IV

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. RES. 521

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that in international

negotiations, including United Nations conferences, the United States

should defend fundamental human rights to family, conscience, and life.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 9, 2000

Mr. DEMINT (for himself, Mr. PITTS, Mr. DELAY, Mr. SHADEGG, Mr.

WELDON of Florida, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. TIAHRT, Mr. TANCREDO, Mr.

DOOLITTLE, Mr. COBURN, Mr. SOUDER, Mr. ADERHOLT, Mr. BURTON

of Indiana, Mr. MCINTOSH, Mrs. MYRICK, Mr. TERRY, Mr.

HOSTETTLER, Mr. HAYES, and Mr. ISTOOK) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that

in international negotiations, including United Nations

conferences, the United States should defend fundamental human rights to family, conscience, and life.

Whereas, since 1985, there have been a series of conferences

organized by the United Nations to address women’s

rights and health;

Whereas one of these United Nations conferences, Beijing + 5 occurred the week of June 5, 2000;

Whereas some international delegations, including the U.S.

delegation, are promoting a new term ‘‘sexual rights’’,
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which could apply not only to adults, but also to children

as young as 10 years old;

Whereas this broad and vague language could promote the

sexual abuse of children and deny parents’ rights to protect their children;

Whereas this broad and vague phrase ‘‘sexual rights’’ could

also promote the spread of prostitution worldwide;

Whereas, according to newspaper reports, the U.S. delegation

to the Beijing + 5 conference is ‘‘leading efforts to avoid

condemning prostitution as a ‘form of abuse’ of women’’;

Whereas, according to reports, in recent negotiations at the

U.N. Convention on Transnational Organized Crime in

Vienna, the administration has supported limiting international efforts to combat ‘‘forced prostitution’’;

Whereas the prostitution of women and children in any form

and under any circumstances constitutes exploitation;

Whereas prostitution degrades women and children by treating them as commodities rather than human beings worthy of respect;

Whereas prostitution has detrimental effect on society as a

whole including ruined lives and increased health care,

law enforcement, and welfare costs;

Whereas prostitution contributes to the spread of sexually

transmitted diseases, including HIV;

Whereas the vast majority of women and children who are

forced, enticed, or otherwise induced to consent to participate in prostitution come from the lowest socioeconomic strata in society;
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Whereas the United States delegation reportedly opposes language that calls the pornography industry an exploiter of

women; and

Whereas, in article 16 of the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights, the Member States declared, ‘‘The family

is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and

is entitled to protection by society and the State’’: Now,

therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives urges

2 the President of the United States to direct any present

3 or future U.S. delegations to worldwide conferences to:

4 (1) adopt a negotiating policy that prostitution

5 in any form or circumstance degrades human dignity

6 and violates basic human rights;

7 (2) oppose broad and vague ‘‘sexual rights’’ lan8 guage for adults and children;

9 (3) call upon the international community to

10 end all forms of prostitution and aggressively pursue

11 organizations and individuals exploiting women and

12 children through prostitution; and

13 (4) defend the fundamental human rights to

14 family, conscience, and life.

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