By virtue of Guam being one of 17 remaining non-self-governing territories as monitored by the United Nations, each year the question of Guam’s political status is taken up as a point of discussion in New York. This provides a chance for anyone from the island to travel to the United Nations to offer testimony before representatives of the world community as to the situation in Guam.
The first Guam delegation to the UN in New York to testify on the island’s political status was in 1982, led by Robert Underwood, Chris Perez Howard and Ron Teehan from the group Organization of People for Indigenous Rights (OPIR). Since then, dozens of activists, students, artists, and elected leaders have made the same trip to testify. Sometimes these delegations feature just one or two individuals. Sometimes they are much larger.
In 2006, a group of 8 CHamoru students and activists restarted the UN delegation outreach as a means of speaking out about the recently announced Guam military buildup, which would transfer thousands of US Marines from Okinawa to Guam. The delegation as seen in the second image included (standing from left to right) Tiffany Naputi Lacsado, Julian Aguon, Fanai Castro, Sabina Perez and Jon Blas. (Kneeling from left to right) Kerri-Ann Borja, Victoria-Lola Leon Guerrero and Rima Miles.
The largest delegation to the UN from Guam took place in 2017 and included two elected Senators and then Governor of Guam Eddie Calvo. This delegation was organized by the Guam Commission on Decolonization and the community groups Independent Guåhan and the Guam Coalition for Peace and Justice, in response to threats made to Guam from North Korea. In the third image, the delegation includes (standing from left to right) Sam Tom, Pim Limtiaco, Dr. LisaLinda Natividad, Victoria-Lola Leon Guerrero, Samantha Marley Barnett, Alaina Aflague Arroyo, Julia-Faye Muñoz, Dr. Tiara Naputi, Dr. Michael Lujan Bevacqua, Melvin Won Pat-Borja, Senator Fernando Esteves. (Kneeling from left to right) Dietrix “Ulukoa” Duhaylonsod and Kerri-Ann Borja.
By virtue of Guam being one of 17 remaining non-self-governing territories as monitored by the United Nations, each year the question of Guam’s political status is taken up as a point of discussion in New York. This provides a chance for anyone from the island to travel to the United Nations to offer testimony before representatives of the world community as to the situation in Guam.
In the 1990s, these trips became a regular Government of Guam activity and were part of negotiations with the United States government over the proposed Commonwealth Status for Guam. When negotiations failed and ended, the Government of Guam stopped organizing the UN trips for many years.
The current Executive Director for the Guam Commission on Decolonization Melvin Won Pat-Borja is currently in New York set to testify this week before the Fourth Committee of the United Nations and continue this legacy of advocacy.
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