States that the United States remains committed to the creation of a new Human Rights Council to replace the discredited United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC).
Urges the President and the governments of other U.N. member countries to continue with negotiations for the creation of a Human Rights Council.
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that a credible Human Rights Council would: (1) establish membership criteria that would exclude the worst human rights abusers, including exclusion of member countries subject to U.N. Security Council sanctions; (2) include Israel's full participation; (3) set a size limit consistent with ensuring that only countries that respect human rights are members of the primary U.N. human rights body; (4) exclude any provision that prevents the consecutive election of member countries to the Council; and (5) utilize a formula for the distribution of membership among U.N. member countries that gives priority to countries that respect human rights, while also giving consideration to geographical distribution, the representation of different forms of civilization, and the principal legal systems.
[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 714 Introduced in House (IH)]
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 714
Urging the replacement of the United Nations Human Rights Commission
with a new Human Rights Council.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 8, 2006
Ms. Harris submitted the following resolution; which was referred to
the Committee on International Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Urging the replacement of the United Nations Human Rights Commission
with a new Human Rights Council.
Whereas the United Nations Human Rights Commission (referred to in this
Resolution as the ``UNHRC'') has lost its credibility as an instrument
for the promotion and protection of human rights and has instead allowed
repressive regimes to shield themselves from criticism for their human
rights violations;
Whereas the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, has
acknowledged that ``the Commission's declining credibility has cast a
shadow on the reputation of the United Nations system'';
Whereas the primary deficiency of the UNHRC is directly related to its
membership, as many members have serious deficiencies concerning
commitments to democracy and human rights, according to the Country
Reports of Human Rights Practices of the Department of State;
Whereas the lack of membership criteria of the UNHRC hinders efforts to filter
out from membership countries with poor human rights records;
Whereas the UNHRC spends a disproportionate amount of time vilifying Israel but
fails to direct such sustained criticism at countries engaged in the
systematic abuse of human rights;
Whereas 30 percent of all country-specific resolutions of the UNHRC critical of
human rights have been directed at Israel, but none against China,
Syria, or Zimbabwe;
Whereas the UNHRC has consistently failed to take decisive action against Member
States implicated in severe violations of human rights, as evidenced by
the fact that the UNHRC held a special sitting to criticize Israel
regarding the death of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, yet the UNHRC
has only ever held five special emergency sessions in its history, with
the last special session in 2000, about Israel, and the UNHRC has never
held a special session on Sudan despite the millions of deaths in that
country over the past two decades;
Whereas the UNHRC meets for only six weeks each year, providing insufficient
time to review and take action against countries with the most flagrant
human rights violations;
Whereas Israel has been consistently discriminated against by being denied full
participatory rights in regional group meetings associated with the
operation of the UNHRC, while non-members of the United Nations, such as
the Holy See and the Palestinian observer, participate in these
meetings;
Whereas the overwhelming failures of the UNHRC led to an international consensus
that it must be abolished and replaced with a new Human Rights Council;
and
Whereas efforts by the United States and other committed democracies to carry
out the mandate of the United Nations Summit Outcome Document to create
a new and credible Human Rights Council have been strongly opposed by
human rights abusers: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That--
(1) the House of Representatives is strongly committed to
the creation of a new Human Rights Council to replace the
discredited Untied Nations Human Rights Commission, and the
proposal for such Council should include assures regarding the
integrity of its membership and provisions for a forceful
mandate for action;
(2) the House of Representatives urges the President to use
the present opportunity that has been granted by the
international recognition of the need to replace the current
UNHRC with a new Human Rights Council and to refrain from
supporting any proposal for such a Council that would result in
either only cosmetic changes or changes that would even further
degrade the membership or mandate of the current UNHRC;
(3) the House of Representatives urges the President and
the government of other Member States of the United Nations to
continue with negotiations for the creation of a Human Rights
Council that is a credible human rights institution; and
(4) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that an
acceptable proposal for a Human Rights Council should--
(A) establish criteria for membership that would
serve to exclude those countries that are the worst
human rights abusers, and such criteria should include
the automatic exclusion of Member States that are
subject to United Nations Security Council sanctions;
(B) include a provision allowing full
participations by Israel in all operations associated
with the Human Rights Council;
(C) set a size limit that is consistent with the
goal of ensuring that only countries that respect human
rights are members of the Human Rights Council or other
primary human rights body of the United Nations;
(D) establish a human rights review requirement
that is tied to a mandatory outcome and takes place
prior to elections for membership;
(E) exclude any provision that prevents the
consecutive election of countries to the Human Rights
Council; and
(F) utilize a formula for the distribution of
membership among United Nations Member States that
respect human rights, while also giving consideration
to geographical distribution, the representation of
different forms of civilization, and the principle
legal systems.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on International Relations.
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