[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 15239]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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  SENATE RESOLUTION 185--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING 
                      REFORM OF THE UNITED NATIONS

  Mr. SMITH (for himself and Mr. Nelson of Florida) submitted the 
following resolution; which was:

                              S. Res. 185

       Whereas, on July 28, 1945, the Senate approved the 
     resolution advising and consenting to the ratification of the 
     Charter of the United Nations by a vote of 89 to 2;
       Whereas recent events, including the United Nations oil-
     for-food scandal and sexual misconduct by United Nations 
     peacekeepers, have led to declining public confidence in the 
     United Nations;
       Whereas there is broad international agreement that the 
     United Nations must reform its existing policies, practices, 
     and institutions in order to better manage the interests of 
     its 191 members and address the current threats to 
     international peace and security;
       Whereas the future direction of the United Nations has 
     recently been addressed in the report of the Secretary-
     General's High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, 
     issued on December 2, 2004, the report of the Secretary-
     General entitled ``In Larger Freedom: Toward Development, 
     Security and Human Rights for All'', issued on March 21, 
     2005, and the report of the congressionally mandated Task 
     Force on the United Nations, convened by the United States 
     Institute of Peace (USIP), entitled ``American Interests and 
     UN Reform'', issued on June 15, 2005;
       Whereas these reports call for comprehensive reform of the 
     United Nations, including overhauling basic management 
     practices and building a more transparent, accountable, 
     efficient, and effective organization;
       Whereas these reports highlight the deficiencies in the 
     United Nations human rights bodies, in particular the 
     practice of allowing countries that have violated human 
     rights to sit on United Nations bodies that were established 
     to monitor, promote, and enforce human rights;
       Whereas these reports highlight many serious problems with 
     the United Nations peacekeeping operations that need to be 
     addressed while the peacekeepers are deployed in critical 
     situations around the world;
       Whereas these reports discuss the question of United 
     Nations Security Council reform in an attempt to increase the 
     effectiveness and credibility of the Security Council and to 
     enhance its capacity and willingness to act in the face of 
     threats;
       Whereas the USIP Task Force emphasized the importance that 
     any reform of the United Nations Security Council must 
     enhance its effectiveness and not in any way detract from the 
     Security Council's efficiency and ability to act in 
     accordance with the Charter of the United Nations; and
       Whereas the United Nations has an important role to play in 
     providing a forum for countries to discuss issues and resolve 
     differences and to address the pressing humanitarian issues 
     and security threats of the day: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) declares that a credible, effective, and reformed 
     United Nations can play an important role in helping promote 
     global peace and security;
       (2) reaffirms that reform of the United Nations Security 
     Council would necessitate a revision of the Charter of the 
     United Nations, which would constitute a treaty revision 
     requiring an affirmative vote in the Senate by a two-thirds 
     majority;
       (3) states that the United Nations and its subsidiary 
     bodies and agencies must be reformed, refocused, and made 
     more efficient, and must become more transparent and more 
     accountable;
       (4) declares that oversight of the United Nations must be 
     improved, that the management systems and budgeting processes 
     of the institution must be updated and modified, and that 
     protections for whistleblowers employed by the United Nations 
     must be implemented;
       (5) states that the United Nations Human Rights Commission 
     should be abolished and replaced by a United Nations Human 
     Rights Council or other body composed of governments that are 
     committed to upholding human rights;
       (6) declares that the reforms described above must be 
     implemented before the Senate will consider changes to the 
     Charter of the United Nations that require the advice and 
     consent of the Senate; and
       (7) urges the Secretary of State--
       (A) to provide the Senate the Secretary of State's 
     recommendations for reform of the United Nations; and
       (B) to consult fully and regularly with the Senate as 
     deliberations on United Nations reform progress.

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