[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 190 (Wednesday, December 7, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7036-S7037]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 862--CALLING FOR THE DISSOLUTION OF THE BIASED UNITED 
NATIONS INDEPENDENT INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION OF INQUIRY ON THE OCCUPIED 
      PALESTINIAN TERRITORY, INCLUDING EAST JERUSALEM, AND ISRAEL

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

                              S. Res. 862

       Whereas, shortly after the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 
     May 2021, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) 
     launched an open-ended investigation into the actions of 
     Israel during the conflict;
       Whereas the investigation, which serves to discredit the 
     only Jewish state, is likely to further fuel anti-Semitism 
     worldwide;
       Whereas the mandate of the United Nations Independent 
     International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied 
     Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel 
     (referred to in this preamble as the ``Commission'') is to 
     investigate in the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem, and 
     Israel all alleged violations of international humanitarian 
     law and all alleged violations and abuses of international 
     human rights law leading up to and since April 13, 2021;
       Whereas the creation of the Commission is consistent with 
     the continued bias of the UNHRC against Israel and the 
     disproportionate use of resources in an ongoing campaign to 
     disparage, discredit, and denounce Israel;
       Whereas, on October 16, 2021, after the United States was 
     reelected to the UNHRC, Secretary of State Antony Blinken 
     stated that the UNHRC ``suffers from serious flaws, including 
     disproportionate attention on Israel'' and that the United 
     States and other countries ``must push back against attempts 
     to subvert the ideals upon which the Human Rights Council was 
     founded'';
       Whereas, on March 28, 2022, Senator Cardin and Senator 
     Portman led a bipartisan group of 68 Senators in a letter 
     urging the Biden administration to prioritize reversing the 
     discriminatory and unwarranted treatment of Israel by the 
     UNHRC by leading a multinational effort in the UNHRC and in 
     the United Nations to end the Commission;
       Whereas the Commission released a report on June 7, 2022, 
     stating that ``the continued occupation by Israel of 
     Palestinian territory and discrimination against Palestinians 
     are the key root causes of the recurrent tensions, 
     instability and protraction of conflict in the region'';

[[Page S7037]]

       Whereas the report was presented at the 50th session of the 
     UNHRC on June 13, 2022, and concluded by stating that the 
     Commission will conduct investigations and legal analysis 
     into alleged violations and abuses by Israel and will work 
     with judicial accountability mechanisms toward ensuring 
     individual, state, and corporate accountability;
       Whereas, on October 20, 2022, the Commission released a 
     report to the United Nations General Assembly, stating that 
     ``Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory is now unlawful 
     under international law due to its permanence and the Israeli 
     Government's de-facto annexation policies'' and urged that 
     the issue to be referred to the International Court of 
     Justice;
       Whereas, on November 11, 2022, the United Nations General 
     Assembly Fourth Committee voted by a margin of 98 in favor, 
     17 opposed, and 52 abstentions to urgently seek an advisory 
     opinion from the International Court of Justice on the 
     ``prolonged occupation, settlement and annexation of 
     Palestinian territory'' by Israel; and
       Whereas one-sided reporting by the Commission continues to 
     attack Israel, while ignoring the continued violence 
     committed by Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) calls for the Secretary of State to continue to work 
     robustly toward the dissolution of the biased United Nations 
     Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the 
     Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and 
     Israel (referred to in this resolution as the ``Commission'') 
     to allow the United Nations Human Rights Council to focus on 
     the many situations around the world that warrant a thorough 
     and even-handed examination;
       (2) supports efforts by the Secretary of State to continue 
     to reduce the budget of the Commission until it is 
     eliminated;
       (3) believes that eliminating the Commission is an 
     opportunity to fulfill the pledge made at the 76th session of 
     the United Nations General Assembly Fifth Committee by 
     Ambassador Patrick F. Kennedy that ``the U.S. stands with 
     Israel in rejecting the unprecedented open-ended mandate of 
     this Commission of Inquiry, which perpetuates a practice of 
     unfairly singling out Israel in the U.N.''; and
       (4) opposes the persistent anti-Israel bias of the United 
     Nations Human Rights Council and other international 
     organizations.

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