While nearly 70 percent of Puerto Rico remains without power six weeks after Hurricane Maria devastated the island, eleven United Nations human rights experts have issued a joint statement decrying the “absence of adequate emergency response” by the United States.

“We can’t fail to note the dissimilar urgency and priority given to the emergency response in Puerto Rico, compared to the U.S. states affected by hurricanes in recent months.”
—Leilani Farha, United Nations”Thousands of people are displaced, with homes destroyed, and without any relief in sight,” the experts noted. “More than 80 percent of the population, or close to 2.8 million people, continue to live without electricity. Few hospitals are functioning. There are allegations that the water available—for those who have access to it—may be contaminated.”

“With winter approaching, we call for a speedy and well-resourced emergency response that prioritizes the most vulnerable and at risk—children, older people, people with disabilities, women, and homeless people,” they declared.

In the wake of the storm, a spotlight has been shone on the commonwealth’s complex colonial history with the United States. Many, such as the ACLU’s Gabriela Meléndez Olivera, have argued that “the American citizens living in Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories” are regarded as “second-class citizens,” and “the Trump administration and Congress’ lack of adequate action to provide aid to the island is a modern-day reflection of that second-class status.”

Considering the ongoing recovery efforts in Texas and—to a lesser degree—Florida, which were also hit by storms during this year’s hurricane season, the U.N.’s special rapporteur on the right to housing, Leilani Farha, said: “We can’t fail to note the dissimilar urgency and priority given to the emergency response in Puerto Rico, compared to the U.S. states affected by hurricanes in recent months.”