Lieutenant Governor Joshua Tenorio reiterated Guam’s quest for decolonization and self-determination during an address before members of the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization.
“Although Guam has been under the rule of external powers for almost five centuries, I want to assure you that our aspirations for self-determination and true self-government remain. It is a matter of fairness and justice and will remain until a process of decolonization is completed,” the lieutenant governor said.
During his address, Tenorio encouraged the UN Special Committee on Decolonization and other UN member states to continue the pressure on the administering power to decolonize Guam.
He also asked the UN to enable a Visiting Mission to examine and record the situation on Guam.
“This would elevate the issue of decolonization to the highest levels of the administering power,” the lieutenant governor said.
The last visiting mission to Guam in 1977 brought tremendous attention to the issue of Guam’s status and preceded a series of referendums and plebiscites used to determined a course of action. That resulted in the drafting and approval of the Guam Commonwealth Act by Guam voters in 1987, its introduction in the United States Congress, and a decade of talks and engagement with the administering power.
“This was arguably the farthest Guam’s decolonization has ever gone. A visiting mission to Guam would capture the attention of other administering powers to prioritize decolonization for the remaining territories on the list,” the lieutenant governor said.
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