New York, 18 June 2018. Today, the United Nations Committee on Decolonization adopted by consensus a decision concerning Puerto Rico. The text submitted by Cuba was also co-sponsored by Bolivia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Syria, Russia and Antigua and Barbuda, the latter joining the text for the first time. This is the nineteenth consecutive occasion that the Decolonization Committee adopts a resolution on Puerto Rico by consensus.
Among its main elements, the text reaffirms the inalienable right of the people of Puerto Rico to free self-determination and independence; reiterates that the Puerto Rican people constitute a Latin American and Caribbean nation with its own distinct national identity; calls upon the Government of the United States to assume its responsibility to promote a process that will enable the people of Puerto Rico to fully exercise their inalienable right to self-determination and independence.
It further notes that the United States Supreme Court, pursuant to a legal consultation by the United States 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 United States Congress, making it clear that any limited concession of self-government to Puerto Rico can be unilaterally revoked by that Congress.
It also included, among other aspects, the concern at the imposition of a Fiscal Supervisory Board on Puerto Rico by the United States Congress that, invoking the plenary powers of Congress under the Territorial Clause of its Constitution, exercises control over all matters related to fiscal, economic and budgetary issues, as well as everything related to the restructuring of Puerto Rico's public debt.
Since 1972, Cuba has submitted this resolution, which responds to its unequivocal commitment to the self-determination and independence of the brotherly people of Puerto Rico, based on a relationship of deep historical roots and a common struggle of more than a century.
Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations.