IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 380 

Recognizing the 63rd anniversary of the United Nations. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 24, 2008 

Mrs. MALONEY of New York (for herself, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. MCDERMOTT, 

Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. FARR, Ms. BORDALLO, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. 

SERRANO, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. BRADY of 

Pennsylvania, Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Ms. 

EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, and Ms. LEE) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the 63rd anniversary of the United Nations. 

Whereas 2008 marks the 63rd anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations; 

Whereas, on June 26, 1945, representatives of countries 

throughout the world, including the United States, signed 

the Charter of the United Nations, and on October 24, 

1945, the Charter entered into force; 

Whereas article 1 of the United Nations Charter declares 

that the primary objective of the United Nations is the 

maintenance of international peace and security; 


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•HCON 380 IH 

Whereas the relationship between the United States and the 

United Nations is critical to the success of the United 

Nations in carrying out its mandates; 

Whereas, over the past 63 years, the United Nations has deployed 63 peacekeeping operations in some of the world’s 

most complex regions, including Cambodia, Burundi, 

Sudan, East Timor, El Salvador, Angola, Haiti, Liberia, 

and Sierra Leone; 

Whereas United Nations peacekeeping currently has more 

than 100,000 peacekeepers deployed to keep the peace in 

17 conflict areas around the world; 

Whereas United Nations peacekeeping missions have been 

charged with mandates such as preventing the outbreak 

of conflict or the spill-over of conflict across borders, stabilizing conflict situations after a cease-fire, assisting in 

the implementation of comprehensive peace agreements, 

and leading countries or territories through a transition 

to stable government; 

Whereas the United Nations is also dedicated to the development of friendly relations among countries, based on 

equal rights and sovereign equality; 

Whereas, in September 1960, the United Nations accepted 16 

African countries as members of the United Nations that 

had seceded from colonial rule and established their independence; 

Whereas the United Nations was a major factor in bringing 

about the downfall of the apartheid system in South Africa by imposing measures ranging from an arms embargo 

to a convention against segregated sporting events; 

Whereas, in November 1947, the United Nations General Assembly, bearing in mind millennia of Jewish history, inVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:55 Jun 25, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HC380.IH HC380

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cluding the tragedy of the Holocaust, recognized the right 

of the Jewish people to establish an independent state in 

their ancient homeland; 

Whereas the United Nations has provided a forum for the 

achievement of international cooperation in solving international economic, social, cultural, and humanitarian 

problems, including addressing such challenges as climate 

change, combating trafficking in humans, and promoting 

cooperation to defeat global terrorism; 

Whereas, in 1980, the United Nations and the World Health 

Organization reached an extraordinary milestone when 

they declared the world free of smallpox, following a 13- 

year eradication effort; 

Whereas the United Nations continues to implement programs for the universal immunization of polio, tetanus, 

measles, whooping cough, diphtheria, and tuberculosis; 

Whereas, within 48 hours of the devastating earthquake and 

tsunami that struck Southeast Asia on December 26, 

2004, the United Nations and its agencies, including the 

United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Health Organization, the World Food Programme, and the United 

Nations Development Programme, began allocating emergency aid distribution to the various countries impacted 

by the earthquake and tsunami; 

Whereas United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has 

launched a multi-year campaign to intensify action to end 

violence against women and girls that aims to mobilize 

public opinion to ensure that policy makers at the highest 

levels work to prevent and eradicate violence against 

women; 


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Whereas the United Nations has contributed to the peace and 

security of the international community through diplomatic efforts and actions approved by the Security Council; 

Whereas the image of the United Nations has been injured 

by the Oil-for-Food Program, the election of egregious 

human rights violators to the United Nations Human 

Rights Council, and allegations of sexual exploitation and 

abuse among United Nations Peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo and elsewhere; 

Whereas, despite the central role that the United Nations 

and its agencies have played in addressing global issues 

of human rights, hunger, health, the environment, and 

the needs of children over the past 63 years, the world 

body must commit to serious structural reforms in order 

to effectively carry out its mandate into the next century; 

Whereas the United Nations has already undergone significant reforms in recent years, including the creation of a 

United Nations Democracy Fund, the establishment of a 

United Nations Ethics Office, imposition of common policy on whistle blower protection, institution of a new financial disclosure policy, and a strengthening of the commitment to internal oversight, including the creation of a 

Procurement Task Force; 

Whereas United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s 

continuing commitment to institute necessary reforms to 

improve the effectiveness of the United Nations should be 

applauded and supported; and 

Whereas United States participation and leadership in the 

United Nations reform process is essential to securing 


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American interests in international peace and security: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That Congress— 

3 (1) recognizes the 63rd anniversary of the 

4 United Nations; 

5 (2) urges the President to issue a proclamation 

6 calling on the people of the United States to observe 

7 the 63rd anniversary of the United Nations with ap8 propriate ceremonies and activities; and 

9 (3) urges the President to exert United States 

10 leadership to ensure that substantive United Nations 

11 reforms underway are fully implemented and that 

12 further reforms are adopted in order for the United 

13 Nations to effectively carry out its mandate into the 

14 next century. 

Æ 


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