III

Calendar No. 675

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 253

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JULY 12, 2000

Received and placed on the calendar

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Congress strongly objecting to

any effort to expel the Holy See from the United Nations

as a state participant by removing its status as a Permanent Observer.

Whereas the Holy See is the governing authority of the sovereign state of Vatican City;

Whereas the Holy See has an internationally recognized legal

personality that allows it to enter into treaties as the juridical equal of a state and to send and receive diplomatic

representatives;

Whereas the diplomatic history of the Holy See began over

1,600 years ago, during the 4th century A.D., and the

Holy See currently has formal diplomatic relations with

169 nations, including the United States, and maintains

179 permanent diplomatic missions abroad;
2

HCON 253 PCS

Whereas, although the Holy See was an active participant in

a wide range of United Nations activities since 1946 and

was eligible to become a member state of the United Nations, it chose instead to become a nonmember state with

Permanent Observer status over 35 years ago, in 1964;

Whereas, unlike the governments of other geographically

small countries such as Monaco, Nauru, San Marino, and

Liechtenstein, the Holy See does not possess a vote in

the General Assembly of the United Nations;

Whereas, according to a July 1998 assessment by the United

States Department of State, ‘‘[t]he United States values

the Holy See’s significant contributions to international

peace and human rights’’;

Whereas during the past year certain organizations that oppose the views of the Holy See regarding the sanctity of

human life and the value of the family as the basic unit

of society have initiated an organized effort to pressure

the United Nations to remove the Permanent Observer

status of the Holy See; and

Whereas the removal of the Holy See’s Permanent Observer

status would constitute an expulsion of the Holy See

from the United Nations as a state participant: Now,

therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That the Congress—

3 (1) commends the Holy See for its strong com4 mitment to fundamental human rights, including the

5 protection of innocent human life both before and

6 after birth, during its 36 years as a Permanent Ob7 server at the United Nations;
3

HCON 253 PCS

1 (2) strongly objects to any effort to expel the

2 Holy See from the United Nations as a state partici3 pant by removing its status as a nonmember state

4 Permanent Observer;

5 (3) believes that any degradation of the status

6 accorded to the Holy See at the United Nations

7 would seriously damage the credibility of the United

8 Nations by demonstrating that its rules of participa9 tion are manipulable for ideological reasons rather

10 than being rooted in neutral principles and objective

11 facts of sovereignty; and

12 (4) expresses the concern that any such deg13 radation of the status accorded to the Holy See

14 would seriously damage relations between the United

15 Nations and member states that find in the Holy

16 See a moral and ethical presence with which they

17 can work effectively in pursuing humanitarian ap18 proaches to international problems.

Passed the House of Representatives July 11, 2000.

Attest: JEFF TRANDAHL,

Clerk.
Calendar No. 675

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 253

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Congress strongly objecting to any effort to expel the Holy See from

the United Nations as a state participant by removing its status as a Permanent Observer.

JULY 12, 2000

Received and placed on the calendar