Requires the President, in order to promote the development of human and material resources for UN peacekeeping operations as recommended by the August 2000 Report of the Panel on UN Peace Operations (Brahimi Report), to: (1) direct the Secretary of State and the U.S. representative to the UN to encourage UN member nations to enter into partnerships with one another to form Rapid Deployment Brigades which could develop operational capabilities to fully deploy peacekeeping operations within a specified time; and (2) direct the Secretary of Defense to study the advisability of and feasibility of using interim combat brigade teams as part of the Rapid Deployment Brigades.
[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 938 Introduced in House (IH)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 938
To enhance the capability of the United Nations to rapidly respond to
emerging crises.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 8, 2001
Mr. McGovern (for himself, Mr. Houghton, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Ms.
Pelosi, Mr. Frank, and Ms. Millender-McDonald) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To enhance the capability of the United Nations to rapidly respond to
emerging crises.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``United Nations Rapid Deployment Act
of 2001''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) The December 1999 United Nations ``Report on the
Independent Inquiry into the Actions of the United Nations
During the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda'' indicates that in April
1994, the United Nations Security Council failed to deploy
5,500 United Nations peacekeepers to Rwanda within two weeks of
the initial violence, thereby allowing the conflict to
escalate. The six-month estimated cost of the deployment would
have been $115,000,000. Instead, the genocide consumed 800,000
lives along with $2,000,000,000 in humanitarian aid.
(2) The April 2000 report of the United Nations Secretary
General, ``We the Peoples, The Role of the United Nations in
the 21st Century'', states that only member nations of the
United Nations can fix the structural weakness of United
Nations peace operations. The report compares the current
system for launching peacekeeping operations to a volunteer
fire department that has to find fire engines and the funds to
run them before starting to douse any flames. The present
United Nations system relies almost entirely on last minute, ad
hoc arrangements that guarantee delay, with respect to the
provision of civilian personnel even more so than military
personnel. Availability and readiness of forces is very
unpredictable and constraints on resources preclude rapid
deployment.
(3) In August 2000, the specially-appointed panel on United
Nations Peace Operations issued its findings. Known as the
``Brahimi Report'' (A/55/305; S/2000/809), the report concludes
that ``few of the basic building blocks are in place for the
United Nations to rapidly acquire and deploy the human and
material resources required to mount any complex peace
operation in the future''. These building blocks include a
standing police corps, a reserve corps of mission leadership, a
sufficient stockpile of equipment, and arrangements for
recruitment of civilian personnel. Furthermore, the report
encourages member nations to enter partnerships with one
another in the context of the United Nations Stand-by
Arrangements System (UNSAS). These partnerships would form the
basis for Rapid Deployment Brigades (RDBs), which would develop
the operational capabilities to fully deploy ``traditional''
peacekeeping operations within 30 days of the adoption of an
authorizing Security Council resolution and to fully deploy
``complex'' peacekeeping operations within 90 days of the
adoption of an authorizing Security Council resolution.
(4) Former United States Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke,
speaking before the United Nations Security Council on November
15, 2000, stated that ``[u]nless we move decisively on
meaningful peacekeeping reform, those that threaten
peacekeepers across the globe may draw the conclusion that the
UN lacks the will, the cohesion and even the capability to
perform its essential peacekeeping function''.
(5) Both the nations of Europe and the United States have
recognized the value and need for rapidly deployable combat
units in response to a full spectrum of contingencies,
including peacekeeping and humanitarian operations, low-
intensity conflicts, and full-scale warfare. The European Union
has proposed forming a standing police force and rapid
deployment brigades as part of the European Defense Force, and
in the United States, the Department of Defense is establishing
interim brigade combat teams as part of the overall Army
transformation strategy.
(6) The United States' veto power in the United Nations
Security Council gives it the capacity to halt the deployment
of United Nations forces if the deployment is not in the
national interests of the United States.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF A UNITED NATIONS RAPID DEPLOYMENT POLICE AND
SECURITY FORCE.
(a) Establishment.--The President shall direct the United States
representative to the United Nations to use the voice, vote, and
influence of the United States to urge the United Nations--
(1) to establish a United Nations Rapid Deployment Police
and Security Force (UNRDPSF) that--
(A) is rapidly deployable under the authority of
the United Nations Security Council;
(B) should be able to deploy within 15 days of a
United Nations Security Council resolution to establish
international peace operations;
(C) is limited to a maximum deployment of six
months for any given mission;
(D) should be deployed only when the United Nations
Security Council determines that violations of human
rights, breaches of the peace, or the failure to
restore the rule of law, requires rapid response to
ensure adherence to negotiated agreements to prevent or
end hostilities;
(E) should be composed of at least 6,000 volunteers
who train together and are appropriately equipped
expressly for international peace operations, including
civilian policing; and
(F) should be given the authority to protect
itself, execute negotiated peace accords, disarm
combatants, protect civilians, detain war criminals,
restore the rule of law, and to carry out other
purposes as detailed in United Nations Security Council
resolutions;
(2) to recruit personnel to serve in the Force; and
(3) to provide equitable and reliable funding for the
Force.
(b) Definition.--In this section, the term ``international peace
operations'' means any operation carried out under a United Nations
Security Council resolution.
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF RAPID DEPLOYMENT BRIGADES.
In order to promote the development of human and material resources
for United Nations peacekeeping operations as recommended by the August
2000 Report of the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations (A/55/305;
S/2000/809), commonly known as the ``Brahimi Report'', the President--
(1) shall direct the Secretary of State and the United
States representative to the United Nations to encourage the
member nations of the United Nations to enter into partnerships
with one another, in the context of the United Nations Stand-by
Arrangements System (UNSAS), to form the basis for Rapid
Deployment Brigades, which would develop the operational
capabilities to fully deploy ``traditional'' peacekeeping
operations within 30 days of the adoption of a Security Council
resolution and ``complex'' peacekeeping operations within 90
days of the adoption of a Security Council resolution; and
(2) shall direct the Secretary of Defense to undertake a
study, not later than six months after the date of the
enactment of this Act, to determine the advisability of and the
feasibility of using interim combat brigade teams as part of
Rapid Deployment Brigades as described in paragraph (1).
SEC. 5. REPORT ON UNITED NATIONS RAPID DEPLOYMENT.
Not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act,
the President shall prepare and transmit to the Congress a report on--
(1) the status of negotiations to establish a United
Nations Rapid Deployment Police and Security Force (UNRDPSF) in
accordance with section 3;
(2) the status of United States activities to encourage
member nations of the United Nations to establish Rapid
Deployment Brigades in accordance with section 4(1); and
(3) the results of the study conducted under section 4(2).
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on International Relations.
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