[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 152 Introduced in House (IH)]
104th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 152
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the President
should develop a strategy to bring the United States back into active
and full membership in the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and
Cultural Organization.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 17, 1995
Mr. Torres submitted the following resolution; which was referred to
the Committee on International Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the President
should develop a strategy to bring the United States back into active
and full membership in the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and
Cultural Organization.
Whereas the House of Representatives recognizes that the United Nations
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was created
in 1946 as an integral part of the United Nations system, designed to
promote international cooperation and exchanges in the fields of
education, science, culture, and communication with the larger purpose
of constructing ``the defenses of peace'' against intolerance and
incitements to war;
Whereas in 1984 the United States withdrew from the organization over questions
of internal management and political polarization;
Whereas in 1993 the General Accounting Office, after conducting an extensive
review of the organization's activities, reported to the Congress that
UNESCO has implemented changes to remedy the problems cited by the
United States as reasons for its withdrawal in 1984;
Whereas the interagency review undertaken with all relevant Federal departments
and agencies in 1993 concluded unanimously in a report to the President
that, in the President's words, ``UNESCO's current programs provide
valuable services in a range of fields that reinforce our Nation's
foreign policy agenda'';
Whereas the organization's current and projected plans offer means for advancing
the foreign policy interests of the United States in promoting
democracy, sustainable development, and tolerance in order to prevent
ethnic, national, and religious conflicts;
Whereas the four interrelated areas of expertise of the organization, which are
education, science, culture, and communication, represent important
areas of American competitive advantage, and participation in global
programs and policymaking in these fields advances the interests of the
United States;
Whereas UNESCO-related United States policy interests include reducing
illiteracy and improving education, including education for immigrant
populations coming from other nations and cultures, increasing tolerance
among ethnic and racial minority groups, protecting cultural freedom and
the free flow of information, widening access to communications
technology markets in developing countries by American businesses,
providing broader channels for international collaboration on scientific
research, and understanding environmental change and preservation;
Whereas multilateral initiatives in such politically sensitive activities offer
advantages and prospects for success in many countries that cannot be
easily realized by bilateral initiatives;
Whereas the United States is unable to participate fully in the important
policy-setting work of most UNESCO bodies notwithstanding that it
remains engaged in some UNESCO programs, such as the International
Oceanographic Commission and the Man and the Biosphere;
Whereas it ill serves the United States to pursue an isolationist course in
education, science, culture, and communication; and
Whereas the President has declared that the sole impediment to full reengagement
by the United States as a member state of UNESCO is budgetary: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives
that--
(1) the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has satisfactorily overcome the
problems cited by the United States as the reasons for its
withdrawal from the organization in 1984;
(2) UNESCO's mission in promoting international cooperation
in the intellectual sectors is intrinsically important to
promoting the ``defenses of peace''; and
(3) the President should--
(A) develop a strategy to reengage the United
States in UNESCO's work, with an eye towards resumption
of full membership in the organization when funding is
made available;
(B) direct the Secretary of State--
(i) to consult with government agencies,
nongovernmental organizations, and other
interested parties that had substantial
involvement with the work of the organization
before the withdrawal of the United States in
order to formulate goals the United States
should seek at the organization as part of the
strategy;
(ii) to reexamine the frameworks
established in law for the participation of the
American nongovernmental sector in UNESCO
policy and activities; and
(iii) to reconstitute the United States
National Commission for UNESCO;
(C) consult with other governments on prospects for
further reform of the organization's policy bodies and
governance, particularly with an eye to strengthening
in all member states the role of independent,
nongovernmental, intellectual sectors in agency
programs and governance; and
(D) report to the Congress before September 30,
1995, on the nature and extent of the consultations and
the progress being made on the strategy.
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