UN Committee Recognizes Puerto Rico's Right to Self-Determination, Independence

On June 20, the United Nations (UN) Special Committee on Decolonization — by consensus and for the 40th time — formally recognized Puerto Rico's right to self-determination and independence. It did so by again adopting Draft Resolution L7. The resolution calls for the U.S. to take immediate action to implement the UN's decolonization process for Puerto Rico, which includes removing all military and repressive forces, like the FBI, and returning these lands and facilities to Puerto Rico. It also requires the U.S. to take immediate steps "to transfer all powers to the peoples of" Puerto Rico "without any conditions or reservations," and refrain from "any attempt aimed at the partial or total disruption of the national unity and the territorial integrity" of Puerto Rico.

The Special Committee heard from more than forty people denouncing U.S. colonization of Puerto Rico and calling on the UN to implement its decolonization procedures and bring the issue of Puerto Rican independence to the General Assembly. Many people fighting for independence spoke, while a rally by independentistas and their organizations was held outside UN headquarters.

People also called on the Committee, which has administrative powers, to open discussions with the U.S. and visit Puerto Rico and establish a mission there to oversee decolonization. Speakers brought out the determined resistance by Puerto Ricans to the numerous U.S. attacks on their rights and U.S. failure to provide even a minimum of aid to deal with the devastating hurricanes that have struck Puerto Rico in recent years. The development of mutual aid societies and other efforts by Puerto Ricans taking matters into their own hands were also brought out.

Pedro Luis Pedroso, Cuban ambassador to the UN, presented the resolution co-sponsored by Russia, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Venezuela, Syria, Barbuda, and Antigua. Pedroso concluded that the colonial case of Puerto Rico "is not an internal matter of the United States... it is up to the Decolonization Committee and the entire international community."

The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), an international organization of 120 member states, many standing against U.S. domination, also expressed support for Puerto Rico's right to self-determination and independence.

Many Puerto Ricans speaking denounced the U.S.-imposed Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA), with its Control Board, known as La Junta. In the name of forcing Puerto Rico to pay debts accumulated illegally – and already paid many times over – since 2016 the Control Board has dictated major cuts to social services while guaranteeing payments to the Wall Street financiers. The many cuts include slashing pensions by 40 per cent and raising the retirement age by eight years; cutting the public Puerto Rico University budget by 50 per cent as part of efforts to privatize it; closing scores of public schools with more closures planned; other efforts to privatize public utilities and services, and more. Numerous strikes and demonstrations have been waged against La Junta, representing the stand of Puerto Ricans for their rights and against U.S. dictate. PROMESA is yet another tool of U.S. colonization denounced by many speaking before the Special Committee.

People also brought out that the draft U.S. bill, the Puerto Rico Status Act, does not comply with the minimum requirements of international law concerning decolonization, such as removing military, political and economic interference and influence and putting power in the hands of Puerto Ricans before any vote is taken. As one speaker put it, after 124 years of colonialism and repression by the U.S. and its FBI, as well as dozens of assassinations, it is hard to believe that "we can freely use the vote." The Act does include independence as one option, along with statehood and "Sovereignty in Free Association with the United States," which is not clearly defined. The bill is currently in draft form in the U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee.

As the many strikes and continuing struggles in Puerto Rico and actions in the U.S. have made clear, Puerto Ricans will not stop resisting until U.S. colonization is ended and self-determination and independence achieved.

This article was published in

Volume 52 Number 20 - September 29, 2022

Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmld2022/Articles/D520205.HTM

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