St. Aimee, chairman of the U.N. Special Committee, recognized during the hearing that the Second Decade of the Eradication of Colonization did not yield the expected. The committee has therefore, resolved to move into the Third Decade of the Eradication of Colonization stating its dedication to passing this resolution.
“With effort we will arrive at an agreement so that the expressed wish of the people can be realized,” Aimee said.
The Guam delegation represents a second generation of Chamorros who have appealed to the United Nations for the past 20 years regarding Guam’s political status and the United States’ alleged refusal to respect the Chamorro people’s human right to self-determination.
“This body must advance the self-determination process for the native inhabitants of Guam now, for the recent decisions by our administering authority dilutes our right to self-determination,” Sen. Ben Pangelinan stated in his written testimony.
Former Sen. Hope Antoinette Cristobal called attention to the effects of colonization on the health of the people of Guam.“I am here to testify that the indigenous people of Guam continue to suffer social, cultural, and environmental annihilation at the hands of our American oppressors,” she said. “Robust research suggests that these aggregate problems in our communities are a result of the cultural and social deterioration of our families and neighborhoods. The same families and neighborhoods that had previously sustained our health for generations prior to colonization.”
A representative for We are Guahan emphasized this, “We have repeatedly sought political rights; and the actions in response to those requests over the years have moved at a pace we no longer have the luxury of accommodating.”
Fuetsan Famalao’an, a small non-governmental organization of women on Guam concerned about the U.S. Department of Defense’s plan for increased militarization on Guam, urged the committee to take critical steps in this process by sending delegates to Guam to further investigate the consequences of militarization.
“We urge you to one day conduct a U.N. C-24 hearing in Guam,” the group said. “You will see with your own eyes, the substandardliving of many of the Chamorros and other residents of Guam who live across the fences, resembling the racial and economic disparity found in the segregated city neighborhoods throughout the globe.”
Rima Ilarishigh Peter Miles, a Refaluwasch Carolinian from Saipan, represented the Women for Genuine Security, part of an international network of women who are organizing to put an end to the devastating effects of U.S. militarization and bring about true security based on justice and respect.
“We stand here at this urgent moment to call the United Nations to immediate action. Advancements must be made for the protection and fulfillment of the Chamorro right to self-determination,” Miles said. “This right is currently being threatened and undermined by the continued avoidance of the issue by the United States, as well as recent actions which contradict the terms of the U.S. obligation to the Chamorro people of Guam.”
