U.N. Human Rights Committee to review U.S. actions in territories

Blue Ocean Law, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and ACLU-Puerto Rico submit a historic report to the United Nations Human Rights Committee. 

The report is the first time America’s actions in the territories will be reviewed by the committee. The 105-page report details U.S. laws and policies that the organizations believe to be preventing Indigenous communities from defining their political future and have rendered them second-class citizens as a result of unincorporated territorial status.

The report includes a list of questions they urge the committee to ask the U.S. government to answer regarding self-determination and informed consent for federal and military developments in the region. 

"The U.S. is militarizing Guam at such an alarming rate and at such an alarming speed," said Blue Ocean Law Attorney Julian Aguon.

He added, "The scope of the military build-up is staggering and we really do believe that this really amounts to a violation of international law. We want to basically call the U.S. to account for its continued denial of the right to self-determination."

The Human Rights Committee is expected to discuss the report in its October meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.