110 



COMMONWEALTH OF 



THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS 



Statement of Jesus C. Borja 



June 1, 1995 



The citizens of the Commonwealth are not represented in the 

 United States House of Representatives or the United States Sen- 

 ate, nor are they permitted to vote in national elections. Con- 

 sequently, under international law, the people of the Northern 

 Mariana Islands are vested with ownership and beneficial inter- 

 ests in and primary jurisdiction over the resources of the terri- 

 torial sea and the exclusive economic zone adjacent to the Commo- 

 nwealth. 



THE MAGNUSON ACT 



In 1976, three weeks after the Covenant came into effect, 

 Congress enacted the Magnuson Act. The Act did not apply to the 

 Northern Mariana Islands. The legislative history of that enact- 

 ment made clear that the Act did not apply to the Trust Territory 



of the Pacific Islands, of which the Northern Marianas remained a 



21 

 part. In 1978, however, provisions of the Covenant making cer- 

 tain federal laws applicable to the Northern Marianas came into 

 effect. The Department of State advised U.S. embassies overseas 

 that the Magnuson Act was one of those laws that had become ap- 



21 House Report 94-445, at 49 (1976). 



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