[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 17 (Friday, February 27, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1162-S1163]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SENATE RESOLUTION 186--CONCERNING ISRAELI MEMBERSHIP IN A UNITED
NATIONS REGIONAL GROUP
Mr. MOYNIHAN submitted the following resolution; which was referred
to the Committee on Foreign Relations:
S. Res. 186
Whereas, of the 185 member states of the United Nations,
only the State of Israel is ineligible to sit on the Security
Council, the Economic and Social Council, or any other United
Nations committee;
Whereas the State of Israel was created in response to a
1947 General Assembly resolution and joined the United
Nations in 1949;
Whereas the members of the United Nations have organized
themselves according to regional groups since 1946;
Whereas eligibility for election to the rotating seats of
the Security Council, or other United Nations councils,
commissions, or committees, is only available to countries
belonging to a regional group;
Whereas Israel has remained a member of the United Nations
despite being subjected to deliberate attacks which aimed to
place the legitimacy of the State of Israel in question;
Whereas this anachronistic Cold War isolation of Israel at
the United Nations continues;
Whereas barring a member of the United Nations from
entering a regional group is inimical to the principles under
which the United Nations was founded, namely, ``to develop
friendly relations among nations based on respect for the
principle of equal rights . . .''; and
Whereas Israel is a vibrant democracy, which shares the
values, goals, and interests of the ``Western European and
Others Group'', a regional group which includes Australia,
Canada, New Zealand, and the United States: Now, therefore,
be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
(1) it should be the policy of the United States to support
the State of Israel's efforts to enter an appropriate United
Nations regional group;
(2) the President should instruct the Permanent
Representative of the United States to the United Nations to
carry out this policy;
(3) the United States should--
(A) insist that any efforts to reform the United Nations,
including the Security Council, also resolve this anomaly;
and
(B) ensure that the principle of sovereign equality be
upheld without exception; and
(4) the Secretary of State should submit a report to
Congress on the steps taken by the United States, the
Secretary General of the United Nations, and others to help
secure Israel's membership in an appropriate United Nations
regional group.
Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, today I am pleased to submit a
resolution seeking to right a 50 year wrong. I am joined by the
distinguished senior Senator from Indiana, Senator Lugar, and 37 of my
colleagues. Having served as our Ambassador to the United Nations, I am
painfully aware of the paradox facing Israel at the United Nations.
Israel is a state which was created by the United Nations, and yet for
50 years has been treated as a step-child--or worse--in its dealings at
the United Nations.
Never was that more apparent than the sad period when the General
Assembly equated Zionism with racism. It took a long 16 years to
repeal, but after great effort it was done. Today, I hope we can begin
a similar effort to end a Cold War anomaly. I speak of the fact that
Israel is excluded from a United Nations regional group. Israel is the
only one of the 185 member states of the United Nations barred from
membership in a regional group. The United Nations member states have
organized themselves by regional groups since before Israel joined the
United Nations in 1949. Membership in a United Nations regional group
confers eligibility to sit on the Security Council, the Economic and
Social Council, as well as other United Nations councils, commissions,
and committees.
This effort could mirror that of the effort to repeal the odious
General Assembly Resolution 3379, equating Zionism with racism. That
effort was led by Chaim Herzog. He came to Washington in 1987 for the
first state visit by a President of Israel to the United States in
history.
I took the floor of the Senate to introduce a Joint Resolution
following word-for-word an Australian measure calling for the repeal of
Resolution 3379.
The Senate and the House of Representatives adopted the resolution
unanimously, in time for Chaim Herzog to address a Joint Meeting of
Congress on November 10, 1987--on the 12th anniversary of his defense
of Israel at the United Nations in opposition to Resolution 3379.
President Reagan signed the resolution on November 17. Finally, there
was an American policy. We meant to repeal General Assembly Resolution
3379.
Both the Zionism resolution and the rejectionist Arab Front would
soon lose their major support with the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The General Assembly overwhelmingly repealed Resolution 3379 on
December 16, 1991. The fight had taken 16 years.
We won that battle but one cold war anachronism remains at the United
Nations. One sorry throwback to an era when the institutionalized
isolation of Israel was a given in international affairs--the ugly
``gentlemen's agreement'' that excludes Israel and only
[[Page S1163]]
Israel from membership in any United Nations Regional Group. Israel--
and only Israel--can never sit on the United Nations Security Council.
Israel--and only Israel--can never serve on the United Nations Economic
and Social Council, where her expertise is so sorely missed. Israel--
and only Israel--is less than a full member of the very international
organization which bravely voted on November 29, 1947, to create the
State of Israel.
A hundred years ago the Zionist Congress first articulated the
Zionist dream.
Fifty years ago the United Nations General Assembly endorsed the
Zionist dream.
Today, we call for Israel's admission to a United Nations Regional
Group. This must be a goal of our government's foreign policy and a
priority of reform efforts at the United Nations. That such legislation
is necessary is a reminder that, despite the unparalleled success of
the Zionist movement in its first hundred years, the state created half
a century ago as the fruit of this ideal still requires support from
its friends.
I can think of no more fitting congressional tribute to this vision
than our country taking its rightful place in the forefront of the
effort to allow Israel to participate fully in international affairs,
to be counted as a legitimate member among the nations of the world.
Again, I thank my colleagues for supporting the measure. In
particular I thank Senator Lugar for his strong support in this effort.
I hope that this will begin an effort which will finally bring Israel
completely within the fold of the United Nations.
Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President, I am pleased to co-sponsor the resolution
expressing the sense of the Senate regarding Israeli membership in a
United Nations regional group. I am delighted to join Senator Moynihan
in bringing this resolution to the attention of our colleagues in the
Senate.
Over the years, many in the Congress have risen to comment on the
United Nations. Many have been critical or skeptical about the role the
Untied Nations can and does play in world affairs. Many have been
laudatory as well. There is a division in the Congress about the extent
to which the United Nations helps to advance U.S. interests and world
peace. Last year, the Congress devoted an enormous amount of time on
legislation to pay our arrears to the U.N. and the conditions and
reforms which must be met before disbursement of our payments. That
legislative effort is still continuing. There are many disagreements
about the United Nations and I don't wish to revisit or bridge the gap
between these views.
But, Mr. President there is an important United Nations issue on
which all members of the Congress can agree and that is the resolution
we are introducing today. Senator Moynihan and I are joined by nearly
forty members of the Senate who believe that an institutional
injustice, based on political reasons, has been perpetrated on the
state of Israel because it has been denied membership in a U.N.
``regional group.'' On the surface, this denial would appear to be a
minor oversight or slight snub of a long-standing member of the United
Nations. But, it is much more than that.
U.N. regional group membership confers eligibility to serve on the
Security Council and other important committees of the United Nations
such as the International Court of Justice and the U.N. Commission on
Human Rights. Nominations of members to serve on U.N. committees are
made by the regional groups. Israel does not belong to any regional
group. Indeed, Israel is the only country in the United Nations that
can not claim membership in any regional group. As such, it is
ineligible for membership in the influential committees in the U.N.
Paradoxically, Iran, Cuba, Syria and Libya enjoy this privilege denied
Israel.
As with the United States Congress and most every legislative or
deliberative body, much of the real work is performed in committees,
councils and other smaller deliberative bodies. To be denied membership
in these committees is to be denied the opportunity to influence
important decisions and actions of the United Nations. It is unfair and
unjust and should be rectified as soon as possible.
Israel has not been allowed to join its natural regional group of the
Middle East and has expressed interest in joining the Western Europe
and Others Group (WEOG) regional group. The WEOG group includes Western
European democracies, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and
Turkey.
The resolution we are introducing today urges the President to help
facilitate Israel's membership in an appropriate U.N. regional group.
Under current circumstances, an appropriate regional group is most
likely to be the WEOG. It further urges the administration to report to
the Congress on the steps it has taken to assist Israel's membership in
a U.N. regional group and the success or failure of those efforts.
Mr. President, I ask that all members take note of this resolution.
It seeks to bring full equality to Israel's membership in the United
Nations. I am confident that it will be supported by the entire body.
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