United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization Regional Seminar
Since the 1990s, the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization has been organizing regional seminars, alternately in the Caribbean and the Pacific, to review the progress achieved in the implementation of the Plan of Action for the International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism.
The seminars seek to enable the Special Committee to obtain the views of representatives of the Non-Self-Governing Territories, experts, members of civil society and other stakeholders in the process of decolonization that can assist the Special Committee in identifying policy approaches and practical ways that can be pursued in the United Nations decolonization process.
These are the testimonies given by the representatives and experts from Guam over the years.
2017 Regional Seminar Testimony by Michael Bevacqua
2017 Regional Seminar Testimony by Amanda Blas
2016 Regional Seminar Testimony by Michael Bevacqua
2016 Regional Seminar Testimony by Ed Alvarez
2015 Regional Seminar Testimony by Michael Bevacqua
2015 Regional Seminar Testimony by Ed Alvarez
2014 Regional Seminar Testimony by Ed Alvarez
2013 Regional Seminar Testimony by Michael Bevacqua
2013 Regional Seminar Testimony by Ed Alvarez
2012 Regional Seminar Testimony by Lisalinda Natividad
2012 Regional Seminar Testimony by Ed Alvarez
2011 Regional Seminar Testimony by Ron Mcninch Su
2011 Regional Seminar Testimony by Ed Alvarez
2010 Regional Seminar Testimony by Hope Cristobal
2008 Regional Seminar Testimony by Hope Cristobal
Article - Status change lacks legs to stand - Trudeau, Garry
Article - Statehood is first step for Guam - Vitkovitssky, Oleh
Article - Plebiscite pushed to 2002 - Limtiaco, Steve
Article - End the stalling and register Plebiscite voters - Murphy, Joe
Article - Decolonization Stagnation - Bevacqua, Michael
Article - Citizenship proof needed to register - Limtiaco, Steve
Article - Activists quiet about lack of Plebiscite - Murphy, Joe
Article - Who is Chamorro - Loerzel, Adrienne
Article - Where's education campaign for vote on political status
Article - Voters must balance dreams, realities of status plebiscite - Duque, Pat
Article - Study U.S. territorial history, forget about Guam statehood - Statham
Article - Status voters need citizenship lowdown - Murphy, Joe
Article - Status vote will drive away investors - Ysrael, Alfred
Article - Status forum helps clear up plebiscite for Sanchez teens - Aguon, Julie
Article - Statehood is the best option - Duenas, Eddie
Article - Show me constitution before I make choice - del Rosario, Eddie, MPH
Article - Should lawmakers postpone the status plebiscite until Nov 7 - Kang, Sunmi
Article - Senators iron out plebiscite issues - Limtiaco, Steve
Article - Senators continue work on status-vote measure - Jojola, Lloyd
Article - Self-determination forum at UOG
Article - Self government_Is it time for Guam to write its own constitution
Article - Sef-determination ads should focus on the past as lessons for the future - Flores, Jayne
Article - Road to freedom is never lined with roses - Pocaigue, Ed
Article - Right to self-determination fulfills promise made to Chamorro people - Howard, Chris
Article - Results of status plebiscite can be repealed at any time - Perez, Jesus
Article - Reasoning against statehood for the island was obnoxious - Duenas, Eddie
Article - Questions of race will skew Chamorro data - Cruz, Manuel
Article - Plebiscite's all about cold, hard federal cash - Murphy, Joe
Article - Plebiscite may help island secure its fate - De Rosas, Romeo
Article - Plebiscite delay predicted - Limtiaco, Steve
Article - Plebiscite consciousness will lead to public debate, decision - Rivera, Ron
Article - Our quest for Commonwealth -
Article - Options confuse voters - Loerzel, Adrienne
Article - Officials seek to define Chamorro as political group - Loerzel, Adrienne
Article - Nutty professor missed mark on plebiscite - San Nicolas, Michael
Article - Not everyone qualifies as colonized people - Laguana, Ronald
Article - Non-Chamorros have no rights to plebiscite - Inman, Todd
Article - Non-Chamorro voting block threatening - McCandless, Alex
Article - No status for Guam, no constitution - Cristobal, Hope
Article - New rules, delay of plebiscite must be acted on soon -
Article - Longing for Guam independence - Pocaigue, Ed
Article - July 1 plebiscite to determine survival - Trudeau, Garry
Article - Interior OKs compact-impact funding - Sablan, Jerick Part I
Article - Interior OKs compact-impact funding - Sablan, Jerick Part II
Article - Interior OKs compact-impact funding - Sablan, Jerick Part III
Article - Immigration control, independence tied - Mulroy
Article - History is reason enough for statehood - Chanco, Ed
Article - Guam should imitate Canadian constitution
Article - Free association meets Guam, federal needs - Freitas, Erin
Article - Essay contest focuses on Plebiscite - Loerzel, Adrienne
Article - Election law reform bill sent back to committee - Taitano, Zita Part I
Article - Election law reform bill sent back to committee - Taitano, Zita Part II
Article - Election law reform bill sent back to committee - Taitano, Zita Part III
Article - Election law reform bill sent back to committee - Taitano, Zita Part IV
Article - Election law reform bill sent back to committee - Taitano, Zita Part V
Article - Election law reform bill sent back to committee - Taitano, Zita Part VI
Article - Decolonization registry sign-up at Micronesian Island Fair Part I
Article - Decolonization registry sign-up at Micronesian Island Fair Part II
Article - Decolonization registry sign-up at Micronesian Island Fair Part III
Article - Decolonization registry sign-up at Micronesian Island Fair Part IV
Article - Decolonization registry sign-up at Micronesian Island Fair Part V
Article - Contradictions weaken argument against plebiscite - Benavente, Ed
Article - Commonwealth should be an option - Dauterman, F.P.
Article - Citizens want more facts Loerzel, Adrienne
Article - Chamorro voters need concrete data to weigh options
Article - Chamorro vote is coming; where's the education program -
Article - Chamorro only status vote is about equity - Cristobal, Hope
Article - Chamorro definition a major hurdle - Murphy, Joe
Article - Board_Postpone vote - Limtiaco, Steve
Article - Board_July 1 is too soon - Limtiaco, Steve
Article - Be proud-- protect your Chamorro rights - Garrido, Vicente
Article - Angel Santos should use political skill in his fight for landowners rights - Flores, Jayne
Article - Administration blase on political status - Perez, Joaquin
Article - Above all, define Guam's Political status - Jose, Manuel
Article - 2 plebiscite solution should be considered - Cruz, John
The following documents are available at the N. M. Flores Memorial Public Library in Hagatña:
The Guam Decolonization Registry PL 25-106
The Chamorro Registry, PL 23-130
Rice v. Cayetano, Governor of Hawaii, No. 98-818, United States Supreme Court
Decolonization. Senator Vicente (Ben) Pangelinan
Publication - CHAMORRO TRIBE - Schaecher, Davis, Hart, Matanane, Guthertz, Pieper (2009)
Laws
3 GCA Ch. 3 - Voters Registration
3 GCA Ch. 9 - Conduct of Election
3 GCA Ch. 21 - Decolonization registry
P.L. 23-147 (SB 765 (LS) Part I
P.L. 23-147 (SB 765 (LS) Part II
P.L. 29-116 (SBill No. 383 LS)
P.L. 30-102 (Bill No. 184-30 COR) Part I
P.L. 30-102 (Bill No. 184-30 COR) Part II
P.L. 30-102 (Bill No. 184-30 COR) Part III
P.L. 31-92 (SBill No. 154-31) Part I
P.L. 31-92 (SBill No. 154-31) Part II
P.L. 31-92 (SBill No. 154-31) Part III
P.L. 31-92 (SBill No. 154-31) Part IV
Others
Letter-to-President-Obama-Regarding-Guam
Memorandum - Decolonization Information Campaign - Commission on Decolonization (2000)
Motion to Dismiss - Davis v. Guam
Press Release - Decolonization news and letter to President Obama (2011)
United Nations Statement-Mr. Edward Alvarez Part I
United Nations Statement-Mr. Edward Alvarez Part II
Messages_and_communication_Davis_v_Guam Part I
Description: Summarizes the answers to the closed-ended (multiple-choice) questions, and provides the written responses to open-ended (free response) questions.
Guåhan Survey - Community Report
Description: Summarizes the answers to the closed-ended (multiple-choice) questions, but does not include written responses to open-ended (free response) questions.
Guåhan Survey - Diaspora Report
Description: Summarizes the answers to the closed-ended (multiple-choice) questions only, and includes responses by Chamorus who “explicitly denied spending more than half the year in Guam” (i.e. the diaspora)
Description: Contains the survey questionnaire utilized within the survey.
The 2021 Guåhan Survey relied on nonrandom sampling methods, and does not provide a representative portrait of the CHamoru population in Guåhan. As a research project, it is NOT a substitute for a formal exercise of CHamoru self-determination in Guåhan, and is NOT a formal vote on CHamoru political preferences for Guåhan’s political status. Its insights are only relevant for generating more research and dialogue about the politics of decolonization in Guåhan.
The 2021 Guåhan Survey team is not formally affiliated with federal, state, or local governments, think tanks, media outlets, or any special interest groups. This project was funded by the MIT BCAP Fund, the MIT Center for International Studies, and MIT Priscilla King Gray Public Service Center, and received ethical approval from the Institutional Review Boards of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Reference No. E-3336), Hawai’i Pacific University (Reference No. 56042021031), and the University of Guam (Reference No.: 21-98).
If you are CHamoru and interested in working with the 2021 Guåhan Survey data or interested in conducting similar research on decolonization in Guåhan, feel free to reach out to Kevin Lujan Lee via the Commission on Decolonization at guamcod@guam.gov.