[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 380 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. CON. RES. 380
Recognizing the 63rd anniversary of the United Nations.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 24, 2008
Mrs. Maloney of New York (for herself, Mr. Delahunt, Mr. McDermott, Mr.
Hinchey, Mr. Farr, Ms. Bordallo, Mrs. Christensen, Mr. Serrano, Mr.
McGovern, Mr. Kucinich, Mr. Fattah, Mr. Brady of Pennsylvania, Ms.
McCollum of Minnesota, Mr. Moran of Virginia, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson
of Texas, Mr. Grijalva, and Ms. Lee) submitted the following concurrent
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Recognizing the 63rd anniversary of the United Nations.
Whereas 2008 marks the 63rd anniversary of the establishment of the United
Nations;
Whereas, on June 26, 1945, representatives of countries throughout the world,
including the United States, signed the Charter of the United Nations,
and on October 24, 1945, the Charter entered into force;
Whereas article 1 of the United Nations Charter declares that the primary
objective of the United Nations is the maintenance of international
peace and security;
Whereas the relationship between the United States and the United Nations is
critical to the success of the United Nations in carrying out its
mandates;
Whereas, over the past 63 years, the United Nations has deployed 63 peacekeeping
operations in some of the world's most complex regions, including
Cambodia, Burundi, Sudan, East Timor, El Salvador, Angola, Haiti,
Liberia, and Sierra Leone;
Whereas United Nations peacekeeping currently has more than 100,000 peacekeepers
deployed to keep the peace in 17 conflict areas around the world;
Whereas United Nations peacekeeping missions have been charged with mandates
such as preventing the outbreak of conflict or the spill-over of
conflict across borders, stabilizing conflict situations after a cease-
fire, assisting in the implementation of comprehensive peace agreements,
and leading countries or territories through a transition to stable
government;
Whereas the United Nations is also dedicated to the development of friendly
relations among countries, based on equal rights and sovereign equality;
Whereas, in September 1960, the United Nations accepted 16 African countries as
members of the United Nations that had seceded from colonial rule and
established their independence;
Whereas the United Nations was a major factor in bringing about the downfall of
the apartheid system in South Africa by imposing measures ranging from
an arms embargo to a convention against segregated sporting events;
Whereas, in November 1947, the United Nations General Assembly, bearing in mind
millennia of Jewish history, including the tragedy of the Holocaust,
recognized the right of the Jewish people to establish an independent
state in their ancient homeland;
Whereas the United Nations has provided a forum for the achievement of
international cooperation in solving international economic, social,
cultural, and humanitarian problems, including addressing such
challenges as climate change, combating trafficking in humans, and
promoting cooperation to defeat global terrorism;
Whereas, in 1980, the United Nations and the World Health Organization reached
an extraordinary milestone when they declared the world free of
smallpox, following a 13-year eradication effort;
Whereas the United Nations continues to implement programs for the universal
immunization of polio, tetanus, measles, whooping cough, diphtheria, and
tuberculosis;
Whereas, within 48 hours of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck
Southeast Asia on December 26, 2004, the United Nations and its
agencies, including the United Nations Children's Fund, the World Health
Organization, the World Food Programme, and the United Nations
Development Programme, began allocating emergency aid distribution to
the various countries impacted by the earthquake and tsunami;
Whereas United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has launched a multi-year
campaign to intensify action to end violence against women and girls
that aims to mobilize public opinion to ensure that policy makers at the
highest levels work to prevent and eradicate violence against women;
Whereas the United Nations has contributed to the peace and security of the
international community through diplomatic efforts and actions approved
by the Security Council;
Whereas the image of the United Nations has been injured by the Oil-for-Food
Program, the election of egregious human rights violators to the United
Nations Human Rights Council, and allegations of sexual exploitation and
abuse among United Nations Peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of
Congo and elsewhere;
Whereas, despite the central role that the United Nations and its agencies have
played in addressing global issues of human rights, hunger, health, the
environment, and the needs of children over the past 63 years, the world
body must commit to serious structural reforms in order to effectively
carry out its mandate into the next century;
Whereas the United Nations has already undergone significant reforms in recent
years, including the creation of a United Nations Democracy Fund, the
establishment of a United Nations Ethics Office, imposition of common
policy on whistle blower protection, institution of a new financial
disclosure policy, and a strengthening of the commitment to internal
oversight, including the creation of a Procurement Task Force;
Whereas United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's continuing commitment to
institute necessary reforms to improve the effectiveness of the United
Nations should be applauded and supported; and
Whereas United States participation and leadership in the United Nations reform
process is essential to securing American interests in international
peace and security: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That Congress--
(1) recognizes the 63rd anniversary of the United Nations;
(2) urges the President to issue a proclamation calling on
the people of the United States to observe the 63rd anniversary
of the United Nations with appropriate ceremonies and
activities; and
(3) urges the President to exert United States leadership
to ensure that substantive United Nations reforms underway are
fully implemented and that further reforms are adopted in order
for the United Nations to effectively carry out its mandate
into the next century.
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