IV 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 285 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States 

should become an international human rights leader by ratifying and 

implementing certain core international conventions. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 21, 2015 

Mr. LEWIS submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each 

case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 

the committee concerned 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 

the United States should become an international human 

rights leader by ratifying and implementing certain core 

international conventions. 

Whereas the United States has played a leading role in developing global human rights standards since the inception 

of the country; 

Whereas the first 10 amendments to the Constitution are 

among the guiding principles that helped develop the 

Universal Declaration of Human Rights; 

Whereas Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, led the United States delegation and the 


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•HRES 285 IH 

United Nations (in this resolution referred to as the 

‘‘UN’’) in drafting the Universal Declaration of Human 

Rights; 

Whereas December 10, 2014, marked the 66th anniversary of 

the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; 

Whereas the General Assembly of the UN adopted the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural 

Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1966; 

Whereas the world celebrated the 208th anniversary of the 

abolition of the transatlantic slave trade on May 1, 2015; 

Whereas, on January 1, 2013, the United States recognized 

the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation; 

Whereas the United States continues to make legislative 

amendments that improve the rights of all persons in the 

United States, including the 13th Amendment in 1865, 

the Civil Rights Act of 1866, the 14th Amendment, the 

19th Amendment, the Social Security Act of 1935, the 

Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, the Housing Act of 

1949, the Equal Pay Act of 1963, the Civil Rights Act 

of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Elementary 

and Secondary Education Act of 1965, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, the McKinney-Vento 

Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1988, the Americans with Disabilities Act 

of 1990, the Civil Rights Act of 1991, and the Voting 

Rights Act Reauthorization of 2006; 

Whereas human and civil rights standards and protections require constant review and attention; 


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Whereas the UN Millennium Development Goals set forth a 

15-year plan to combat poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation, and discrimination; 

Whereas the 43rd General Assembly of the Organization of 

American States adopted the Inter-American Convention 

against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related 

Forms of Intolerance on June 5, 2013; 

Whereas there are as many as 27,000,000 people around the 

world who are enslaved; 

Whereas the United States has supported the adoption of the 

Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the UN General Assembly and has ratified significant international 

human rights treaties, including the International Conventions on the Elimination of Racism and Discrimination, on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of 

Genocide, and against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman 

or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; 

Whereas the United States has ratified two of the eight fundamental conventions outlined by the International Labor 

Organization (in this resolution referred to as the 

‘‘ILO’’) including the Abolition of Forced Labour and the 

Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of 

the Worst Forms of Child Labour; 

Whereas the United States has also ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the 

Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the 

Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in 

Armed Conflicts; 


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Whereas the United States signed the Convention on the 

Rights of Persons with Disabilities on July 30, 2009; and 

Whereas the United States is expected to be a regional and 

global leader in the international civil and human rights 

movement: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that— 

3 (1) the United States recommits to fighting dis4 crimination, xenophobia, and human and civil rights 

5 abuses in both domestic and foreign policy; 

6 (2) the United States reaffirms its commitment 

7 to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; 

8 (3) the United States should give thorough re9 view to domestic policy and legislative proposals that 

10 would improve the economic, social, political, cul11 tural, and civil rights and lives of marginalized com12 munities within the United States; 

13 (4) the Senate should give its advice and con14 sent to the ratification of the UN Covenant on Eco15 nomic, Social and Cultural Rights, the UN Conven16 tion on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimina17 tion Against Women and its Optional Protocol, the 

18 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the UN 

19 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabil20 ities and its Optional Protocol, the UN Convention 

21 for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced DisVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 May 21, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR285.IH HR285

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1 appearance, the First Optional Protocol to the UN 

2 Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Op3 tional Protocol to the UN Convention Against Tor4 ture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treat5 ment or Punishment; 

6 (5) the Senate should give its advice and con7 sent to the ratification of the ILO Convention on 

8 Forced or Compulsory Labour, the ILO Convention 

9 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the 

10 Right to Organise, the ILO Convention on the Right 

11 to Organise and Collective Bargaining, the ILO Con12 vention on Equal Remuneration, the ILO Conven13 tion on Discrimination in Respect of Employment 

14 and Occupation, and the ILO Convention on the 

15 Minimum Age for Admission to Employment; 

16 (6) the United States should fully support the 

17 Inter-American human rights system, especially 

18 hemispheric conventions regarding the rights of all 

19 persons, women, children, the disabled, marginalized 

20 communities, and the right to freedom of expression; 

21 and 

22 (7) it is the policy of the United States to op23 pose slavery, torture, racism, discrimination, and 

24 xenophobia in all forms. 

Æ 


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