John I Borja

Pacific Daily News

A United States representative voted against a United Nations resolution relative to Guam's right to self-determination, stating the resolution contains language that appears to attack the United States.

"We are deeply disappointed today to have been forced as a result of counterproductive additions ... to call a vote and vote against the resolution on the question of Guam for the first time in over 20 years," according to the U.S. representative.

The Pacific Daily News was unable to confirm the identity of the U.S. representative, who was not named. The information was obtained by reviewing a recording of the U.N. hearing, which took place Wednesday in New York.

The U.N.'s Special Political and Decolonization Committee voted on the draft resolution on the question of Guam, with the result of 80 votes in favor, nine against and 62 abstentions.

The U.S., Japan, United Kingdom, France, Iraq, Israel, Morocco, Malawi and Ukraine voted against the resolution.

The resolution, which has changed since it was first approved by a smaller committee in June, includes the call for the U.N. Assembly to conduct the following, among other resolves:

encourage Guam and the U.S. to negotiate on self-determination efforts;

call on the U.S. to cooperate fully with the committee to help promote Guam decolonization;

request that the U.S. transfer lands back to original landowners on Guam;

request that the U.S. acknowledge and respect the cultural and ethnic identity of the indigenous Chamorro people;

plan a visiting mission to Guam; and

ask the U.S. and Guam to protect the environment against harmful impacts of militarization.

In early October, Gov. Eddie Calvo and sixteen petitioners, including Vice Speaker Therese Terlaje and Sen. Telena Nelson, appeared before the Fourth Committee to urge adoption of the resolution and to force the U.S. to cooperate with Guam's path to self-determination.

WATCH THE RECORDED MEETING:

Fourth Committee, 27th meeting - General Assembly, 72nd session

READ MORE:

Letter: People do care about Guam's political status

Bevacqua: Despite improvements, Guam remains a colony

U.S. disapproves

The representative of the U.S. said the resolution contained problematic language that made it seem like it was being used as a political attack against America. He cited the regional tension brought up by North Korea, the federal court ruling that struck down Guam's plebiscite law and claims of negative impacts from military activities on the island.

"The U.S. has a sovereign right to carry out its military activities in accordance with its national security interests," he said. He added that it's incorrect to assume that the military presence is necessarily harmful to the rights of indigenous people.

On the subject of political status related to decolonization, the U.S. representative said the U.N. must stop looking at independence as the main option. Status quo and integration also are options, he said.

"It is long past time for this body to eschew the outdated preference for independence as a one-size-fits-all solution, when we can all clearly see that many peoples prefer options other than independence," he said.

The representative said that, while the U.S. acknowledges independence as an option, it also will accept non-self-governing territories integrating with the administrating power, or maintaining the status quo. It's a matter of the people's decision as a whole, he said.

He also referenced Guam's plebiscite law, struck down in federal court, which would have allowed indigenous Chamorros on Guam to vote on their preferred political status with the United States.

"The right of self-determination for a people of a non-self-governing territory is to be exercised by the whole people, not just one portion of the population," he said.

The U.S. representative concluded with the reminder that the resolution is non-binding and does not necessarily reflect international law.

READ MORE:

Guam petitioners urge U.N. to make U.S. cooperate on path to self-determination

Calvo to U.N. committee: U.S. has forgotten Guam

Support from other nations

Representatives from Venezuela and Singapore expressed their support for the resolution on the question of Guam.

Singapore announced that it is behind Guam and other non-self-governing territories who wish to fully exercise their right to self-determination. Venezuela sympathized with the concerns stated by the Guam delegation.

"We were moved to hear the petitioners expressing their fears of the threat of having been involved involuntarily in a situation of regional tension resulting from the rhetoric of certain actors," the Venezuelan representative said.

Brazil also supported the resolution, but expressed concern over the federal court ruling on the plebiscite law, which currently is being appealed by Attorney General Elizabeth Barrett-Anderson. The matter should be further discussed until a general agreement is made, the Brazil representative said.

The court ruling and appeal are not matters that should be commented on by the General Assembly, according to Canada's representative. The nation abstained from the vote because of it, and hoped the Fourth Committee will reach consensus on the resolution in the future.

Voting and discussion of the resolution on the question of Guam can be viewed on a livestream playback on the U.N. website. The video is titled, "Fourth Committee, 27th meeting - General Assembly, 72nd session." The discussion begins around the 2:27:00 marker.

Read the resolution on the question of Guam below: