the current status dilemma. CRUZ MARIA NAZARIO, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Puerto Rico, said cancer occurrences in Vieques were linked to military exercises of the United States and its allies. The objective of such a strategy was to ensure annexation of Puerto Rico against the people’s will. JULIO MURIENTE PEREZ, Co-President of the National Independence Hostosiano Movement of Puerto Rico (MINH), said that 25 July would be the one hundred-ninth anniversary of the United States military invasion of Puerto Rico. The Special Committee had before it “an ample resolution, firm and equitable”, reaffirming those rights of Puerto Rico. The plan called for public participation, but in truth there was no room to ask for the return of that land to its rightful owners. However, he was disturbed by what had been said by leaders in Vieques regarding the environmental impact of the Navy’s actions, alongside other problems. Special Committee on Decolonization Approves Text Calling upon United States Government to Expedite Self-Determination Process for Puerto Rico Members in Day-Long Hearing of Petitioners on . The Special Committee on Decolonization approved today a draft resolution calling upon the United States to assume its responsibility to promote a process to enable the people of Puerto Rico to fully exercise their right to self-determination and independence. There was a high rate of cancer cases of unknown origin in that region. Since 1953, the UN has been considering the political status of Puerto Rico and how to assist it in achieving "independence" or "decolonization". “We share a common struggle: to get those exploiters off our backs,” he said. He expressed support for the draft resolution submitted by Cuba, especially its provisions relating to Vieques and the demands for the freedom of Puerto Rican political prisoners. [31] There is also controversy surrounding the viability of several of the listed territories as independent nations,[failed verification] Puerto Rico must no longer be the exception to that rule. He said the “Puerto Rico Democracy Act”, H.R. Further, the island of Vieques had been bombarded for 60 years, which had led to a catastrophic health situation, as the United States Navy had refused to clear the toxic material. The United States Courts seemed to act in favour of the FBI, and seemed to provide legal cover for instances of police “insolence”; meanwhile, the people of Puerto Rico were left with no legal recourse. The swelling of support was evident in the success of the Latin American and Caribbean Congress in Panama last November, where members expressed support for Puerto Rico, and in the resolution passed in December 2006 by the Latin American Parliament expressing support for decolonization. Its position was that the Puerto Ricans had already exercised their right to self-determination by creating their own Government. Taxes were increasing while medical services were decreasing. Yet, some 9,500 residents of Vieques lived 11 miles west of the bombing range where the United States Navy was today detonating unexploded ordinance. Assembly to reopen consideration of the Special Committee on Decolonization adopted by consensus highlights Puerto Rico s. 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