Statement to the United Nations: Exercising Religious Liberty in Support of the First Amendment Right of Protest | Audit Deaths and Debt

Puerto Ricans’ First Amendment Right to Protest

As Rev. Dr. King said, protest is the cry of the unheard, and what we witnessed during the overwhelmingly peaceful “MayDay” protests in Puerto Rico was an militarized response that threatens the first amendment rights of Puerto Ricans. As faith leaders, we put to use our religious liberty to support Puerto Ricans’ first amendment right to protest against government austerity. We oppose the militarization of policing that we witnessed during the “MayDay” protests in Puerto Rico. We see the damage the militarization of police has had in America and we will not stand as idle witnesses when it emerges in Puerto Rico. 

Audit the Deaths and the Debt

Since Congress has failed to secure the human rights of the Puerto Rican people, we make our request to the United Nations to conduct the following audits:

• A human rights audit in Puerto Rico to probe what led to this vast undercount of deaths after Hurricane Maria.  Initially the NYTimes reported the Official Toll in Puerto Rico: 64, Actual Deaths may be 1,052).  Now we have substantial evidence published initially in The Washington Post:  Harvard Study estimates thousands died in Puerto Rico because of Hurricane Maria. 
• A fiscal audit the $74+ billion Puerto Rican debt, including excessive, unethical and usurious fees that should be rescinded from the balance of the debt. A recent investigative journalism series published by NPR and the PBS Frontline conclude: Wall Street kept pushing the Puerto Rican government's loans even as the island teetered on default, with a zeal that bank insiders are now describing with words like "unethical" and "immoral."

We request that the United Nations hosts a forum on human rights in Puerto Rico by the government of the United States.