Original: Spanish
The Council of the Socialist International welcomes the Decision of the Special Committee on Decolonisation on 19 June 2017 in which, once again, the Special Committee unanimously:
- has reaffirmed the inalienable right of the people of Puerto Rico to self-determination and independence;
- has recognised that the majority of the people of Puerto Rico is against the continuation of the current regime of political subordination to the United States;
- has condemned the decision of the government of the United States of imposing a Board of Fiscal Supervision appointed by the President of the United States with absolute authority over the elected officials of the government of Puerto Rico;
- has recognised that the Supreme Court of the United States formally ruled in 2016 that the final authority over Puerto Rico rests with the Congress of the United States and that any limited concession of a self-government can be revoked unilaterally by the said Congress;
- has taken note that the most recent consultation regarding political status on 11 July 2017 was not designed to promote decolonisation in accordance with the Resolution 1514(15) of the General Assembly and that furthermore the electoral turnout was only 23%.
- has demanded that the government of the United States asume its responsibilities to accelerate a process that may allow the people of Puerto Rico to fully exercise their right to self-determination and independence in accordance with international law.
The SI Council further calls on the United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres, to lend his good offices to ensure that the request that was reiterated in the Decision of the Special Committee on 19 June 2017 be pursued, in the sense that the General Assembly “broadly examine in all its aspects, the question of Puerto Rico and reach a decision as soon as possible”.
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