A resolution recognizing the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations.

III 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. RES. 796 Recognizing the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES DECEMBER 8, 2020 Mr. BOOKER submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations RESOLUTION Recognizing the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations. Whereas President Franklin Delano Roosevelt coined the phrase ‘‘United Nations’’ in January 1942; Whereas 50 countries met in San Francisco to draw up the Charter of the United Nations in 1945; Whereas, on June 26, 1945, the Charter of the United Na- tions was signed in San Francisco at the conclusion of the United Nations Conference on International Organi- zation, and came into force on October 24, 1945; Whereas, June 26, 2020, marked the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations; Whereas, on September 10, 1948, the United Nations Gen- eral Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:22 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR796.IS SR796 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •SRES 796 IS Human Rights, which is the cornerstone for modern-day human rights and the world’s most translated document; Whereas, in September 1960, 17 newly independent coun- tries, including 16 from Africa, joined the United Na- tions, marking the biggest increase in membership in any one year; Whereas the United Nations has greatly contributed to inter- national peace and security; Whereas the United Nations has provided a forum for the achievement of international cooperation to address inter- national economic, social, cultural, and humanitarian problems, including promoting cooperation on climate change, supporting human rights, and combating human trafficking; Whereas, since 1948, the United Nations has deployed 71 peacekeeping and observation missions to some of the world’s most complex regions and countries; Whereas the United Nations peacekeeping missions have been charged with mandates to stabilize conflict zones after a cease-fire, assist in the implementation of comprehensive peace agreements, protect civilians from violence, facili- tate delivery of humanitarian assistance to vulnerable communities, and create stable governing institutions in fragile states; Whereas the United Nations peacekeepers played an instru- mental role in stabilizing Liberia following two dev- astating civil wars, paving the way in 2018 for the first peaceful transition of power between democratically elect- ed Presidents in the country since 1944; Whereas the United Nations peacekeepers helped to avert a genocide in the Central African Republic, continue to VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:22 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR796.IS SR796 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •SRES 796 IS protect tens of thousands of civilians from ethnic and po- litical violence in South Sudan, provide security to health workers battling the second largest Ebola outbreak in history in eastern Congo, and play an important role in ensuring that calm and stability prevail along the Israel- Lebanon border; Whereas, in 2006, under the leadership of the United Na- tions, member nations adopted the first-ever global strat- egy to counter terrorism, which was followed by other global agreements, including agreements against hostage taking, aircraft hijacking, terrorism bombings, and ter- rorism financing; Whereas the United States has used its permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council to push for the adoption of multilateral sanctions, including asset freezes, travel bans, arms embargoes, trade restrictions, and other measures, against terrorist organizations like al- Qaida and ISIS, rogue states that seek to obtain weapons of mass destruction like North Korea, and countries em- broiled by internal armed conflict such as South Sudan; Whereas the United Nations has provided electoral assistance to more than 100 countries and helped facilitate the transition to democracy in these countries, observing landmark elections in Cambodia, El Salvador, South Afri- ca, Mozambique, Timor-Leste, Liberia, Iraq, Nepal, Af- ghanistan, and Sierra Leone; Whereas the United Nations adopted the 17 Sustainable De- velopment Goals in September 2015, requiring member nations to commit to eradicating extreme poverty, fight- ing inequality, empowering women and girls, protecting natural resources, improving governance, and encour- aging sustainable and inclusive economic growth; VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:22 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR796.IS SR796 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •SRES 796 IS Whereas the United Nations has played a critical role in im- proving global public health, including through the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS; Whereas the World Health Organization, a United Nations specialized agency, serves as a multilateral coordinating body responsible for monitoring and leading the response to outbreaks of infectious disease, spearheading vaccina- tion efforts, and developing campaigns to combat life- threatening illnesses like polio and malaria; Whereas the World Health Organization played a central role in the eradication of smallpox in 1979, to date the only human disease ever to be eradicated; Whereas the United Nations Population Fund aims to end the unmet need for family planning, end preventable ma- ternal deaths, and end gender-based violence and harmful practices such as child marriage and female genital muti- lation by 2030 in all countries, including those affected by conflict and disaster; Whereas the United Nations Population Fund has helped re- duce maternal mortality by half since 1990; Whereas the United Nations Children’s Fund is active in 190 countries and territories to reach the children and young people in greatest need; Whereas the United Nations World Food Program reaches more than 86,000,000 people in 83 countries annually; Whereas the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cul- tural Organization (UNESCO) seeks to build peace through international cooperation in education, the sciences, and culture, and is preserving 1,073 World Her- itage sites in 167 countries; VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:22 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR796.IS SR796 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •SRES 796 IS Whereas today, with global population displacement at the highest level recorded since World War II, the World Food Program, together with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, United Nations Children’s Fund, and other United Nations agencies, is feeding, clothing, and sheltering millions from Syria, Iraq, the Central African Republic, and numerous other countries; Whereas the ongoing COVID–19 crisis highlights the need for strong and collective multilateral action; Whereas, since the beginning of the global COVID–19 pan- demic, the entire United Nations system has been hard at work: The World Health Organization (WHO) is on the ground in over 140 countries helping countries scale- up testing and access essential personal protective equip- ment, while also coordinating research and innovation ef- forts to advance drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics; the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is scaling up assistance to refugee camps; UNICEF is supporting the millions of children who are out of school; the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) is strengthening health systems to ensure re- productive and maternal health care; the World Food Programme (WFP) has established air hubs to distribute vital food and medical supplies across Africa; and United Nations peacekeeping missions are using troop patrols to educate on mitigation measures. Whereas, in Yemen, which has been on the brink of famine for several years and where 80 percent of the population relies on humanitarian aid to survive, United Nations agencies are working to reach 12,000,000 people each month with food and nutritional assistance, respond to a cholera epidemic that has sickened nearly 1,000,000 peo- ple since January 2018, rehabilitate irrigation systems VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:22 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR796.IS SR796 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •SRES 796 IS and provide agricultural inputs to increase domestic food production, and provide reproductive health care and safe delivery services to women; Whereas the United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen, Mar- tin Griffiths, is working to broker a diplomatic solution to the conflict and organized the first direct talks be- tween the Government of Yemen and Houthis in Decem- ber 2018, resulting in an agreement for a cease-fire and military redeployment from the port of Hodeidah; Whereas the Office of the United Nations High Commis- sioner for Human Rights plays a leading role in helping to elevate and advance human rights throughout the world; Whereas, in recent years, the Office of the High Commis- sioner has aided efforts to uncover and report on abuses in Syria, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, Sri Lanka, Yemen, Myanmar, Iraq, Belarus, and a host of other countries; Whereas these types of activities help raise public awareness of human rights violations, magnify the voices of dis- sidents and civil society organizations on the ground, and provide a tool for pressuring repressive governments and holding abusers accountable; Whereas United Nations Secretary-General Anto´nio Guterres has implemented key reforms, and continues to be com- mitted to instituting necessary reforms to improve the ef- fectiveness of the United Nations and strengthen over- sight; Whereas 2020 marks the start of the decade of action and delivery for the Sustainable Development Goals, major conferences on climate change, biodiversity, nuclear non- VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:22 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR796.IS SR796 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •SRES 796 IS proliferation, and health, the 25th anniversary of the landmark Beijing World Conference on Women, the 20th anniversary of United Nations Security Council Resolu- tion 1325, and the 10th anniversary of United Nations Women, among others; Whereas the United Nations remains an indispensable part- ner for the United States as Congress works to protect United States national security and foreign policy inter- ests around the world; Whereas the United Nations conducts business with numer- ous United States corporations and organizations and an- nually awards United States businesses with over $1,000,000,000 in contracts; Whereas these contracts were executed in 30 States and more than 100 cities and communities, benefitting hundreds of Americans who work to provide the United Nations a range of critical goods and services, including tele- communications, construction, food production, and mili- tary supplies; and Whereas the participation and leadership by the United States in the United Nations is essential to securing United States interests in international peace and secu- rity: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate— 1 (1) recognizes the 75th anniversary of the es- 2 tablishment of the United Nations; 3 (2) recognizes the United Nations for the crit- 4 ical role it plays in maintaining international peace 5 and security; 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:22 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR796.IS SR796 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •SRES 796 IS (3) applauds the United Nations for its leader- 1 ship and ongoing efforts in addressing global health 2 crises, including the global fight against HIV/AIDS; 3 (4) applauds the United Nations for its re- 4 sponse to unprecedented humanitarian crises that 5 have resulted in staggering escalation of displace- 6 ments and suffering in countries such as Yemen, 7 Syria, Iraq, South Sudan, Somalia, the Central Afri- 8 can Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the 9 Congo; 10 (5) commends the United Nations for its com- 11 mitment to eradicating extreme poverty and hunger; 12 and 13 (6) urges the President to issue a proclamation 14 calling on the people of the United States to observe 15 the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the 16 United Nations with appropriate ceremonies and ac- 17 tivities. 18 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:22 Dec 09, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR796.IS SR796 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS