Freedom Reports

On 30 March 2021, independent UN experts made public a joint allegation letter (JAL) submitted by three UN Special Rapporteurs to the US Government concerning ongoing human rights violations suffered by the indigenous CHamoru people of Guam at the hands of the United States government and military. The letter highlights the lack of free, prior and informed consent afforded to Guam’s indigenous inhabitants in connection to the ongoing military expansion, and “express additional concerns that the Government of the United States of America has not supported self-determination for the Chamorro people of Guam”. The letter issued followed submissions by UNPO…

On February 21, the Russian Federation recognized two breakaway territories of Ukraine as independent countries, using that recognition as the pretext for the use of the Russian army in Ukraine. This marks the latest effort of the Russian Federation to abuse and misuse the right of self-determination, perverting the world’s primary bulwark against colonialism into an instrument of colonial policy. The experience of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) and its members highlights the falsity of the justification for recognition of these territories and a pathway to preventing such actions in the future.