[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 321 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 321

 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United 
    States should support the regionally balanced expansion of the 
           membership of the United Nations Security Council.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 15, 2005

Mr. Leach submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                  Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United 
    States should support the regionally balanced expansion of the 
           membership of the United Nations Security Council.

Whereas since its inception in 1945, the United Nations Security Council has had 
        five permanent members (presently the People's Republic of China, 
        France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States);
Whereas, in the sole enlargement of membership of the Security Council to date, 
        the number of non-permanent Security Council members elected by the 
        United Nations General Assembly for two-year terms was increased from 
        six to ten in 1965;
Whereas affirmative Security Council decisions on substantive matters require 
        nine votes, including the concurring votes of all five permanent 
        Security Council members;
Whereas since the formation of the Security Council, the threats and challenges 
        to international peace and security have changed, as has the 
        distribution of power among nations;
Whereas the current Security Council does not include a permanent member from 
        either Africa or Latin America;
Whereas the implementation of Security Council decisions sometimes requires 
        extensive military, financial, and political involvement by states not 
        sitting on the Security Council, and some past Security Council 
        decisions have lacked the resources and political determination 
        necessary to credibly implement them;
Whereas the Security Council should be expanded and reformed to increase its 
        effectiveness, credibility, and capacity to act in the face of threats 
        to international security; and
Whereas, as advocated by the December 2004 report of the United Nations High-
        level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, expansion and reform of 
        the Security Council should (1) increase the involvement in 
        decisionmaking of countries that contribute most to the United Nations, 
        financially, militarily, and diplomatically, (2) bring into the 
        decisionmaking process countries more representative of the broader 
        United Nations membership, especially of the developing world, (3) not 
        impair the effectiveness of the Security Council, and (4) increase the 
        democratic and accountable nature of the Security Council: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that 
the United States should support the regionally balanced expansion of 
the membership of the United Nations Security Council, which would 
include the addition of Japan, the Republic of India, the Federal 
Republic of Germany, the Federative Republic of Brazil, and an 
appropriate African country as permanent members without veto 
authority.
                                 <all>