[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 410 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. CON. RES. 410
Recognizing the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of
the Republic of the Marshall Islands and recognizing the Marshall
Islands as a staunch ally of the United States, committed to principles
of democracy and freedom for the Pacific region and throughout the
world.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 30, 2004
Mr. Flake (for himself, Mr. Faleomavaega, Mr. Rohrabacher, Ms.
Bordallo, Mr. Houghton, Ms. Watson, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Cardoza, Mrs.
Christensen, Mr. Acevedo-Vila, Mr. Abercrombie, and Mr. Case) submitted
the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on International Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Recognizing the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of
the Republic of the Marshall Islands and recognizing the Marshall
Islands as a staunch ally of the United States, committed to principles
of democracy and freedom for the Pacific region and throughout the
world.
Whereas the Marshall Islands were ruled under a succession of colonial regimes
for 400 years, including under Spanish and German rule, followed in the
20th century by Japanese rule under the League of Nations system for
governance of territories;
Whereas military activities of Imperial Japan based in the Marshall Islands
before and during Word War II established the strategic importance of
the Marshall Islands in the Pacific;
Whereas the Marshall Islands were liberated from Japanese military occupation in
some of the most horrific battles of World War II, during which brave
Marshallese people risked their lives to aid the Armed Forces of the
United States and its allies;
Whereas in 1947 Congress approved a trusteeship agreement with the United
Nations Security Council under which the United States became the
administering power with plenary powers of government in the Marshall
Islands;
Whereas during the United Nations trusteeship period the United States fulfilled
its commitment to promote the progress of the Marshall Islands toward
democratic self-government and self-determination, leading to the
establishment of local self-government that culminated in a
constitutional convention in which delegates representing the people of
the Marshall Islands proposed that they be constituted as a self-
governing nation;
Whereas in accordance with the enabling measures adopted by the United States as
administering power of the Marshall Islands, which encouraged and fully
supported the emergence of the Marshall Islands as a duly constituted
nation based on the freely expressed will of the people, in 1979 the
people of the Marshall Islands adopted their own constitution and
subsequently declared their form of government to be a republic;
Whereas the Constitution of the Republic of the Marshall Islands established a
parliamentary governmental system with separation of powers and a ``Bill
of Rights,'' guaranteeing democracy and freedom for the Marshallese
people based on the rule of law, limited government, and individual
liberty;
Whereas the United States and the duly constituted Government of the Republic of
the Marshall Islands adopted a Compact of Free Association to define
government-to-government relations between the United States and the
Marshall Islands as two sovereign nations under mutually agreed terms
upon termination of the United Nations trusteeship for the Marshall
Islands;
Whereas the promulgation of a national constitution made possible the
termination of the United Nations trusteeship in 1986 and the emergence
of the Republic of the Marshall Islands as a sovereign nation in free
association with the United States under the Compact of Free
Association, forming an alliance that preserves the close and special
political, social, economic, and military relationship between the two
countries that developed during the trusteeship period;
Whereas the United States has no closer alliance with any nation or group of
nations than it does with the Republic of the Marshall Islands under the
Compact of Free Association, which continues the strategic partnership
and role of the Marshall Islands in United States strategic programs
based in the Marshall Islands, which began at the end of World War II
and has continued under the trusteeship and Compact to promote the
mutual security of the United States and the Marshall Islands;
Whereas the Republic of the Marshall Islands is a model for transition of
formerly non-self-governing territory ravaged by war to a sovereign
political status as a stable democracy, a success story for institution
building and recovery from conflict not only for the Pacific region but
throughout the world;
Whereas in light of the shared history of the United States and the Republic of
the Marshall Islands and special relations under the Compact of Free
Association, it is entirely fitting for Congress to recognize the 25th
anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of the Republic of the
Marshall Islands, recalling the importance of duly constituted self-
government in the self-determination process leading to national
sovereignty for the Marshall Islands; and
Whereas the Republic of the Marshall Islands has remained one of the staunchest
allies of the United States during the cold war and the war on
terrorism, and the voting record of the Republic of the Marshall Islands
as a member state in the United Nations General Assembly is unparalleled
by any other country, further demonstrating the shared commitment of the
two nations to promote democracy and global peace: Now, therefore be
it--
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That Congress--
(1) recognizes the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the
Constitution of the Republic of the Marshall Islands; and
(2) recognizes the Republic of the Marshall Islands as a
staunch ally of the United States, committed to principles of
democracy and freedom for the Pacific region and throughout the
world.
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