[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 796 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 796

  Recognizing the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the United 
                                Nations.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            December 8, 2020

 Mr. Booker submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                   the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Recognizing the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the United 
                                Nations.

Whereas President Franklin Delano Roosevelt coined the phrase ``United Nations'' 
        in January 1942;
Whereas 50 countries met in San Francisco to draw up the Charter of the United 
        Nations in 1945;
Whereas, on June 26, 1945, the Charter of the United Nations was signed in San 
        Francisco at the conclusion of the United Nations Conference on 
        International Organization, and came into force on October 24, 1945;
Whereas, June 26, 2020, marked the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the 
        United Nations;
Whereas, on September 10, 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the 
        Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which is the cornerstone for 
        modern-day human rights and the world's most translated document;
Whereas, in September 1960, 17 newly independent countries, including 16 from 
        Africa, joined the United Nations, marking the biggest increase in 
        membership in any one year;
Whereas the United Nations has greatly contributed to international peace and 
        security;
Whereas the United Nations has provided a forum for the achievement of 
        international cooperation to address international economic, social, 
        cultural, and humanitarian problems, including promoting cooperation on 
        climate change, supporting human rights, and combating human 
        trafficking;
Whereas, since 1948, the United Nations has deployed 71 peacekeeping and 
        observation missions to some of the world's most complex regions and 
        countries;
Whereas the United Nations peacekeeping missions have been charged with mandates 
        to stabilize conflict zones after a cease-fire, assist in the 
        implementation of comprehensive peace agreements, protect civilians from 
        violence, facilitate delivery of humanitarian assistance to vulnerable 
        communities, and create stable governing institutions in fragile states;
Whereas the United Nations peacekeepers played an instrumental role in 
        stabilizing Liberia following two devastating civil wars, paving the way 
        in 2018 for the first peaceful transition of power between 
        democratically elected Presidents in the country since 1944;
Whereas the United Nations peacekeepers helped to avert a genocide in the 
        Central African Republic, continue to protect tens of thousands of 
        civilians from ethnic and political violence in South Sudan, provide 
        security to health workers battling the second largest Ebola outbreak in 
        history in eastern Congo, and play an important role in ensuring that 
        calm and stability prevail along the Israel-Lebanon border;
Whereas, in 2006, under the leadership of the United Nations, member nations 
        adopted the first-ever global strategy to counter terrorism, which was 
        followed by other global agreements, including agreements against 
        hostage taking, aircraft hijacking, terrorism bombings, and terrorism 
        financing;
Whereas the United States has used its permanent seat on the United Nations 
        Security Council to push for the adoption of multilateral sanctions, 
        including asset freezes, travel bans, arms embargoes, trade 
        restrictions, and other measures, against terrorist organizations like 
        al-Qaida and ISIS, rogue states that seek to obtain weapons of mass 
        destruction like North Korea, and countries embroiled by internal armed 
        conflict such as South Sudan;
Whereas the United Nations has provided electoral assistance to more than 100 
        countries and helped facilitate the transition to democracy in these 
        countries, observing landmark elections in Cambodia, El Salvador, South 
        Africa, Mozambique, Timor-Leste, Liberia, Iraq, Nepal, Afghanistan, and 
        Sierra Leone;
Whereas the United Nations adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in 
        September 2015, requiring member nations to commit to eradicating 
        extreme poverty, fighting inequality, empowering women and girls, 
        protecting natural resources, improving governance, and encouraging 
        sustainable and inclusive economic growth;
Whereas the United Nations has played a critical role in improving global public 
        health, including through the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/
        AIDS;
Whereas the World Health Organization, a United Nations specialized agency, 
        serves as a multilateral coordinating body responsible for monitoring 
        and leading the response to outbreaks of infectious disease, 
        spearheading vaccination efforts, and developing campaigns to combat 
        life-threatening illnesses like polio and malaria;
Whereas the World Health Organization played a central role in the eradication 
        of smallpox in 1979, to date the only human disease ever to be 
        eradicated;
Whereas the United Nations Population Fund aims to end the unmet need for family 
        planning, end preventable maternal deaths, and end gender-based violence 
        and harmful practices such as child marriage and female genital 
        mutilation by 2030 in all countries, including those affected by 
        conflict and disaster;
Whereas the United Nations Population Fund has helped reduce maternal mortality 
        by half since 1990;
Whereas the United Nations Children's Fund is active in 190 countries and 
        territories to reach the children and young people in greatest need;
Whereas the United Nations World Food Program reaches more than 86,000,000 
        people in 83 countries annually;
Whereas the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization 
        (UNESCO) seeks to build peace through international cooperation in 
        education, the sciences, and culture, and is preserving 1,073 World 
        Heritage sites in 167 countries;
Whereas today, with global population displacement at the highest level recorded 
        since World War II, the World Food Program, together with the United 
        Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, United Nations Children's Fund, 
        and other United Nations agencies, is feeding, clothing, and sheltering 
        millions from Syria, Iraq, the Central African Republic, and numerous 
        other countries;
Whereas the ongoing COVID-19 crisis highlights the need for strong and 
        collective multilateral action;
Whereas, since the beginning of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the entire United 
        Nations system has been hard at work: The World Health Organization 
        (WHO) is on the ground in over 140 countries helping countries scale-up 
        testing and access essential personal protective equipment, while also 
        coordinating research and innovation efforts to advance drugs, vaccines, 
        and diagnostics; the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is scaling up assistance 
        to refugee camps; UNICEF is supporting the millions of children who are 
        out of school; the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) is strengthening health 
        systems to ensure reproductive and maternal health care; the World Food 
        Programme (WFP) has established air hubs to distribute vital food and 
        medical supplies across Africa; and United Nations peacekeeping missions 
        are using troop patrols to educate on mitigation measures.
Whereas, in Yemen, which has been on the brink of famine for several years and 
        where 80 percent of the population relies on humanitarian aid to 
        survive, United Nations agencies are working to reach 12,000,000 people 
        each month with food and nutritional assistance, respond to a cholera 
        epidemic that has sickened nearly 1,000,000 people since January 2018, 
        rehabilitate irrigation systems and provide agricultural inputs to 
        increase domestic food production, and provide reproductive health care 
        and safe delivery services to women;
Whereas the United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, is working 
        to broker a diplomatic solution to the conflict and organized the first 
        direct talks between the Government of Yemen and Houthis in December 
        2018, resulting in an agreement for a cease-fire and military 
        redeployment from the port of Hodeidah;
Whereas the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights 
        plays a leading role in helping to elevate and advance human rights 
        throughout the world;
Whereas, in recent years, the Office of the High Commissioner has aided efforts 
        to uncover and report on abuses in Syria, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, 
        Sri Lanka, Yemen, Myanmar, Iraq, Belarus, and a host of other countries;
Whereas these types of activities help raise public awareness of human rights 
        violations, magnify the voices of dissidents and civil society 
        organizations on the ground, and provide a tool for pressuring 
        repressive governments and holding abusers accountable;
Whereas United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has implemented key 
        reforms, and continues to be committed to instituting necessary reforms 
        to improve the effectiveness of the United Nations and strengthen 
        oversight;
Whereas 2020 marks the start of the decade of action and delivery for the 
        Sustainable Development Goals, major conferences on climate change, 
        biodiversity, nuclear nonproliferation, and health, the 25th anniversary 
        of the landmark Beijing World Conference on Women, the 20th anniversary 
        of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, and the 10th 
        anniversary of United Nations Women, among others;
Whereas the United Nations remains an indispensable partner for the United 
        States as Congress works to protect United States national security and 
        foreign policy interests around the world;
Whereas the United Nations conducts business with numerous United States 
        corporations and organizations and annually awards United States 
        businesses with over $1,000,000,000 in contracts;
Whereas these contracts were executed in 30 States and more than 100 cities and 
        communities, benefitting hundreds of Americans who work to provide the 
        United Nations a range of critical goods and services, including 
        telecommunications, construction, food production, and military 
        supplies; and
Whereas the participation and leadership by the United States in the United 
        Nations is essential to securing United States interests in 
        international peace and security: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes the 75th anniversary of the establishment of 
        the United Nations;
            (2) recognizes the United Nations for the critical role it 
        plays in maintaining international peace and security;
            (3) applauds the United Nations for its leadership and 
        ongoing efforts in addressing global health crises, including 
        the global fight against HIV/AIDS;
            (4) applauds the United Nations for its response to 
        unprecedented humanitarian crises that have resulted in 
        staggering escalation of displacements and suffering in 
        countries such as Yemen, Syria, Iraq, South Sudan, Somalia, the 
        Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the 
        Congo;
            (5) commends the United Nations for its commitment to 
        eradicating extreme poverty and hunger; and
            (6) urges the President to issue a proclamation calling on 
        the people of the United States to observe the 75th anniversary 
        of the establishment of the United Nations with appropriate 
        ceremonies and activities.
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