The Special Committee on Decolonisation on June 21, 2016, approved a draft resolution calling on the Government of the United States to assume its responsibility to expedite a process that would allow the people of Puerto Rico to exercise fully their right to self-determination and independence. Photo: www.huffingtonpost.com

Approving the text without a vote, the Special Committee called on the United States to move forward with a process to allow the Puerto Rican people to take decisions in a sovereign manner, and to address their urgent economic and social needs, including unemployment, marginalisation, insolvency and poverty.

Also by the text, the Special Committee urged the United States Government to complete the return of occupied land and installations on Vieques Island and in Ceiba to the Puerto Rican people, and to expedite and cover the costs of cleaning up and decontaminating areas previously used for military exercises, with a view to protecting the health of their inhabitants and the environment.

Further by the text, the Special Committee called upon the President of the United States to release, without delay, the Puerto Rican political prisoner Oscar López Rivera, who had served more than 35 years in a United States prison for reasons relating to the Puerto Rican quest for independence. It expressed deep concern over actions carried out against Puerto Rican independence activists and encouraged investigations into those actions, in cooperation with relevant authorities.

By other terms, the Special Committee requested that the General Assembly consider comprehensively the question of Puerto Rico in all its aspects, and decide on that issue as soon as possible.