Blue Ocean Law submits joint shadow report to Human Rights Committee

Blue Ocean Law, in partnership with the Center for Constitutional Rights and ACLU-Puerto Rico, submitted a shadow report to the UN Human Rights Committee, detailing how the United States continues to deny self-determination to the peoples of its unincorporated territories of Guam, Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa.

The Report explains how the U.S., through its laws and policies, has continued to prevent these colonized peoples from taking steps to define their own political futures. It charges the U.S. with failing to address the harms of second-class citizenship, while continuing its unlawful militarization of these territories. The Report also makes recommendations to the Committee on actions it can take to bring the U.S.’ conduct into compliance with its human rights obligations.

Submitting a shadow report to a UN treaty body committee by NGOs is an opportunity to highlight issues not raised by governments or to bring awareness of issues where a government may be misleading the committee about the real nature of a situation. This report marks an important step towards redressing the ongoing impacts of colonialism in the territories, where these islands have no meaningful political representation within the U.S. political system.