[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 311 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 311

   Expressing the sense of Congress that the international community 
should recognize the plight of Jewish refugees from Arab countries and 
that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees 
in the Near East should establish a program for resettling Palestinian 
                               refugees.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 28, 2003

 Ms. Ros-Lehtinen (for herself, Mr. Pallone, and Mr. Nadler) submitted 
    the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the 
                  Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
   Expressing the sense of Congress that the international community 
should recognize the plight of Jewish refugees from Arab countries and 
that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees 
in the Near East should establish a program for resettling Palestinian 
                               refugees.

Whereas disagreement about the status and future of refugees in the Middle East 
        remains one of the major political and diplomatic obstacles to a lasting 
        peace settlement to the Middle East conflict;
Whereas although 2 separate and distinct refugee populations exist in the Middle 
        East, Arabs and Jews, the plight of Jewish refugees from Arab lands has 
        received little attention or international recognition;
Whereas Jews have lived in areas that are now Arab countries for more than 2,500 
        years;
Whereas during the time period surrounding the creation of the State of Israel, 
        nearly 900,000 of these Jews fled Arab countries because they faced a 
        campaign of ethnic clensing and were forced to leave behind land, 
        private homes, personal affects, businesses, community assets, and 
        thousands of years of their Jewish heritage and history;
Whereas Israel absorbed approximately 650,000 Jewish refugees from Arab 
        countries during its first 10 years of statehood, granting them full 
        Israeli citizenship and integrating them into Israeli society and 
        culture, yet this integration does not diminish the plight of the 
        refugees who left behind their heritage and their respective homelands;
Whereas although the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) is the 
        international body charged with protecting refugees and solving refugee 
        problems throughout the world, a special agency, the United Nations 
        Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), 
        was established in 1950 for the exclusive benefit of the Palestinian 
        refugees;
Whereas UNRWA makes no effort to permanently resettle Palestinian refugees, even 
        those residing under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority, 
        which has perpetuated the Palestinian refugee problem and the suffering 
        of the Palestinian refugees;
Whereas there is evidence that UNRWA facilities have been used for terrorist 
        recruitment and training, as well as bases for terrorist operations, 
        with little attempt by UNRWA to prevent attacks or alert relevant law 
        enforcement authorities about terrorist activities;
Whereas Congress has repeatedly raised concerns about connections between UNRWA 
        facilities and violence and terrorist activities;
Whereas on July 16, 2003 the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1950, the 
        Millennium Challenge Account, Peace Corps Expansion, and Foreign 
        Relations Authorization Act of 2003, containing section 731(9), which 
        ``strongly urges UNRWA to meet the requirements, in letter and spirit, 
        of section 301(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, including by 
        comprehensively ensuring that no UNRWA assistance is rendered to anyone 
        who has been involved with terrorism at any time and that all UNRWA 
        beneficiaries be informed at the earliest possible time, and at regular 
        intervals thereafter, that anyone involved with terrorism thereafter 
        will be ineligible for UNRWA benefits''; and
Whereas that Act also contains section 731(11), which ``notes the General 
        Accounting Office (GAO) audit required by section 580 of the FY 2003 
        Foreign Operations Appropriations Act (Public Law 108-7), and strongly 
        encourages the GAO to conduct, as part of this audit, an investigation 
        and inspection of all recent United States assistance to UNRWA to ensure 
        that taxpayer funds are being spent effectively and are not directly or 
        indirectly supporting terrorism, anti-Semitic or anti-Jewish teachings, 
        or the glorification or incitement of violence'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the international community should formally recognize 
        the plight of Jewish refugees from Arab countries and the 
        circumstances surrounding their departure as a part of any 
        settlement of the Middle East conflict or as part of any 
        agreement regarding the issue of refugees;
            (2) the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for 
        Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) should establish a 
        program for resettling all of the Palestinian refugees under 
        the authority of UNRWA in the host countries or territories in 
        which they are living, other Arab countries, or third party 
        countries willing to assist, and a timetable for implementing 
        the program within 6 months of the date of the adoption of this 
        resolution;
            (3) UNRWA should immediately replace textbooks and 
        educational materials used in the UNRWA education system that 
        promote anti-Semitism, deny the existence and the right to 
        exist of the state of Israel, and exacerbate stereotypes and 
        tensions between Palestinians and Israelis, and take steps to 
        ensure that UNRWA facilities are not being used to store 
        weapons or to promote violence or terrorism; and
            (4) Arab countries should contribute to a lasting solution 
        to the refugee problem by accepting a meaningful number of 
        refugees and taking a larger role in financing UNRWA and the 
        cost of resettlement.
                                 <all>