[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 39 (Friday, March 31, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2692-S2693]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 419--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT THE NEW 
  UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL FAILS TO ADEQUATELY REFORM THE 
 UNITED NATIONS COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS, THUS PREVENTING THAT BODY 
FROM BECOMING AN EFFECTIVE MONITOR OF HUMAN RIGHTS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

  Mr. FRIST (for himself and Mr. Inhofe) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 419

       Whereas the United Nations Commission on Human Rights was 
     created in 1946 to monitor and prevent the abuse of human 
     rights throughout the world;
       Whereas, since its creation in 1946, the United Nations 
     Commission on Human Rights failed to consistently uphold the 
     ideals contained in--
       (1) the United Nations Charter; and
       (2) the Universal Declaration on Human Rights;
       Whereas the United Nations Commission on Human Rights had 
     been particularly ineffective because the membership of the 
     commission included some of the worst abusers of human rights 
     in the world, including--
       (1) Cuba;
       (2) Sudan;
       (3) Libya;
       (4) Belarus;
       (5) China; and
       (6) Zimbabwe;
       Whereas the United Nations Commission on Human Rights 
     failed to act or speak out against numerous cases of 
     egregious human rights abuses, including--
       (1) the many abuses of communism;
       (2) the genocide in Rwanda in 1994; and
       (3) the ongoing genocide in Darfur caused by the Government 
     of Sudan;
       Whereas the United Nations Commission on Human Rights 
     failed to condemn countries that sponsor terrorism, 
     including--
       (1) Iran;
       (2) Syria; and
       (3) North Korea;
       Whereas the United Nations Commission on Human Rights had 
     repeatedly singled out Israel, the only democracy in the 
     Middle East, for criticism, while overlooking serious human 
     rights abuses throughout that region of the world;
       Whereas President Bush and the United Nations Secretary-
     General, Kofi Annan, have repeatedly emphasized that 
     meaningful reform of the United Nations Commission on Human 
     Rights is a key element for making the United Nations more 
     accountable, effective, and efficient;
       Whereas the creation of the new Human Rights Council on 
     March 15, 2006, failed to address the serious shortcomings of 
     the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and fell far 
     short of creating the small standing body composed of 
     appropriate countries that was initially envisioned by the 
     United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, in his March 
     2005 report, ``In Larger Freedom: Towards Development, 
     Security and Human Rights For All'';
       Whereas the new United Nations Human Rights Council 
     succeeds only in making superficial changes to the structure 
     of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights;
       Whereas the new United Nations Human Rights Council does 
     not--
       (1) embody the recommended institutional reforms necessary 
     to advance human rights;
       (2) monitor cases of human rights abuse throughout the 
     world; and
       (3) prevent egregious human rights violators from being 
     elected to the council;
       Whereas the new United Nations Human Rights Council only 
     reduces the number of seats on the council from 53 to 47, 
     which is not enough to make the council more efficient or 
     more effective;
       Whereas the new United Nations Human Rights Council also 
     maintains many geographical quotas that will only ensure that 
     human rights abusers will continue to have access to 
     membership on the council;
       Whereas the new United Nations Human Rights Council is not 
     supported by some of the leading non-governmental 
     institutions in

[[Page S2693]]

     the world that are dedicated to the promotion of freedom and 
     human rights;
       Whereas the United States, while voting against the 
     resolution creating the United Nations Human Rights Council, 
     was unable to ensure that the council would be structured to 
     best promote and protect human rights around the globe; and
       Whereas if the United States, working with other like-
     minded countries, is not able to adequately reform the 
     corrupt United Nations Human Rights Commission, then the 
     chances for the United States and other like-minded countries 
     to effect the broader changes to the United Nations that are 
     desired and needed to make the institution more effective are 
     much reduced: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) affirms that the United Nations Human Rights Council 
     should be a body that upholds the ideals contained in--
       (A) the United Nations Charter; and
       (B) the Universal Declaration on Human Rights;
       (2) believes that countries charged with protecting the 
     human rights of individuals throughout the world should be 
     required to--
       (A) hold regular, competitive, and democratic elections;
       (B) allow for freedom of expression; and
       (C) have a credible civil society;
       (3) finds that the creation of the United Nations Human 
     Rights Council fails to--
       (A) adequately reform the United Nations Commission on 
     Human Rights; and
       (B) prevent the worst abusers of human rights in the world 
     from attaining membership to the council;
       (4) applauds the Administration for opposing the creation 
     of the new council;
       (5) believes that the United States should adhere to its 
     principles and not seek membership on the new council, a move 
     that would undermine the credibility of the United States and 
     give the new council unwarranted legitimacy;
       (6) urges the Administration to not support the United 
     Nations Human Rights Council, and to advocate in favor of the 
     withdrawal of any financial support that would be used to 
     support the council until meaningful reforms are undertaken; 
     and
       (7) believes the United States should strengthen, deepen, 
     and operationalize the work of the international community of 
     democracies by establishing an effective human rights 
     oversight body outside the United Nations system, so as to 
     make it the primary means for examining, exposing, 
     monitoring, and redressing human rights abuses throughout the 
     world.

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, yesterday, I wrote a letter to President 
Bush expressing my strong opposition to the United States participating 
in the United Nations Human Rights Council. I believe the newly 
established body represents little improvement over the old and 
discredited commission it is intended to replace. Furthermore, any U.S. 
participation or financial support of the Council undermines our 
credibility as defenders of human rights around the world. I believe 
many of my colleagues share my assessment, which is why this resolution 
expresses the Senate's opposition to the Council and our strong belief 
that the United States should take no part. The United Nations 
Commission on Human Rights was established by the United States and our 
allies in 1946 to monitor and prevent human rights abuses throughout 
the world. It was charged to uphold the ideals embodied in the U.N. 
Charter and the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. However, in the 
intervening years, the Commission fell far short of these noble 
expectations. In particular, the Commission consistently granted 
membership to some of the world's worst human rights abusers. Sudan, 
Cuba, Libya, China, and Zimbabwe all have demonstrated egregious 
disregard for the human rights of their own citizens and shamefully 
were all Commission members. Moreover, the Commission repeatedly failed 
to act or condemn numerous cases of intolerable human rights abuses. 
These include the many abuses perpetrated by Communist states, the 1994 
Rwanda genocide, and even the ongoing genocide in Sudan's western 
region of Darfur. Many of our colleagues by now have had the 
opportunity to travel to that Darfur region. I, for one, have been 
there, as well as Chad, the country immediately west, and seen the 
terrible tragedies that are being created by this ongoing genocide. The 
Commission refused to condemn state sponsors of terrorism, such as 
Iran, Syria, and North Korea. They consistently singled out the only 
democracy in the Middle East, Israel, for criticism, while overlooking 
serious cases of human rights abuse in neighboring countries. The 
Commission repeatedly proved itself ineffective, unaccountable, and 
inefficient. It failed to achieve the goals and uphold the ideals for 
which it was created. Now, to their credit, the United States and many 
at the United Nations recognized the need for serious reform of the 
Commission in order to restore the U.N.'s credibility. However, the 
U.N.'s new Human Rights Council, established just 2 weeks ago, fails to 
do just that. It falls far short of the standards envisioned by 
President Bush and Secretary General Kofi Annan. It glosses over its 
deficiencies and offers only superficial changes to the former 
Commission structure.
  Fundamentally, the Council lacks the mechanisms and standards 
necessary to prevent flagrant human rights violators from gaining 
membership. It maintains the geographical quotas that will, once again, 
ensure that human rights abusers continue to have access to membership. 
It is wrong. It does not make sense. In short, the new Council fails to 
improve over the old Commission, and it is destined to fail in its core 
mission of monitoring and preventing human rights abuses around the 
world.
  I applaud President Bush and our Ambassador at the U.N., John Bolton, 
for opposing the resolution establishing the Council. I personally urge 
the administration, as does this resolution, to oppose U.S. 
participation in and deny American support for the U.N.'s new Human 
Rights Council. This would uphold America's credibility and reputation 
as a protector of human rights and deny the Council unwarranted 
legitimacy.
  I also believe that the United States should lead a group of like-
minded democracies to establish an effective human rights oversight 
body outside of the U.N. system. At a minimum, countries charged with 
protecting human rights should themselves hold regular, competitive, 
democratic elections; allow for freedom of expression; and have a 
credible civil society--all of which was not the case for the old U.N. 
Commission, nor is it now the case for the new Council.
  Regrettably, the U.N. and many of its member states have shown that 
they are not serious about reform. Therefore, the United States and 
those committed to protecting human rights must adhere to our 
principles and work toward a solution outside of the United Nations.
  For too long, the world's worst human rights abusers have 
successfully shielded themselves from scrutiny. It is time for change. 
It is time for sunlight. I believe that under the leadership of 
America, we should create a new, a stronger, a more credible body to 
protect the human rights of all of those who are vulnerable around the 
world.

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