II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4034 

To withhold certain United Nations funding until the United Nations Human 

Rights Council mandates a body to investigate human rights abuses 

in the People’s Republic of China, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 21, 2024 

Mr. WICKER (for himself, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. BRAUN, Mrs. 

HYDE-SMITH, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, and Mr. SCOTT of 

South Carolina) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To withhold certain United Nations funding until the United 

Nations Human Rights Council mandates a body to investigate human rights abuses in the People’s Republic 

of China, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘No Bystanders at the 

5 United Nations Human Rights Council Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 (1) According to the United Nations System 

2 Chief Executives Board for Coordination, the United 

3 States Government contributed $18,095,456,587 to 

4 the United Nations system in 2022, the most recent 

5 year for which the United Nations has made data 

6 available. 

7 (2) The United States is the single largest fi8 nancial contributor to the United Nations system. 

9 (3) All United Nations member states must cer10 tify that they will adhere to the United Nations 

11 Charter, Chapter 1, Article 1, which states that the 

12 United Nations will promote and encourage respect 

13 for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for 

14 all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or 

15 religion. 

16 (4) The United Nations Human Rights Council 

17 (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Council’’) is respon18 sible for strengthening the promotion and protection 

19 of human rights around the globe and for addressing 

20 situations of human rights violations and making 

21 recommendations on them. 

22 (5) The Council possesses the power to estab23 lish independent investigative bodies to respond to 

24 situations of serious violations of international hu25 manitarian law and international human rights law. 


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1 (6) The Council has never established an inde2 pendent body to investigate the human rights abuses 

3 of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the Peo4 ple’s Republic of China (PRC). The Council’s failure 

5 to establish a body to investigate the human rights 

6 abuses of the CCP constitutes bystander behavior. 

7 (7) Following the Council’s 2018 Universal 

8 Periodic Review (UPR) of China, Former United 

9 Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights 

10 Michelle Bachelet wrote a letter to Former Chinese 

11 Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi welcoming his 

12 government’s efforts to promote and protect human 

13 rights. 

14 (8) The Council has established 38 investigative 

15 bodies since the Council was created in 2006. 

16 (9) The Council has established an independent 

17 investigative body to investigate Israel nine times. 

18 (10) The CCP has committed a number of 

19 grave human rights violations, including— 

20 (A) the forced labor of ethnic Uyghur and 

21 other Muslims in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autono22 mous Region, as detailed in the Uyghur Human 

23 Rights Policy Act of 2020 (Public Law 116– 

24 145); 


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1 (B) mass arrests of pro-democracy advo2 cates peacefully exercising their freedoms of as3 sembly and expression in Hong Kong; and 

4 (C) widespread censorship and detainment 

5 of citizens protesting draconian ‘‘zero-COVID’’ 

6 restrictions. 

7 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

8 It is the sense of Congress that— 

9 (1) the human rights abuses of the CCP war10 rant investigation by the Council; 

11 (2) the Council’s failure to investigate the 

12 human rights abuses of the CCP contradicts the 

13 purpose of the United Nations stated in the United 

14 Nations Charter, Chapter 1, Article 1; and 

15 (3) the United States should not provide fund16 ing for the Council until it fulfills its stated respon17 sibilities by establishing an independent investigative 

18 body to adequately examine the human rights abuses 

19 of the CCP. 

20 SEC. 4. WITHHOLDING OF UNITED NATIONS FUNDING. 

21 (a) ANNUAL UNITED STATES CONTRIBUTIONS TO

22 REGULAR BUDGET OF UNITED NATIONS.—The Secretary 

23 of State shall withhold from annual United States con24 tributions to the regular budget of the United Nations an 

25 amount equal to the amount the Secretary determines 


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1 would be allocated by the United Nations to support the 

2 United Nations Human Rights Council until the Secretary 

3 certifies to Congress that the United Nations Human 

4 Rights Council has mandated a body to investigate human 

5 rights abuses in the People’s Republic of China. 

6 (b) PROHIBITION ON VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS

7 TO BUDGET OF UNHRC.—The Secretary of State may 

8 not make voluntary contributions to the budget of the 

9 United Nations Human Rights Council until the Secretary 

10 certifies to Congress that the United Nations Human 

11 Rights Council has mandated a body to investigate human 

12 rights abuses in the People’s Republic of China. 

Æ 


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