[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 97 (Monday, July 12, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H5344-H5347]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     CONCERNING UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION ES-10/6

  Mr. SALMON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 117) concerning United Nations 
General Assembly Resolution ES-10/6, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 117

       Whereas in an Emergency Special Session, the United Nations 
     General Assembly voted on February 9, 1999, to pass 
     Resolution ES-10/6, Illegal Israeli Actions In Occupied East 
     Jerusalem And The Rest Of The Occupied Palestinian Territory, 
     to convene for the first time in 50 years the parties of the 
     Fourth Geneva Convention for the Protection of Civilians in 
     Time of War;
       Whereas such resolution singles out Israel for 
     unprecedented enforcement proceedings, which have never been 
     invoked, even against governments with records of massive 
     violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention;
       Whereas such resolution unfairly places full blame for the 
     deterioration of the Middle East Peace Process on Israel and 
     dangerously politicizes the Fourth Geneva Convention, which 
     was established to address humanitarian crises; and
       Whereas such vote, initiated by the Arab Group at the 
     behest of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), serves 
     to prejudge and undercut direct negotiations, puts added and 
     undue pressure on Israel to influence the results of those 
     negotiations, and contravenes the written commitment that 
     Yasser Arafat gave to then Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak 
     Rabin that issues of permanent status would only be dealt 
     with directly by the parties: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That the Congress--
       (1) commends the Department of State for the vote of the 
     United States against United Nations General Assembly 
     Resolution ES-10/6 affirming that the text of such resolution 
     politicizes the Fourth Geneva Convention for the Protection 
     of Civilians in Time of War which was primarily humanitarian 
     in nature;
       (2) urges the Department of State to continue its efforts 
     against convening the conference, which is scheduled to be 
     held in Geneva, Switzerland, on July 15, 1999;
       (3) urges the member states of the United Nations to 
     vigorously oppose any and all efforts to manipulate the 
     Fourth Geneva Convention for the purpose of attacking Israel; 
     and
       (4) urges United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and 
     Switzerland, which serves as the depository of the Fourth 
     Geneva Convention, to refrain from assisting in the convening 
     of the conference.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. Salmon) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Rothman) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Salmon).


                             General Leave

  Mr. SALMON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
on this measure.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Arizona?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SALMON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. SALMON asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. SALMON. Mr. Speaker, first I would like to commend the efforts of 
the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Rothman). He is the author of this 
piece of legislation. It is very timely and very needed, and he is 
always there in the pinch, and we appreciate him on this side.
  Mr. Speaker, our consideration of this resolution is certainly timely 
as it concerns the convening, under extraordinary and almost 
unprecedented circumstances, of the parties of the Fourth Geneva 
Convention for the Protection of Civilians in Times of War later this 
week in Geneva, Switzerland. The focus of this unusual meeting will be 
``Illegal Israeli Actions in Occupied East Jerusalem and the Rest of 
the Occupied Territory.''

[[Page H5345]]

  From its very title, we can see that this meeting will be just 
another kangaroo court convened solely for the purpose of pillorying 
Israel whose behavior in Jerusalem and the Occupied Territory has 
already been predetermined to be ``illegal.''
  Regrettably, by using the such important instruments as the Fourth 
Geneva Convention to carry on their anti-Israel campaign, the 
supporters of this Special Session in Geneva actually undermine the 
validity of the Convention and efforts to protect civilians in armed 
conflicts. We can be certain that little will be said of the many 
civilian victims of the numerous terrorist acts by Palestinian and 
Islamic groups hostile to Israel.
  Most of us are keenly aware of the anti-Israel fervor which resonates 
throughout the institutions and committees of the United Nations. We 
cannot forget the evil that was unleashed during consideration of the 
``Zionism is Racism'' resolution years ago. Clearly, the United Nations 
has a history of anti-Israel statements, resolutions, conferences and 
activities.
  This troubling action taken by the United Nations General Assembly 
earlier this year is but the latest of a long series of United Nations 
activities designed to unfairly and in a highly prejudicial fashion 
paint Israel as an aggressive rogue state beyond the pale of 
international law.
  The resolution before us urges states of the United Nations to oppose 
all efforts to attack Israel at this conference and urges U.N. 
Secretary General Kofi Annan and Switzerland to refrain from assisting 
in the convening of the conference.
  Mr. Speaker, regarding Switzerland's role in the conference, I would 
like to point out, as the repository of the Geneva Convention, 
Switzerland has no recourse but to honor the will of the U.N. General 
Assembly that has invoked this conference. As an observer state of the 
U.N., the Swiss were not even entitled to vote in the emergency session 
of the General Assembly that decided this measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge the Members of this House to send a strong 
message in opposition to this ill-considered and unhelpful initiative 
by supporting the adoption of H. Con. Res. 117.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution. I thank the 
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Salmon), my colleague and good friend, for 
his kind remarks. We have worked together on many, many issues in a 
bipartisan way of importance to the people of America and I think for 
the interests of the abused and unjustly treated around the world. And, 
as always, I am grateful and pleased to work with the gentleman on this 
issue as well.
  Mr. Speaker, I introduced this resolution, H. Con. Res. 117, on May 
25 of this year to address a deeply troubling development at the U.N. 
Sadly, the United Nations is again on the verge of reverting to its bad 
old ways that we thought they had dispensed with in the 1970s. I am 
talking about the United Nations once again using its resources and the 
American taxpayers' money to bash the only democracy in the Middle East 
and America's strongest ally in the Middle East, strongest military, 
economic and cultural ally, the State of Israel.
  Mr. Speaker, this is at a time when, if peace is not at hand, the 
atmosphere for peace in the Middle East is as great as we have seen in 
quite a long time.
  What happened? On February 9 of this year, February 9 of 1999, the 
United Nations General Assembly in an Emergency Special Session decided 
to call for the reconvening of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Now for 
those who do not follow the U.N. and the Geneva Convention, the Fourth 
Geneva Convention has not been convened for 50 years.
  So what was the Emergency Special Session of the United Nations 
General Assembly to call for the first reconvening of the Fourth Geneva 
Convention in 50 years all about? Well, we know what the Geneva 
Convention was supposed to be about. In 1949, it was established in the 
aftermath of the Nazi atrocities in Europe to deal with the protection 
of civilians in time of war.
  So what is going to happen now on July 15, a handful of days from 
now, unless the United States and world leaders intervene? According to 
the General Assembly of the United Nations who has now directed the 
convening of the Fourth Geneva Convention after 50 years, on July 15, 
the Geneva Convention is to be brought together to condemn the 
genocidal crime of house construction in Jerusalem by Israel. Can my 
colleagues believe it?
  Now, when the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia, when Iraq invaded 
Kuwait, when Vietnam invaded Cambodia, when China conquered Tibet, 
during the Korean war, the Vietnam war, the Persian Gulf War, the 
invasion of Kosovo by Serbia, all the carnage brought forth upon 
millions and millions of people was the Geneva Convention called for to 
be reconvened? No. In dozens and dozens of places over the last 50 
years around this planet, millions of people have literally been 
tortured, enslaved and slaughtered, but the U.N. never called for the 
reconvening of the Geneva Convention. Only now in February of 1999 
because of what they call Israel's crime of home construction in 
Jerusalem.
  Mr. Speaker, if it was not so destructive of the truth, destructive 
of the meaning of the words, destructive of the mission of the U.N., 
destructive of the purpose of the Geneva Convention, it would be 
laughable. But this is no joke. Everyone voted for this resolution at 
the U.N. in the General Assembly except for America and Israel.
  What should we do about it? In a couple of days, notwithstanding the 
fact that we have the totalitarian leaders of Syria and Chairman Arafat 
and the President of Egypt saying we have a new day, a new era of peace 
that is on our doorstep, and the new duly elected President of Israel, 
Mr. Barak, espousing such a compelling and poetic commitment to peace 
between Israel and its neighbors, when all the parties at issue are 
speaking of an atmosphere of peace, reconciliation and commitment to 
finding a compromise for all the peoples of the region, what does the 
U.N. General Assembly do? They try to destroy the purpose of the Geneva 
Convention, humiliate and degrade the truth, and reconvene the Fourth 
Geneva Convention to condemn housing construction by Israel.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud and pleased that the Committee on 
International Relations last week condemned this action and voted to 
pass H. Con. Resolution 117. I am asking my colleagues in the House of 
Representatives also to pass H. Con. Resolution 117 which does four 
things: It commends the United States State Department for opposing 
these efforts to politicize the Geneva Convention. It urges our State 
Department to continue its opposition against the U.N.'s plans to 
convene their anti-Israel Geneva convention, which is set to occur on 
July 15, a handful of days from now unless the leaders of the U.N. and 
other leaders in the world stop it. It also calls on member states of 
the United Nations to join America in opposing the politicization of 
the Fourth Geneva Convention. And it, lastly, urges the U.N. General 
Secretary, Kofi Annan, and Switzerland, the host country, to refrain 
from assisting in the convening of this conference.

                              {time}  1445

  Modest steps, considering what is at stake: the integrity of the 
U.N., the integrity of the Geneva Convention, and justice. I urge my 
colleagues to support House Resolution 117.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Weiner).
  Mr. WEINER. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Rothman) for being such an active voice on this issue and 
so many others.
  If there was ever a bad time for a bad idea, this is probably it. The 
United Nations over its history has done some very great things to 
ensure peace and justice around the world, but it can also be rightly 
accused of taking every possible opportunity to throw obstacles in the 
way of the State of Israel and now obstacles in the way of pursuing a 
lasting peace in the Middle East.
  To dig up the Geneva Convention as an appropriate tool for the causes 
of the Palestinian Movement in the United Nations now is the worst 
possible abuse of the Geneva Convention. Never, as the gentleman from 
New Jersey (Mr. Rothman) pointed out, has it been used; and 
particularly now, it is an inappropriate time and an inappropriate 
place.

[[Page H5346]]

  As we have spent much of the last year looking at some true 
atrocities in the world, never in the time of the worst atrocities of 
Milosevic did the United Nations stand and seek to execute the Geneva 
Convention. Yet now, at the beginning of a new era in Israel, when a 
new administration takes over and, God willing, a new road to peace in 
the Middle East is about to be placed, we see the United Nations begin 
to move forward to activate the Geneva Convention which was intended to 
be used to protect civilians during wartime, not to solve territorial 
disputes.
  There are many of us who believe that the territories that the United 
Nations is looking at are not in dispute at all. We have to remember 
when the Palestinian Authority, when it entered into the Oslo Accords, 
took a pledge and signed in writing that they were not going to use the 
United Nations as a tool for their cause.
  At that time, the parties that agreed to pursue a peace in the Middle 
East did so with an understanding that we in this Chamber have argued 
for a great deal of time, and that is that the parties in that part of 
the world have to, in their own best interest, work out the road to 
peace, not from the United Nations in New York, not from the Capitol 
here in Washington, and not from small towns throughout the United 
States and the world, but the parties in that part of the world.
  This effort by the United Nations, which we opposed, we in the United 
States opposed, is contrary to that intent. This is not a time when we 
should belittle the Geneva Convention. This is not a time when the 
United Nations should once again enter into the frayed air.
  I would remind my colleagues, the United Nations Security Council, 
this is not the first time that they have sought to take their shots at 
the State of Israel. This is the same Security Council that sought to 
equate Zionism with racism, if my colleagues recall. So it should be no 
surprise that there is an anti-Israel bias in the Security Council.
  But for those of us who care about a lasting peace in the Middle 
East, care about a just peace in the Middle East that all of the 
parties can live with, I urge us in this Chamber to stand forthright in 
favor of this resolution. This is not the time, this is not the place 
for this anti-Israel resolution. This is also not the time or the place 
for the Geneva Convention to be bastardized in this way.
  Mr. SALMON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume. 
I would just like to reiterate the position, not only of myself, but I 
believe most people on our side of the aisle from the Committee on 
International Relations, and that is that it is a highly inappropriate 
action which the Geneva Convention seeks to undertake at a time when we 
should all be working together toward the peace process in the Middle 
East.
  These kinds of anti-Israel statements do not assist the process; they 
harm the process.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, there are real issues of dispute in the Middle East. 
There are territorial futures. There are issues of security. As the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Weiner) said, there is a process that has 
been agreed to by all the parties, the Oslo Peace Accords, by which the 
parties would sit down, one across the table from the other, and 
resolve their differences peaceably.
  Our action today does not prejudice what will happen in those 
discussions. We wish them well. What we are doing today is saying as a 
Nation a few things:
  Number one, that the free people of the United States of America will 
not tolerate the abuse of the United Nations by those nations who wish 
to use that forum to bash the only democracy in the Middle East, who 
happens to be America's number one military, economic, and cultural 
ally in that entire region and has been so for 50 years; and that we in 
America, we, the free people in the United States, will not stand by 
while totalitarian, dictatorial regimes represented in the U.N. at the 
General Assembly call for the convening of the Geneva Convention after 
50 years, only to bash housing construction in Israel, and to have 
ignored 50 years of slaughter, torture, and torment upon millions and 
millions of human beings around the world by dictators and thugs; and 
that we, the free and strong people of the United States, will stand by 
our number one ally in the region, the State of Israel, even when we 
are outnumbered at the U.N. by those who would seek to destroy that 
forum as a forum for truth and justice.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I again thank the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. 
Salmon), the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman), the Chairman of our 
committee, the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Gejdenson), our ranking 
member, for their support on this and many other issues where we have 
worked so well together and their support for this particular House 
Resolution 117. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.
  Mr. SALMON. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. ROTHMAN. I yield to the gentleman from Arizona.
  Mr. SALMON. Mr. Speaker, I did want to make one other comment. I know 
that in the last several years, one of the items of great controversy 
in this Congress, especially, I think, since I have been here in the 
last 5 years has been the U.N. arrearages.
  I might suggest that one of the reasons that people raised that red 
flag in the first place was because of issues like this, because the 
U.N. time and time and time again goes out and asserts itself and takes 
positions counter to the United States when we have been the largest 
financial supporter of that entity and have been for years and years 
and years, and many of our so-called allies, and I am not saying that 
about Israel because Israel votes with us, but many of our so-called 
allies end up spitting in our face; and these are allies that we have 
helped financially time and time and time again.
  I just might say that significant reforms have got to happen at the 
U.N., and this exactly points to what we are talking about.
  Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I say this: I agree with the gentleman from 
Arizona that this puts a disturbing light on many of our efforts to 
have our debt to the U.N. repaid. I for one believe that it is 
unconscionable for us to have such a debt at the U.N. and not have it 
be repaid. I believe there has been progress at the U.N.
  But when the member states of the U.N. and the U.N. Secretary and the 
General Assembly participate in this out and out Israel bashing, which 
is absurd, unjust, unfair by any measure, and sets a terrible precedent 
for the abuse of the Geneva Convention process, then we cannot ignore 
it.
  We must let those who voted in favor of this U.N. General Assembly 
resolution know that we will not forget their participation in this 
effort. We will remember. We will not forget what they have done. It 
only hurts the cause of the U.N.
  I may differ with the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Salmon) on the 
repayment of the debt, but I do agree with him that this does not make 
their case any better when they allow this forum to be abused in such a 
way.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker our consideration of this resolution is 
certainly timely since it concerns the convening, under extraordinary 
and almost unprecedented circumstances, the parties of the Fourth 
Geneva Convention for the Protection of Civilians in Times of War later 
this week in Geneva, Switzerland. The focus of this unusual meeting 
will be ``Illegal Israeli Actions in Occupied East Jerusalem and the 
Rest of the Occupied Territory.'' From its very title it is obvious 
that this meeting will be another kangaroo court convened solely for 
the purpose of pillorying Israel whose behavior in Jerusalem and the 
Occupied Territory has already been predetermined to be ``illegal.''
  Regrettably, by using such important instruments as the Fourth Geneva 
Convention to carry-on their anti-Israel campaign, the supporters of 
this Special Session in Geneva actually undermines the validity of the 
Convention and efforts to protect civilians in armed conflicts. We can 
be certain that little will be said of the many civilian victims of the 
numerous terrorist acts by Palestinian and Islamic groups hostile to 
Israel.
  Most of us are keenly aware of the anti-Israel fervor which resonates 
throughout the institutions and committees of the United Nations. We 
cannot forget the evil that was unleashed during consideration of the 
``Zionism is Racism'' resolution years ago. Clearly, the United Nations 
has a history of anti-Israel statements, resolutions, conferences and 
activities.

[[Page H5347]]

  This troubling action taken by the United Nations General Assembly 
earlier this year is but the latest of a long series of United Nations 
activities designed to unfairly and in a highly prejudicial fashion 
paint Israel as an aggressive rogue state, beyond the pale of 
international law.
  The resolution before us urges member states of the United Nations to 
oppose all efforts to attack Israel at this conference, and urges UN 
Secretary General Kofi Annan and Switzerland to refrain from assisting 
in the convening of the conference.
  Regarding Switzerland's role in this conference, it should be noted 
that as the repository of the Geneva Conventions, Switzerland has no 
recourse but to honor the will of the UN General Assembly that has 
convoked this Conference. As an observer state of the UN the Swiss were 
not even entitled to vote in the Emergency Session of the General 
Assembly that decided this matter.
  Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to send a strong message in 
opposition to this ill-considered and unhelpful initiative by fully 
supporting the adoption of H. Con. Res. 117.
  Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Goodlatte). The question is on the 
motion offered by the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Salmon) that the 
House suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. 
Res. 117, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  Mr. SALMON. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

                          ____________________