United Nations_  The United Nations were again the scene this Monday of the  demand  of Puerto Rico’s right to self-determination, in a day of complaints about the colonial status imposed by the United States and proposals for an end, reported Prensa Latina.

The Special Committee on Decolonization of the UN in session yesterday focused on the case of the Caribbean island, under five centuries of colonial rule, the past 118 years by the United States.

For thirty-fifth time since 1972, the body composed of 29 countries adopted a resolution reaffirming the right of Puerto Rico to self-determination and independence and the Latin American and Caribbean character of the island, and urges Washington to take responsibility and enable Puerto Ricans achieve their aspirations for autonomy

Presented by Cuba and cosponsored by Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Russia, Syria and Venezuela, the initiative reflects concern about the inability of the island to address its serious economic and social problems as a result of the lack of sovereignty.

It also demands the release of political prisoner Oscar López Rivera, locked for 35 years in US jails for their independence struggle.

Dozens of Puerto Rican petitioners spoke at the forum representing various tendencies, but the demand for the right to self-determination prevailed.

The Non-Aligned Movement, which groups 120 of the 193 UN member countries, and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, a bloc of 33 nations, also expressed support for the Puerto Rican cause during the Committee session

Compartir / Share