IV
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 437
To reaffirm the commitment of the United States to help Guam achieve
full self-governance, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 25, 2000
Mr. UNDERWOOD submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on Resources
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
To reaffirm the commitment of the United States to help
Guam achieve full self-governance, and for other purposes.
Whereas the Chamorro people of Guam lived in relative peace
and obscurity for centuries before the European discovery
of Guam by Ferdinand Magellan on March 6, 1521;
Whereas following such discovery Guam was used as a port
of call to resupply the ships of many explorers and adven-
turers, and became a regular stopping place for Spanish
galleons voyaging from Mexico to the Philippines;
Whereas Miguel Lopez de Legazpi claimed Guam as a royal
possession of Spain for King Phillip II on January 26,
1565;
•HCON 437 IH
Whereas the Chamorro people of Guam became subject to
236 years of Spanish colonial rule beginning with the ar-
rival of Jesuit missionaries in 1662;
Whereas the United States and Spain signed the Treaty of
Paris on December 10, 1898, which ended the Spanish-
American War and ceded Guam from Spain to the
United States;
Whereas Article IX of the Treaty of Paris provided that the
United States Congress shall determine the civil rights
and political status of the Chamorro people of Guam;
Whereas Guam was placed under the control of the Depart-
ment of the Navy on December 23, 1898;
Whereas Guam remained under temporary Naval authority,
a form of United States colonial rule, for over half a cen-
tury, from 1898 to 1950;
Whereas Chapter XI of the United Nations Charter, the Dec-
laration Regarding Non-Self-Governing Territories, pro-
vided that member nations who have undertaken the ad-
ministrative responsibilities for peoples of territories who
have not yet attained a full measure of self-government
are to acknowledge and respect the interests and political
aspirations of these peoples and to assist them in the
progressive development of self-government and free po-
litical institutions;
Whereas in 1946 the United States, having responsibility for
Guam, listed Guam as a Non-Self-Governing Territory
with the United Nations and thereby became obligated to
assist Guam in its political, cultural, social, economic,
and educational advancement;
Whereas the General Assembly of the United Nations adopt-
ed Resolution 217, the Universal Declaration of Human
•HCON 437 IH
Rights, on December 10, 1948, and thereby proclaimed
the equal dignity and rights of all persons;
Whereas in 1950 the Organic Act of Guam (48 U.S.C. 1421
et seq.) established a civilian administration in Guam and
granted United States citizenship and limited self-govern-
ment to the Chamorro people of Guam;
Whereas the General Assembly of the United Nations adopt-
ed Resolution 1514 on December 14, 1960, and thereby
proclaimed the necessity of bringing a speedy and uncon-
ditional end to colonialism in all its forms;
Whereas Resolution 1514 declares that self-determination is
a right of all peoples, and that by virtue of that right all
peoples should be free to determine their political status
and pursue their cultural, social, and economic develop-
ment;
Whereas Resolution 1514 further requires that immediate
steps be taken to transfer all governmental powers to the
peoples of Non-Self-Governing Territories without condi-
tion or reservation and in accord with the freely ex-
pressed will and desire of such peoples;
Whereas the General Assembly of the United Nations adopt-
ed Resolution 1541 on December 15, 1960, and thereby
provided the principles that were to guide member na-
tions in determining their obligations under Chapter XI
of the United Nations Charter;
Whereas Resolution 1541 recognizes the concept of Non-Self-
Governing Territories as an evolutionary and progressive
step toward the attainment of full self-governance and re-
quires member nations to transmit to the United Nations
information regarding geographically separate and eth-
•HCON 437 IH
nically or culturally distinct Non-Self-Governing Terri-
tories, such as Guam;
Whereas Resolution 1541 provides that a Non-Self-Governing
Territory can attain full self-governance by emerging as
a sovereign independent state, by freely associating with
an independent state, or by integrating with an inde-
pendent state;
Whereas on January 5, 1997, the 23d Guam Legislature en-
acted Public Law 23–147, an Act to Create the Commis-
sion on Decolonization for the Implementation and Exer-
cise of Chamorro Self-Determination;
Whereas such Public Law 23–147 provides a mechanism by
which the Chamorro people of Guam may freely, intel-
ligently, and democratically determine their preference
for a future political relationship with the United States
by choosing independence, free association, or statehood;
Whereas the Chamorro people of Guam have struggled for
338 years, from 1662 to 2000, to survive historically, so-
cially, politically, and economically; and
Whereas Guam continues to be on the list of Non-Self-Gov-
erning Territories maintained by the United Nations de-
spite the efforts of the Chamorro people of Guam to se-
cure their inalienable right of self-determination: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That the Congress—
(1) recognizes that it has a duty to promote the
political development and advancement of Guam
under article IV, section 3, clause 2, of the Constitu-
tion of the United States, which provides: ‘‘The Con-
•HCON 437 IH
gress shall have the Power to dispose of and make
all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the
Territory or other Property belonging to the United
States’’;
(2) reaffirms its commitment to help Guam
achieve full self-governance, consistent with the obli-
gations of the United States under Chapter XI of
the United Nations Charter;
(3) aspires to eradicate colonialism and grant
the Chamorro people of Guam the right to self-de-
termination by 2010, consistent with United Nations
General Assembly Resolution 1514 (December 14,
1960);
(4) continues to support and respect human
rights, consistent with United Nations General As-
sembly Resolution 217 (December 10, 1948); and
(5) urges the President to also reaffirm the
commitment of the United States to help Guam
achieve full self-governance and to grant the
Chamorro people of Guam the right to self-deter-
mination by 2010.
Æ