never again discriminate against citizens because they are unable to speak English. Our Constitution guarantees full citizens rights to people of different cultures, be they Chinese in San Francisco, Mexican-Americans in El Paso, or Puerto Ricans in San Juan.

My Party's Platform, on which I ran for the Presidency, clearly states the recognition of Puerto Rico's right to political self-determination. I fully subscribe to and support this expressed right, whatever your choice may be.

Dept. of State File No. P78 0012-1123.

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On January 14, 1977, President Gerald R. Ford submitted to the Congress the Puerto Rico Statehood Act of 1977, which would "extend to the people of Puerto Rico the opportunity to achieve the status of statehood if they should so desire." It was introduced on January 14, 1977, as H.R. 2201. President Ford's letter transmitting the proposed bill outlined the steps necessary under it for Puerto Rico to attain statehood:

First, Congress would establish a joint U.S.-Puerto Rico Commission to enable the people of Puerto Rico to participate effectively in determining the terms and conditions for Puerto Rico's proposed admission to statehood . .

Second, Congress, after receiving the Commission Report, would set the terms and conditions of statehood.

Third, the Act provides for an island-wide referendum among the people of Puerto Rico on whether the Commonwealth should become a State.

Fourth, the Act proposes that if the referendum passes, delegates to a constitutional convention will meet to frame a constitution for the proposed State.

Fifth, the new constitution would be presented to the people of Puerto Rico for ratification.

Sixth, the proposed State constitution, if ratified, would be submitted to the President of the United States and to Congress for approval.

Seventh, upon approval of the proposed constitution, the voters of Puerto Rico would elect two Senators and five Members of the House of Representatives.

Eighth, the Governor of Puerto Rico would certify the results of the election to the President, and the President would proclaim Puerto Rico a State.

13 Weekly Comp. of Pres. Doc. 45 (Jan. 20, 1977).

The duties of the proposed joint U.S.-Puerto Rico Commission, which would be composed of five members appointed by the President of the United States and five members appointed by the Governor of

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Puerto Rico, would include studies and discussions of the following subjects:

(a) the economic issues that relate to the status of statehood for Puerto Rico;

(b) the jurisdictional limits of Puerto Rico, including rights or interests to the natural resources therein;

(c) the effect of any necessary changes in internal revenue laws that may be or become applicable to Puerto Rico, including levels of revenue sharing, customs and duty collections and related questions: (d) fair labor standards, health, welfare, social services, and education;

(e) questions of a cultural nature, including the use of Spanish as the official language of the State;

(f) possible transfer of Federal real or personal property to Puerto Rico; and

(g) the general question of the applicability of the United States Constitution and Federal laws to Puerto Rico.

The bill would require the Commission to submit a final report within 18 to 30 months to the President, the Congress, and the Governor of Puerto Rico. Within 90 days of this submission, the President and the Congress would determine whether the report required further modification of the proposed bill or other action.

Within 375 days after receipt of the report, the Governor would be required to call for a referendum on the following proposition: "Shall Puerto Rico be admitted into the Union as a State?" If this proposition were to be adopted by a majority of the qualified electors of Puerto Rico, a constitutional convention provided for in the bill would adopt the Constitution of the United States and frame a constitution for a State Government for Puerto Rico. This State constitution would then have to be submitted to the people of Puerto Rico for ratification at an election and then to the President and the Congress for approval. The total time period required for the process to be completed would be between 40 and 70 months subsequent to the passage of the bill.

H.R. 2201, 95th Cong., 1st Sess. (1977).

On May 16, 1977, James F. Leonard, Deputy U.S. Representative to the United Nations, responded to the May 5, 1977, letter of Sami Glayel, Rapporteur of the U.N. Committee of Twenty-four on Decolonization, requesting the views of the U.S. Government on selfdetermination with regard to Puerto Rico. Ambassador Leonard's letter appears in part below:

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United States policy on Puerto Rico is based on complete acceptance of the right of the people of Puerto Rico to self-determination. The people of Puerto Rico exercised this right in approving Com

monwealth status and their own Constitution in 1952. They reaffirmed that choice in a status referendum in 1967, in which 60.41 percent voted for Commonwealth status, 38.98 percent voted for statehood and 0.60 percent voted for independence.

In 1953 the United Nations General Assembly explicitly recognized the self-governing status of Puerto Rico and agreed to the removal of Puerto Rico from the list of non-self-governing territories by adopting Resolution 748 (VIII). The General Assembly reaffirmed that decision in 1971 when it rejected an attempt to inscribe an item concerning Puerto Rico on the agenda of its twentysixth session. The people of Puerto Rico regularly participate in free and open elections, the most recent of which occurred in November 1976. In that election the candidate of the principal opposition party was elected Governor, while the combined vote of the two parties supporting independence was only 6 percent.

The United States has often made clear that the question of the status of Puerto Rico is an internal affair of the people of Puerto Rico and the United States. President Carter has stated that he will support whatever status the people of Puerto Rico wish, but that the initiative for any change should come from them. In view of the self-governing status of Puerto Rico, and the fact that the nature of its relationship with the United States is based on the free expression of the will of the Puerto Rican people, the U.S. Government regards discussion of Puerto Rico's status in international forums, particularly in forums which deal with colonial issues, as inappropriate.

Dept. of State File No. P77 0152-2238.

The formal title of the Committee of Twenty-four is the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.

Virgin Islands

On September 13, 1977, Ambassador Donald F. McHenry made a statement in the Committee of Twenty-four on Decolonization during the Committee's consideration of the report of the Visiting Mission which went to the Virgin Islands in 1977. Ambassador McHenry discussed U.S. obligations regarding non-self-governing territories pursuant to article 73 of the U.N. Charter and emphasized the respect the U.S. Government holds for the right of self-determination. Ambassador McHenry also outlined recent U.S. legislation permitting the Territorial Legislature of the Virgin Islands to call a constitutional convention, various political and social advancements of the people of the Virgin Islands, and the willingness of the U.S. Government to study the Visiting Mission's conclusions and recommendations. Portions of Ambassador McHenry's statement follow:

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The report. . . clearly reflect[s] the commitment of the United States to faithfully and fully comply with its obligations pursuant to article 73 of the Charter of the United Nations.

Consistent with those obligations, the United States Government has regularly transmitted information pursuant to article 73 (e) of the Charter to the Secretary-General and has always cooperated with the work of the Committee regarding the U.S. Virgin Islands. This year, for the first time, we invited a U.N. Visiting Mission to visit the territory.

Equally consistent with our obligations we respect the right of selfdetermination. We believe, however, that independence is but one of the possible outcomes of self-determination. We find it significant in the case of the Virgin Islands the Visiting Mission report documents that "no desire was expressed by the people of the Territory in favor of independence." That is an observation of today and has nothing to do with the future.

The Mission's report carefully documents the advanced state of the development of the institutions of self-government in the Virgin Islands. The people of the Territory elect their own governor on the basis of universal adult sufferage. He is responsible for the administration of all activities of the executive branch of government, the appointment and removal of all officers and employees of that branch, the execution of Federal and local laws, including applicable provisions of the U.S. Constitution, and he can recommend and veto legislation. The people of the U.S. Virgin Islands also elect a 15-member unicameral legislature and a delegate to the United States House of Representatives. Judicial power in the Territory is vested in a Territorial Court, whose members are appointed by the governor, and a United States District Court.

A recent important constitutional development . . . is the bill signed into law by the President of the United States in October 1976 permitting the Territorial Legislature to call a convention to draft a constitution for the Territory. The Territorial Legislature has since adopted such a bill, and the governor has approved it, a bill calling for the election of members to a Constitutional Convention and the convening of the Convention in October of this year.

The commitment of the Government of the Virgin Islands to encouraging local cultural development can be seen in its support of the Virgin Islands' Council on the Arts, as well as by direct subsidies to specific expressions of local culture, including televising local cultural activities by the Government-owned television station. We were particularly pleased that the Mission was able to extend its stay in the Virgin Islands to participate in its Carnival, one of the richest and most distinctive manifestations of the vital and varied local culture.

These developments have taken place within the context of a broad range of efforts designed to promote the political, economic, and social and educational advancement of the people of the Virgin Islands. Additional progress in some of these areas is still required. In the case of economic development that progress is complicated by a lack of natural resources and a shortage of land suitable for agricultural development. However, overall, the citizens of the Virgin Islands enjoy a very high standard of living and high standards of health care, education, housing and a broad range of social services. These closely approximate those standards enjoyed by their fellow

citizens on the mainland and compare very favorably with the rest of the Caribbean.

There is room for improvement. One of the important services that the U.N. Visiting Mission has performed is its detailed and comprehensive report which will highlight some of the areas where greater effort is required.

My Government derives particular pride and satisfaction at the Mission's perceptions of the democratic processes and freedoms which prevail in the Virgin Islands. As citizens of the United States the people of the U.S. Virgin Islands are entitled to and enjoy the First Amendment guarantees which are the underpinning for our democratic institutions and way of life. These include freedom of speech, of assembly, and a free press. The exercise of those freedoms was clear throughout the Mission's visit and, I believe, its report reflects that view. The public meeting which the Mission held provided opportunities for the free expression of views covering a wide spectrum from sharp criticism to open admiration of government policies. That there was no hint of reticence or inhibition in expressing such views, we believe, demonstrate the openness of political discourse in the Territory and the attachment of its citizens to democratic processes.

While there are occasional points of detail and emphasis with which we might disagree, the report, we believe, is in general accurate, balanced and objective. .

Concerning the Visiting Mission's conclusions and recommendations, I wish to assure . . . this Committee that my Government will study them with great care. The United States remains committed to the principle that the status of the Territory should accord to the freely-expressed wishes of the local people. The people of the Virgin Islands are aware of the range of possibilities and they are free to express their preference without hesitation.

The people of the Territory have already, we believe, access to the Federal Government in order to express their views on this matter or other matters of importance to them. We do not believe it is necessary at this time to establish additional mechanisms for them to express their views. The United States Government remains dedicated to furthering the political, economic, social and educational progress and the well being of the people consistent with our obligations under the United Nations Charter.

Press Release USUN-62 (77), Sept. 14, 1977.

For information concerning the U.S. legislation permitting the Territorial Legislature of the Virgin Islands to call a constitutional convention, P.L. 94-584, 90 Stat. 2899, 48 U.S.C. 1391 note, see the 1976 Digest, Ch. 2, § 5, pp. 53-54.

The U.N. Document number for the Report of the U.N. Visiting Mission to the United States Virgin Islands, 1977, is A/AC.109/L.1198.

Art. 73 of the U.N. Charter reads as follows:

Article 73

Members of the United Nations which have or assume responsibilities for the administration of territories whose peoples have not yet attained a full measure of self-government recognize the principle that the interests of the