![]() Residents had been denied funding to repair their homes and given relocation vouchers, while hospitals on the island had been instructed not to report deaths to the Department of Health so as to impede an accurate victim count. Walter Alomar of the Organization for Culture of Hispanic Origins joined other petitioners in accusing the United States Government of having intentionally failed to support Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria in order to displace the island’s population and pave the way for gentrification. The Special Committee further expressed deep concern over actions carried out against Puerto Rican independence activists and encouraged investigations into those actions, while also requesting that the General Assembly comprehensively consider the question of Puerto Rico and decide on the issue as soon as possible. It also noted with concern that, by virtue of the decision by the United States Congress under the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act - known as PROMESA - the already weakened area outside which the prevailing regime of political and economic subordination in Puerto Rico operated had been reduced even further. Others expressed outrage over the Government’s lack of support for Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria in 2017, noting that the world had witnessed the “insulting” and “mocking” scene of President Donald Trump throwing paper towels into a crowd after the storm.Īpproving its annual draft resolution on Puerto Rico without a vote, the Special Committee - formally known as the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples - called on the Government of the United States to expedite a process enabling the people of Puerto Rico to exercise fully their right to self‑determination and independence, and to take decisions in a sovereign manner to address their challenges. They described the situation as one of genocide and “economic terrorism”, characterized by multinational corporations - facilitated by the United States - exploiting Puerto Rico’s resources even as that country’s Government implemented austerity measures that had forced schools to close and pensions to go unpaid. In addition, more than 40 petitioners from Puerto Rican advocacy groups and international allies addressed the Special Committee, many denouncing the colonial occupation of the Territory by the United States. Spotlighting the impact of Hurricanes Irma and Maria on Puerto Rico’s already serious economic and social challenges - including unemployment, insolvency and poverty - the Special Committee on Decolonization approved a draft resolution today that would call upon the United States to shoulder its responsibility to facilitate the realization of the right of Puerto Ricans to self‑determination. Panel Hears Petitioners Describe Rising Poverty, School Closures, Other Woes
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