Sec. 201. Findings

361 words·~2 min read·/bill/115/hr/2232/ih/section-201

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

Congress makes the following findings: Since its establishment in 2006, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has failed to meaningfully promote the protection of internationally recognized human rights. The UNHRC agenda contains a permanent item for criticism of the democratic, Jewish State of Israel, but no permanent items criticizing any other state or non-state actor. Since 2006, the UNHRC has a largely disproportionate number of resolutions focused on criticizing Israel, passing nearly 70 resolutions condemning Israel, more than the combined total of all other country-specific condemnatory resolutions.

In 2008, the Bush administration voted against the establishment of the UNHRC and later announced it would withhold United States funding to the United Nations regular budget equivalent to the United States share of the UNHRC budget. In March 2009, reversing the previous administration’s policy, the Obama administration announced that the United States would run for a seat on the UNHRC, winning a seat in May 2009. On July 23, 2014, the UNHRC adopted a resolution regarding Gaza and the West Bank.

The resolution contained over 1,700 words criticizing Israel for supposed human rights violations in Gaza, yet does not mention Hamas, the designated foreign terrorist organization responsible for using Palestinian children, women, and men as human shields and launching thousands of rockets indiscriminately into Israeli civilian populations, even once. In 2016, the UNHRC had 29 Members rated Not Free or only Partly Free by Freedom House in its 2015 Freedom in the World report—meaning 62 percent of the body’s membership failed to meet the standards of a free society.

In October 2016, the United Nations General Assembly elected 14 countries to the UNHRC, including some of the world’s worst human rights abusers: Cuba, China, and Saudi Arabia. On March 24, 2016, the UNHRC adopted a resolution that allowed for the creation of a database of all businesses that do business in or with the settlements , effectively establishing a blacklist of entities and giving support to the BDS movement and its supporters. The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) serves as the Secretariat of the UNHRC, supporting the Council’s work, providing staffing and recommendations to the Council.