In 1898, Puerto Rico was invaded by the United States and has been held by the U.S. in the form of a colony ever since.

In response to international pressure, in 1952, the U.S. established the "Free Associated State" status for Puerto Rico but continued to claim that Puerto Rico belongs to, yet is not a part of, the United States.

The root of the crisis is the colonial status of Puerto Rico as echoed in the UN Decolonization committee resolution on Puerto Rico adopted on June 22, 2015. The resolution states that the condition of political subordination prevents Puerto Rico from making sovereign decisions to attend to its serious economic and social problems including unemployment, marginalization and poverty (Olga Sanabria Davila, Crisis and Colonialism in Puerto Rico, 10/26/15).

We should support the right of the people of Puerto Rico to self-determination and independence in conformity with United Nations Resolution 1514(XV) of 1960. We should call for the release of all Puerto Rican political prisoners, such as Oscar Lopez Rivera, who has been held in U.S. prisons since 1981.

We need to call for the appropriate environmental clean-up and sustainable development of Vieques, the island that was used as a firing range by the U.S. military.

We should oppose the recruitment of the youth of Puerto Rico into the U.S. armed forces and their deployment to U.S. wars abroad by denouncing the recruitment attempts at educational institutions.