The Compacts of Free Association for the Republic of the
Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia
have been initialed and submitted to Congress for approval.
But they have not yet been approved by Congress.

The Palauan Compact has not been submitted to Congress
because the United States objects to a section of the
Palauan Constitution which declares their territory a
nuclear-free zone. That constitutional proviso conflicts with
the terms of the proposed Compact of Free Association, and
the United States has demanded that it be repealed. The
United States has taken the position that unless the
offending language in the Palauan Constitution is stricken,
the United States would seek to negotiate full
independence for the Republic of Palau.

The Compacts of Free Association must be approved by the
Micronesian peoples, by the Congress of the United States
and by the Security Council of the United Nations.

WHAT IS A COMPACT OF FEDERAL RELATIONS?
A. In the context of Resolution No. 1132, a Compact of
Federal Relations is a legally binding agreement between
the Virgin Islands and the United States of America which
details in precise terms the nature of the relationship that
exists between the people of the Virgin Islands and the
United States.

Presently, the Virgin Islands-United States relationship is
based on the Revised Organic Act of 1954, a document
over which the people of the Virgin Islands have no control,
and which may be unilaterally amended or modified by the
United States Congress. The Organic Act, in reality, is a
classic territorial document. By contrast, a Compact of
Federal Relations negotiated at the behest of the Virgin
Islands will be subject to modification only by mutual
consent of the Virgin Islands and the United States.

WHAT WOULD THE VIRGIN ISLANDS BE CALLED
UNDER A "COMPACT OF FEDERAL RELATIONS?"
A. The people of the Virgin Islands, through such a Compact
of Federal Relations, or by the terms of their constitution,
would be free to determine what label should be applied to
the Virgin Islands body politic. It is necessary to understand,
however, that labels are matters of form, and as such, are
really unimportant. What are important are matters of