[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 84 (Tuesday, June 10, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7643-S7644]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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  SENATE RESOLUTION 164--REAFFIRMING SUPPORT OF THE CONVENTION ON THE 
PREVENTION AND PUNISHMENT OF THE CRIME OF GENOCIDE AND ANTICIPATING THE 
COMMEMORATION OF THE 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ENACTMENT OF THE GENOCIDE 
  CONVENTION IMPLEMENTATION OF 1987 (THE PROXMIRE ACT) ON NOVEMBER 4, 
                                  2003

  Mr. ENSIGN (for himself, Mr. Corzine, Mr. Edwards, Mr. Bayh, Mr. 
Sarbanes, Mr. Conrad, Mr. Reed, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Jeffords, Mr. Kohl, 
Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Allen, Mr. Biden, Mr. Santorum, Mrs. 
Dole, Mrs. Boxer, and Mr. Durbin) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 164

       Whereas, in 1948, in the shadow of the Holocaust, the 
     international community responded to Nazi Germany's 
     methodically orchestrated acts of genocide by approving the 
     Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of 
     Genocide, done at Paris on December 9, 1948;
       Whereas the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of 
     the Crime of Genocide confirms that genocide is a crime under 
     international law, defines genocide as certain acts committed 
     with intent to destroy a national, ethnical, racial, or 
     religious group, and provides that parties to the Convention 
     undertake to enact domestic legislation providing effective 
     penalties for persons who are guilty of genocide;
       Whereas the United States, under President Harry Truman, 
     was the first nation to sign the Convention on the Prevention 
     and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide;
       Whereas the United States Senate approved the resolution of 
     advice and consent to the Convention on the Prevention and 
     Punishment of the Crime of Genocide on February 19, 1986;
       Whereas the Genocide Convention Implementation Act of 1987 
     (the Proxmire Act) (Public Law 100-606), signed into law by 
     President Ronald Reagan on November 4, 1988, enacted chapter 
     50A of title 18, United States Code, to criminalize genocide;
       Whereas the enactment of the Genocide Convention 
     Implementation Act marked a principled stand by the United 
     States against the crime of genocide and an important step 
     toward ensuring that the lessons of the Holocaust, the 
     Armenian Genocide, and genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda and 
     elsewhere will be used to help prevent future genocides;
       Whereas a clear consensus exists within the international 
     community against genocide, as evidenced by the fact that 133 
     nations are party to the Convention on the Prevention and 
     Punishment of the Crime of Genocide;
       Whereas, despite this consensus, many thousands of innocent 
     people continue to fall victim to genocide, and the denials 
     of past instances of genocide continue; and
       Whereas November 4, 2003 is the 15th anniversary of the 
     enactment of the Genocide Convention Implementation Act of 
     1987 (the Proxmire Act): Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) reaffirms its support for the Convention on the 
     Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide;
       (2) anticipates the commemoration of the 15th anniversary 
     of the enactment of the Genocide Convention Implementation 
     Act of 1987 (the Proxmire Act) on November 4, 2003; and
       (3) encourages the people and the Government of the United 
     States to rededicate themselves to the cause of ending the 
     crime of genocide.
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   SENATE RESOLUTION 165--COMMENDING BOB HOPE FOR HIS DEDICATION AND 
                        COMMITMENT TO THE NATION

  Mr. FRIST submitted the following resolution; which was considered 
and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 165

       Whereas Bob Hope is unique in the history of American 
     entertainment and a legend in vaudeville, radio, film, and 
     television;
       Whereas Bob Hope is a dedicated patriot whose unselfish and 
     incomparable service to his adopted country inspired him, for 
     more than six decades, from World War II to the Persian Gulf 
     War, to travel around the world to entertain and support 
     American service men and women;
       Whereas Bob Hope has personally raised over $1,000,000,000 
     for United States war relief and over seventy United States 
     charities;
       Whereas Bob Hope's life long commitment to public service 
     has made him one of the most loved, honored, and esteemed 
     performers in history, and has brought him the admiration and 
     gratitude of millions and the friendship of every President 
     of the United States since Franklin D. Roosevelt;
       Whereas Bob Hope, in a generous commitment to public 
     service, has donated his personal papers, radio and 
     television programs, scripts, his treasured Joke File and the 
     live appearances he made around the world in support of 
     American Armed Forces to the Library of Congress (the 
     ``Library'') and the American people;
       Whereas Bob and Dolores Hope and their family have 
     established and endowed in the Library a Bob Hope Gallery of 
     American Entertainment--a permanent display of rotating items 
     from the Hope Collection--and has donated a generous gift of 
     $3,500,000 for the preservation of the collection; and
       Whereas all Americans have greatly benefitted from Bob 
     Hope's generosity, charitable work, and extraordinary 
     creativity: Now therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) commends Bob Hope for his dedication and commitment to 
     the United States of America;
       (2) expresses its sincere gratitude and appreciation for 
     his example of philanthropy and public service to the 
     American people; and
       (3) directs the Secretary of the Senate to transmit a copy 
     of this resolution to Bob Hope.
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SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 52--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS THAT 
   THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT SHOULD SUPPORT THE HUMAN RIGHTS AND 
 DIGNITY OF ALL PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES BY PLEDGING SUPPORT FOR THE 
 DRAFTING AND WORKING TOWARD THE ADOPTION OF A THEMATIC CONVENTION ON 
THE HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIGNITY OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES BY THE UNITED 
 NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO AUGMENT THE EXISTING UNITED NATIONS HUMAN 
                 RIGHTS SYSTEM, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

  Mr. HARKIN (for himself, Mr. Chafee, and Mr. Kennedy) submitted the 
following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
Foreign Relations:

                            S. Con. Res. 52

       Whereas all people are endowed with an inestimable dignity, 
     which is based on autonomy and self-determination, and which 
     requires that every person be placed at the center of all 
     decisions affecting such person, and the inherent equality of 
     all people and the ethical requirement of every society to 
     honor and sustain the freedom of any individual with 
     appropriate communal support;
       Whereas more than 600,000,000 people have a disability;
       Whereas more than two-thirds of all persons with 
     disabilities live in developing countries, and only 2 percent 
     of children with disabilities in the developing world receive 
     any education or rehabilitation;
       Whereas during the last 2 decades, a substantial shift has 
     occurred globally in governmental and nongovernmental 
     institutions from an approach of charity toward persons with 
     disabilities to the recognition of the inherent universal 
     human rights of persons with disabilities;

[[Page S7644]]

       Whereas the United Nations has authoritatively endorsed and 
     helped to advance progress toward realizing the human rights 
     of persons with disabilities, as exemplified by the United 
     Nations Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities 
     for Persons with Disabilities (adopted by the United Nations 
     General Assembly in Resolution 48/96 of December 20, 1993), 
     which are monitored by a United Nations Special Rapporteur;
       Whereas because of the slow and uneven progress of ensuring 
     that persons with disabilities enjoy their universal human 
     rights in law and in practice, every society and the 
     international community remain challenged to identify and 
     implement the processes which best protect the dignity of 
     persons with disabilities and which fully implement their 
     inherent human rights;
       Whereas greater and more rapid progress must be achieved 
     toward overcoming the relative invisibility of persons with 
     disabilities in many societies, national laws, and existing 
     international human rights instruments; and
       Whereas, accordingly, the United Nations General Assembly 
     in November 2001, adopted an historic resolution to establish 
     an ad hoc committee open to all United Nations member nations 
     to consider proposals for a comprehensive and integral treaty 
     to protect and promote the rights and dignity of persons with 
     disabilities: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) the United States should play a leading role in the 
     drafting of a thematic United Nations convention that affirms 
     the human rights and dignity of persons with disabilities, 
     and that--
       (A) is consistent with the spirit of the American with 
     Disabilities Act of 1990, the United States Constitution, and 
     other rights enjoyed by United States citizens with 
     disabilities;
       (B) promotes inclusion, independence, political 
     enfranchisement, and economic self-sufficiency of persons 
     with disabilities as foundational requirements for any free 
     and just society; and
       (C) provides protections that are at least as strong as the 
     rights that are now recognized under international human 
     rights law for other vulnerable populations; and
       (2) the President should instruct the Secretary of State to 
     send to the United Nations Ad Hoc Committee meetings a United 
     States delegation that includes individuals with disabilities 
     who are recognized leaders in the United States disability 
     rights movement.

  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I rise to submit a concurrent resolution 
on behalf of myself, Senator Chafee and Senator Kennedy. This 
resolution deals with an issue that I have been working on for many 
years in a bipartisan manner. It simply calls on the United States to 
take a leading role in the drafting of an international convention on 
the human rights of individuals with disabilities. Such a treaty could 
improve the lives of over 600 million individuals with disabilities 
throughout the world.
  For the past twenty years, the United States has put politics aside 
and has taken a lead role in the world toward the understanding that 
disability rights are human rights. I chaired the Senate's Subcommittee 
on the Handicapped at the time that the Americans With Disabilities Act 
was being considered by Congress and was a leading author of the ADA. 
During hearings, I heard over and over again stories of people with 
disabilities suffering from discrimination--not getting a job because 
of a disability; being locked up in a nursing home or institution 
because of a disability; not being able to get into schools, 
restaurants, stores, banks and other places of business because of a 
disability. This kind of discrimination is wrong. It is wrong in the 
United States and it is wrong throughout the world.
  In 1990, then President Bush signed the ADA into law. He said, ``This 
historic Act is the world's first comprehensive declaration of equality 
for people with disabilities. Its passage has made the United States 
the international leader on this human rights issue.'' The United 
States did lead the way in 1990, and it has another historic 
opportunity to lead the way today.
  The issue of disability rights is very personal to me. As many of my 
colleagues know, my brother Frank was deaf. Because of his disability, 
he was sent to a school for the ``deaf and dumb'' across the State. 
Frank said to me, ``I may be deaf but I am not dumb.'' I think of how 
many children, like Frank, in the world are suffering the effects of 
this sort of discrimination. How many children are not going to school 
because they are deaf, or use a wheelchair, or are blind? How many 
adults with these same disabilities are not working, not earning a 
living, not participating in civil society?
  In recent months, we have all witnessed the situation people with 
disabilities face in Iraq and in Afghanistan. We have seen footage of 
the results of the tyranny of Saddam Hussein. We have seen many 
individuals who have life-long disabilities as a result of his cruelty. 
Many more are victims of terrorism and cruelty who now suffer the added 
injury of discrimination.
  America has an historic opportunity to help change the lives of these 
children and adults from around the world and open the doors of 
opportunity to them. It is time for the world community to come 
together and write an important new chapter and break down the barriers 
that prevent people with disabilities from participating in their 
communities and play an active role in civil society. It is time to say 
to all of the world that disability rights are human rights, not just 
in the United States, but everywhere in the world. I strongly urge the 
Bush Administration to take a lead and work with other member Nations 
in the drafting of this resolution. Under the auspices of the United 
Nations, member states are scheduled to meet next week in New York to 
consider proposals for a comprehensive treaty to protect and promote 
the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities. I cannot think of 
a more worthwhile role the Administration could play than to be a 
leader on this issue and to fully support a convention on the rights of 
individuals with disabilities.

  America's leadership in this process will help create a treaty that 
is both well intentioned and relevant, one that may fulfill its 
potential and vastly improve the perceptions, treatment and conditions 
of people with disabilities throughout the world. The United States 
must continue to lead the way in this important international effort.

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