H.Res. 213 — Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that a United Nations Emergency Peace Service capable of intervening in the early stages of a humanitarian crisis could save millions of lives, billions of dollars, and is in the interests of the United States.

[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 213 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 213

  Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that a United 
  Nations Emergency Peace Service capable of intervening in the early 
stages of a humanitarian crisis could save millions of lives, billions 
       of dollars, and is in the interests of the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 5, 2007

 Mr. Wynn (for himself, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Payne, Mr. Walsh of New York, 
Mr. Blumenauer, and Mr. Frank of Massachusetts) submitted the following 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that a United 
  Nations Emergency Peace Service capable of intervening in the early 
stages of a humanitarian crisis could save millions of lives, billions 
       of dollars, and is in the interests of the United States.

Whereas genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity have occurred in 
        Rwanda, Cambodia, the former Yugoslavia, East Timor, Sierra Leone, the 
        Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Liberia, and elsewhere;
Whereas the United States Government has found that genocide, war crimes, and 
        crimes against humanity are occurring in the Darfur region of Sudan;
Whereas, at the September 2005 World Summit, the Member States of the United 
        Nations declared that the international community has a responsibility 
        to protect these populations when countries are unable or unwilling to 
        prevent genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity;
Whereas, at the 2005 World Summit, over 150 heads of state signed a document 
        which the United Nations General Assembly adopted, declaring that ``we 
        are prepared to take collective action, in a timely and decisive manner, 
        through the Security Council ... should peaceful means be inadequate and 
        national authorities manifestly fail to protect their populations from 
        genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity.'';
Whereas failed and failing states can become breeding grounds for terrorism, 
        crime, trafficking, humanitarian catastrophes, and other threats to the 
        United States;
Whereas the 2006 National Security Strategy clearly states that preventing 
        humanitarian disasters and strengthening fragile states is in the 
        national security interests of the United States;
Whereas numerous studies have shown that early intervention in humanitarian 
        crises could save millions of lives and billions of dollars;
Whereas the international community spent approximately $200,000,000,000 on 
        conflict management during the 1990s;
Whereas approximately $130,000,000,000 of that amount could have been saved 
        through a more effective preventive approach to conflict management;
Whereas the United Nations does not have a rapid deployment capacity to 
        intervene to avert humanitarian catastrophes;
Whereas there is a need for a United Nations Emergency Peace Service (UNEPS) 
        that could be rapidly deployed during the early stages of a humanitarian 
        crisis to save lives;
Whereas UNEPS could assist in the early implementation of peace accords by 
        providing a ready reserve corps that could be deployed immediately;
Whereas UNEPS would complement, but not replace, existing peace operations of 
        the United Nations, regional organizations, and national governments;
Whereas, if UNEPS had existed at the time that the Government of Sudan and the 
        rebels in Darfur signed the May 2006 Darfur Peace Agreement, UNEPS could 
        have been quickly deployed to cement peace before it unraveled and 
        prevented the loss and displacement of thousands of individuals;
Whereas, if ongoing ethnic and sectarian mass killings and crimes against 
        humanity continue to occur in Iraq and if the Iraqi Government does not 
        have the capacity to protect its citizens from these crimes, then all 
        members of the international community, should, through the United 
        Nations, exercise their mutual responsibility to protect the citizens of 
        Iraq;
Whereas, if the Security Council and the Iraqi Government identified the need 
        for a peacekeeping force to guarantee a negotiated agreement between 
        factions in Iraq and UNEPS existed, a UNEPS force could be quickly 
        deployed to seize the opportunity and help facilitate the implementation 
        of that agreement in advance of a traditional United Nations 
        peacekeeping force or as a surge capacity to buttress peacekeepers 
        already in place; and
Whereas UNEPS could be created for a start-up cost of $2,000,000,000 and annual 
        costs of less than $1,000,000,000: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved,  That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that--
            (1) the United States should use its voice, vote, and 
        influence at the United Nations to facilitate and support the 
        creation of a United Nations Emergency Peace Service (UNEPS); 
        and
            (2) UNEPS--
                    (A) should be a permanent entity based at 
                designated sites of the United Nations, should include 
                mobile field headquarters, and should be able to act 
                immediately to address an emerging humanitarian crisis;
                    (B) should be comprised of individuals who are 
                recruited from United Nations Member States and who are 
                carefully selected, expertly trained, and coherently 
                organized;
                    (C) should be a dedicated service with a wide range 
                of professional skills within a single command 
                structure, prepared to conduct multiple functions in 
                diverse United Nations operations; and
                    (D) should be able to provide an integrated service 
                encompassing 12,000 to 18,000 civilian, police, 
                judicial, military, and relief professionals.
                                 <all>
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that a United Nations Emergency Peace Service capable of intervening in the early stages of a humanitarian crisis could save millions of lives, billions of dollars, and is in the interests of the United States.

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