[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 604 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 604

Recognizing the vital role of the Proliferation Security Initiative in 
         preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 26, 2009

Ms. Ros-Lehtinen (for herself, Mr. Rohrabacher, Mr. Burton of Indiana, 
 Mr. Royce, and Mr. McCaul) submitted the following resolution; which 
            was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Recognizing the vital role of the Proliferation Security Initiative in 
         preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

Whereas the nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs of North Korea pose a 
        clear and present danger to the security of the United States and to the 
        world;
Whereas the North Korean regime has acquired key components of its nuclear 
        weapons and missile programs from other countries;
Whereas the North Korean regime has exported to other countries goods and 
        materials used in their nuclear weapons and missile programs;
Whereas United States and international efforts to eliminate this threat require 
        blocking the ability of the North Korean regime to import and export 
        goods and materials useful for the manufacture of nuclear weapons and of 
        missiles capable of delivering them;
Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718, adopted on October 14, 
        2006, calls on all countries to take cooperative action to prevent the 
        transfer to and from North Korea of ``all items, materials, equipment, 
        goods and technology'' related to its nuclear, chemical, and biological 
        weapons and their means of delivery;
Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 1874, adopted unanimously on 
        June 12, 2009, ``calls upon all States to inspect . . . all cargo 
        [described in Security Council Resolution 1718, as well as virtually all 
        arms and related materiel] to and from [North Korea] in their territory, 
        including seaports and airports . . . [and] to inspect vessels on the 
        high seas'' and calls upon all flag countries to cooperate in these 
        inspections;
Whereas the actions described in United Nations Security Council Resolutions 
        1718 and 1874 draw from the same principles that underlie the 
        Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), announced by President George 
        W. Bush on May 31, 2003, in Cracow, Poland;
Whereas the PSI was conceived and implemented as an integral element of the 
        United States National Strategy to Combat Weapons of Mass Destruction 
        announced on December 11, 2002;
Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540, adopted on April 20, 
        2004, calls on all countries to criminalize the proliferation of weapons 
        of mass destruction and to cooperate to stop the trafficking of weapons 
        of mass destruction;
Whereas the PSI was designed to enhance the ability of countries to interdict 
        the proliferation by sea, air, and land of nuclear, chemical, and 
        biological weapons, their delivery vehicles, and related materials to 
        terrorists and countries of proliferation concern through enhanced and 
        routine cooperation in the areas of diplomacy, intelligence sharing, law 
        enforcement, and military action;
Whereas 95 countries now participate in the PSI;
Whereas countries participating in the PSI agree to abide by a Statement of 
        Interdiction Principles which ensures a shared view of the proliferation 
        threat and the most effective methods to prevent it;
Whereas the United States has concluded ship boarding agreements with the flag 
        countries of the Bahamas, Belize, Croatia, Cyprus, Liberia, Malta, the 
        Marshall Islands, Mongolia, and Panama which provide authority to board 
        in international waters vessels registered in those countries that are 
        suspected of carrying illicit shipments of weapons of nuclear, chemical, 
        or biological weapons, their delivery systems, and related materials;
Whereas in October 2005, the International Maritime Organization approved 
        amendments to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts 
        Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation that obligate states-parties 
        to the Convention to prevent the use of any vessel for the transport of 
        weapons of mass destruction and ``any equipment, materials, or software 
        or related technology that significantly contribute to [weapons of mass 
        destruction] design, manufacturing or delivery'';
Whereas, the PSI Operational Experts Group, including military, law enforcement, 
        intelligence, legal, and diplomatic experts from 20 participating 
        countries, meets regularly to develop operational concepts, organize 
        interdiction exercises, share information, and pursue cooperation with 
        key industry sectors;
Whereas the PSI has repeatedly demonstrated its effectiveness through 
        interdictions, including in October 2003 a ship, the BBC China, carrying 
        centrifuge technology to Libya to be used in that country's clandestine 
        nuclear program;
Whereas that interdiction resulted in a decision by the Libyan Government to 
        dismantle its nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons programs and 
        also to provide extensive information regarding the international black 
        market network through which it had obtained key elements of those 
        programs;
Whereas the ongoing series of multinational training efforts and exercises 
        between participating countries have enhanced their individual and 
        collective capabilities to conduct maritime, air, and ground 
        interdictions of suspected weapons of mass destruction shipments;
Whereas the PSI has demonstrated the ability of several agencies of the United 
        States Government, including the Department of State, the Department of 
        Defense, the Coast Guard, the Customs and Border Protection of the 
        Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Bureau of 
        Investigation, to effectively coordinate their actions between 
        themselves and other countries without the need for any new organization 
        or additional bureaucracy;
Whereas the PSI has demonstrated the effectiveness of international cooperation 
        within existing national laws and regulations of the participating 
        countries without the need of additional treaties, direction by 
        international organizations, or other potentially constraining measures;
Whereas in a speech in Prague on April 6, 2009, President Obama stated that the 
        United States and other participating countries should enhance their 
        cooperation in the PSI and other means in order to ``build on our 
        efforts to break up black markets, detect and intercept materials in 
        transit, and use financial tools to disrupt this dangerous trade''; and
Whereas despite threats from the North Korean regime, the Government of the 
        Republic of Korea has decided to join the PSI in an effort to stop 
        shipments to and from North Korea of goods and materials useful in the 
        production of nuclear weapons and the missiles capable of delivering 
        them: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes the success to date of the PSI in 
        dramatically enhancing the ability of participating countries 
        to interdict the shipment of nuclear, chemical, and biological 
        weapons, their means of delivery, and related materials;
            (2) congratulates the Republic of Korea for its decision to 
        participate in the PSI in order to take action to counter the 
        threat to it and to the world posed by the North Korean regime;
            (3) urges President Obama to build upon the success of the 
        PSI to further enhance cooperation and coordination between all 
        willing countries to stop the proliferation of weapons of mass 
        destruction, the missiles capable of delivering them, and all 
        other items, materials, equipment, goods, and technology used 
        by North Korea or any other country to pose a threat to the 
        security of the United States and to the world; and
            (4) urges all countries not yet participating in the PSI, 
        especially China, to fully cooperate with PSI countries in 
        implementing United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1718 
        and 1874, and all other efforts to prevent the import and 
        export of all items, materials, equipment, goods, and 
        technology used by North Korea or any other country to pose a 
        threat to the security of the United States and to the world.
                                 <all>