Nearly 4 million\u00a0citizens living in U.S. territories\u2014a population greater than 21 states and larger than the five smallest states combined\u2014are denied the right to vote for President and voting representation in Congress simply because of where they happen to live. This includes more than 100,000 veterans and active duty service members living in U.S. territories. At the same time, decisions made by the federal government impacting residents of U.S. territories can literally mean life or death, a fact thrown in stark relief by the six-month anniversary of Hurricanes Maria and Irma hitting Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.<\/p>\n
Leaders from Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands are now arguing that this is not just morally wrong, it is a violation of international law. Represented by\u00a0Equally American\u00a0(formerly We the People Project), a non-profit organization that advocates for equality and civil rights in U.S. territories, territorial leaders from these areas have filed an\u00a0amicus brief\u00a0in support of a case brought by former Puerto Rico governor Pedro Rossell\u00f3 before the Organization of American States Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.<\/p>\n
Rossell\u00f3 v. United States\u00a0argues that by denying U.S. citizens in the territories voting representation in the federal government, the United States is violating its international law obligations under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, and other international agreements. The case was originally filed in 2006 but is only now reaching the merits. <\/p>\n
Rossell\u00f3 and Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Jenniffer Gonz\u00e1lez have also filed a letter in support of the case.<\/p>\n
\u201cSix months after Hurricanes Maria and Irma, it is important to recognize that the denial of voting rights in the U.S. Virgin Islands and other territories has a real-world impact on the daily lives of those who call the territories home,\u201d\u00a0said Delegate Stacey Plaskett, who represents the U.S. Virgin Islands in Congress but who cannot vote on final passage of congressional legislation. \u201cThis month also marks Virgin Islands History Month and the end of the Virgin Islands\u2019 centennial commemoration as part of the United States\u2014100 years\u2014yet we still aren\u2019t treated as equally American.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur country was founded on representative democracy, and it is un-American to deny voting rights to the millions of Americans living in the territories,\u201d\u00a0said Delegate Madeleine Z. Bordallo, who represents Guam as a non-voting delegate to Congress. \u201cThe people of Guam have demonstrated time and again our patriotism to the United States. Especially given increasing tensions with North Korea and the harmful effects of recent federal laws to our island, it is more important now that we be afforded a say in the election of our President and full voting representation in Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDenying the right to vote in U.S. territories is not only a violation of America\u2019s core democratic and constitutional principles, it is also a violation of the United States\u2019 commitments under international law,\u201d\u00a0said Neil Weare, president and founder of Equally American, who represents amici.\u00a0\u201cWe are hopeful that international pressure will help the United States live up to the democratic ideals it champions throughout the world. Residents of the territories proudly serve to defend democracy abroad; it is time they are able to fully enjoy it at home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cI am, and the people of Puerto Rico are, very grateful to our brothers and sisters in the other territories for their support in our case pending before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The lack of voting rights at the [federal] level for the U.S. citizens in the territories is un-American, undemocratic, against our basic human rights, and a violation of international law,\u201d said Rossell\u00f3, the lead petitioner in\u00a0Rossell\u00f3 v. United States.\u00a0\u201cNow well into the 21st century, it is high time that the U.S. remedy this situation if our country wishes to remain the beacon of democracy and the world\u2019s standard-bearer of human rights.\u201d<\/p>\n
The amicus brief puts in context the historical relationship the United States has with Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands, highlighting the impact decisions made by the federal government have on the daily lives of U.S. citizens living in these areas. The brief also emphasizes the proud tradition of military service in each of these territories, where casualty rates in Iraq and Afghanistan is 3 to 4 times the national average.<\/p>\n
Rossell\u00f3 v. United States\u00a0follows\u00a0Statehood Solidarity Committee v. United States,\u00a0a similar case filed by advocates for equal rights in the District of Columbia in which the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ruled in 2003 that the denial of voting representation in Congress for residents of D.C. violated the United States\u2019 international law commitments.<\/p>\n
The United States is expected to file its response to the petitioners in\u00a0Rossell\u00f3 v United States\u00a0in the next month or two.<\/p>\n
The amici include Bordallo, Plaskett, Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP), Carl T.C. Gutierrez, former governor of Guam; Charles W. Turnbull, former governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands; and Donna M. Christian-Christensen, former delegate representing the U.S. Virgin Islands. (PR)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Nearly 4 million\u00a0citizens living in U.S. territories\u2014a population greater than 21 states and larger than…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[20452,51,90,57],"class_list":["post-272579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news","tag-equally-american","tag-guam","tag-puerto-rico","tag-united-states"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=272579"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272579\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=272579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=272579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=272579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}