Sixteen delegates from Guam and continental U.S. went before the committee, which has oversight on decolonization, and spoke of the injustices that resulted in Guam's status quo as an unincorporated U.S. territory.
"Our situation on Guam is urgent, as our land and ocean are increasingly under threat. Access and control of our resources is impeded by the delay in decolonization," Vice Speaker Therese Terlaje, D-Yona, said to committee chair Rafael Darío Ramírez Carreño.
The delegates said collectively that the U.S. has taken little to no action to assist. Recent events, including two federal lawsuits and movement towards a new Marine Corps Base on Guam, have once again put a strain on the island's right to self-determination.
LisaLinda Natividad, member-at-large for the Guam Commission on Decolonization, said the people of Guam have come to the U.N. for four generations to make the same request, yet that request hasn't been fulfilled.
With Guam's current political climate, Natividad said it is crucial for the U.N. to use its influences to force engagement from the U.S. for Guam's decolonization. In unity, the delegates asked the U.N. to intervene and to conduct a visiting mission to Guam.
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