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






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 615

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives in support of full 
membership of Israel in the Western European and Others Group (WEOG) at 
                          the United Nations.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 30, 2004

 Ms. Ros-Lehtinen (for herself, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Lantos, Mr. Pence, Mrs. 
Jo Ann Davis of Virginia, Mr. McCotter, Mr. Crowley, and Mr. Ackerman) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                       on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives in support of full 
membership of Israel in the Western European and Others Group (WEOG) at 
                          the United Nations.

Whereas the election of member states of the United Nations to the major bodies 
        of the United Nations is determined explicitly on a regional basis;
Whereas Israel has been refused admission to the Asia geographical region of the 
        United Nations--the only member state of the United Nations that remains 
        outside its appropriate geographical region--and therefore cannot be 
        elected to any major body of the United Nations, is precluded from 
        voting in any United Nations major body, except the General Assembly, 
        and is thus denied full participation in the day-to-day work of the 
        United Nations;
Whereas according to current United Nations procedures the Bureau of every 
        United Nations conference is comprised of one representative from each 
        geographical region of 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 (WEOG) at the United 
        Nations;
Whereas Israel's membership in the Western European and Others Group is limited 
        and, as such, Israel is not allowed to compete for open seats in the 
        United Nations body and Israeli representatives are not allowed to run 
        for positions in major bodies of the United Nations or United Nations-
        affiliated agencies, such as the United Nations Commission on Human 
        Rights and the Security Council;
Whereas Israel is only allowed to participate in limited activities of the 
        Western European and Others Group in the New York office of the United 
        Nations, is excluded from discussions and consultations of the Group at 
        the United Nations offices in Geneva, Nairobi, Rome, and Vienna, and 
        therefore, cannot participate in United Nations conferences on human 
        rights, racism, and a number of other issues handled in these forums;
Whereas membership in the regional bloc of the Western European and Others Group 
        includes the non-European countries of 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 regional group which 
        is not purely geographical but rather comprised of 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 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 (WEOG) at the United Nations so that 
        it could fully participate in the United Nations system;
            (3) in accordance 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 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 regional bloc and describes the responses thereto from 
        the member states.
                                 <all>