Boricuas Unidos en la Diáspora’s statement to the UN Special Committee on Decolonization underscored that political sovereignty is the key to solving Puerto Rico’s urgent problems.

Boricuas Unidos en la Diáspora (BUDPR) appeared before the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization on June 22, 2026, to demand immediate action from the UN and the international community that can advance Puerto Rico’s decolonization and sovereignty.

BUDPR board member Damara González, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker based in New York, delivered our organization’s petition during the Decolonization Committee’s annual session on Puerto Rico’s political status. “Puerto Ricans are a people, and this body was formed to represent the peoples of all nations. As such, we petition that you bring before the General Assembly the case for Puerto Rico’s independence," said González.

Watch our statement to the UN here.

Boricuas Unidos en la Diáspora was honored to join dozens of other Puerto Rican leaders and organizations, from the archipelago and from the United States, in raising the alarm about Puerto Rico’s current crises and the urgency of decolonization.

“Every day thousands of Puerto Ricans go without water and electricity in their homes and workplaces. Citizens are unable to adequately bathe, prepare meals, and store medicine,” said González. “If the United Nations is to live up to its charter of affirming human rights and promoting social progress, it must move to mitigate these ongoing crises by first addressing their root cause, the United States’ colonial rule over Puerto Rico.”

This is the sixth consecutive year that BUDPR has petitioned the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization as part of a broad-based political strategy to advance Puerto Rico’s independence. Our organization will continue to engage with international organizations and with U.S. political leaders to educate policymakers and the public about Puerto Rico’s colonial status, and about sovereignty as a just and viable outcome. BUDPR has endorsed several pro-independence candidates for federal office in the 2026 midterm elections, and has published a Puerto Rican Declaration of Independence to measure and gather support for Puerto Rico’s sovereignty on the 250th anniversary of American independence.