[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 615 Engrossed in House (EH)]


                 In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

                                                         July 15, 2004.
Whereas since the mid-1960s, the member states of the United Nations have been 
        divided into five groups, including the Western European and Others 
        Group and the African, Asian, Latin American, and Eastern European 
        groups;
Whereas the United Nations increasingly relies on this ``Group System'' to 
        facilitate its work and two leading United Nations organs, the General 
        Assembly and the Economic and Social Council, have passed numerous 
        resolutions granting this system a central role in United Nations 
        elections;
Whereas Israel has been refused admission to the Asian Group of the United 
        Nations and is therefore denied the rights and privileges of full 
        membership in the United Nations;
Whereas exclusion of Israel violates crucial principles of the United Nations 
        Charter, including the right of states to be treated in accordance with 
        the principle of sovereign equality and the right to vote and 
        participate fully in the United Nations General Assembly;
Whereas the Bureau of every United Nations conference comprises one 
        representative from each group in the United Nations and Israel is 
        therefore denied access to this vital apparatus enjoyed by other United 
        Nations member states;
Whereas on May 30, 2000, Israel accepted an invitation to become a temporary 
        member of the Western European and Others Group at the United Nations;
Whereas Israel's membership in the Western European and Others Group is limited 
        and, as a temporary member, Israel is not allowed to compete for open 
        seats or to run for positions in major bodies of the United Nations, 
        such as the Security Council, or United Nations-affiliated agencies, 
        such as the United Nations Commission on Human Rights;
Whereas Israel is only allowed to participate in limited activities of the 
        Western European and Others Group at the United Nations headquarters and 
        is excluded from discussions and consultations of the Group at the 
        United Nations offices in Geneva, Nairobi, Rome, and Vienna;
Whereas the Western European and Others Group includes Canada, Australia, and 
        the United States;
Whereas Israel is linked to Western European and Others Group member states by 
        strong economic, political, and cultural ties;
Whereas the Western European and Others Group is the only bloc which is not 
        purely geographical but rather comprises countries which share a Western 
        democratic tradition; and
Whereas Israel is a free and democratic country and its voting pattern in the 
        United Nations is consistent with that of the Western European and 
        Others Group member states: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that--
            (1) the President should direct the Secretary of State and the 
        United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations to seek an 
        immediate end to the persistent and deplorable inequality experienced by 
        Israel in the United Nations;
            (2) United States interests would be well served if Israel were 
        afforded the benefits of full membership in the Western European and 
        Others Group at the United Nations so that it could fully participate in 
        the United Nations system;
            (3) consistent with section 405(a) of division C of H.R. 1950, as 
        passed the House of Representatives on July 16, 2003, ``the Secretary of 
        State and other appropriate officials of the United States Government 
        should pursue an aggressive diplomatic effort and should take all 
        necessary steps to ensure the extension and upgrade of Israel's 
        membership in the Western European and Others Group at the United 
        Nations''; and
            (4) the Secretary of State should continue to submit to Congress on 
        a regular basis a report which describes actions taken by the United 
        States Government to encourage the Western European and Others Group 
        member states to accept Israel as a full member of their group and 
        describes the responses thereto from the member states.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.