Cuba presents Draft Resolution in favor of Puerto Rico's sovereignty and self-determination.

New York, 24 June 2019. The Draft Resolution on the question of Puerto Rico, contained in document A/AC.109/2019/L.9 was presented today by Cuba to the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization. It reiterates that Puerto Rico is a Latin American and Caribbean nation, with its own unmistakable national identity, which Puerto Ricans have been able to defend despite the long colonization process to which they have been subjected. Therefore, the Caribbean island deserves its independence and the exercise of its right to self-determination.

The draft resolution – which content was announced by the Deputy Permanent Representative and Chargé d'Affaires a.i. of Cuba, Ambassador Ana Silvia Rodríguez Abascal to the Special Committee on Decolonization- was co-sponsored by Antigua and Barbuda, the Plurinational State of Bolivia, the Republic of Nicaragua, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the Syrian Arab Republic and the Russian Federation.

The text recognizes that, within the context of the significant worsening of the economic and fiscal crisis in Puerto Rico, the current status prevents the Puerto Rican people from making sovereign decisions to meet their needs and shape their future, especially to address the serious economic and social problems that affect them.

The draft resolution also includes the deep concern over the imposition on Puerto Rico by the United States Congress of a Fiscal Control Board which, invoking the plenary powers of the Congress enshrined on the Territorial Clause of its Constitution, exerts powers of control over the elected officials and legislators of the Government of Puerto Rico in all matters relating to fiscal, economic and budgetary issues, as well as all matters concerning the restructuring of Puerto Rico's public debt.

The Cuban diplomat pointed out that the draft resolution further notes that the U.S. Supreme Court, pursuant to a legal consultation of the U.S. Department of Justice, ruled in the case of Puerto Rico vs. Sanchez Valle, that the original and ultimate source of governmental authority in Puerto Rico is the U.S. Congress, making clear that any limited concession of self-government to Puerto Rico can be unilaterally revoked by that Congress.

The resolution defended by Rodriguez Abascal has the support of several world organizations on the issue of the sovereignty of the sister Caribbean nation, namely: the Non-Aligned Movement, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of our America (ALBA), as well as other forums.

The highest representative of Cuba to the United Nations called for the adoption of the draft resolution as a sign of effective support not only for the cause of decolonization, but also for the just cause of the people of Puerto Rico in their unwavering struggle for their right to self-determination.

Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations