I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2232 

To ensure accountability at the United Nations and its specialized agencies 

and to promote reform and limit anti-Semitism and anti-Israel bias 

at the United Nations. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 28, 2017 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN (for herself, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Ms. GRANGER, 

Mr. CHABOT, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. ROSKAM, Mr. YOHO, 

Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. MEADOWS, Mr. ZELDIN, Mrs. WAGNER, Mr. 

BILIRAKIS, and Mr. DESANTIS) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To ensure accountability at the United Nations and its specialized agencies and to promote reform and limit antiSemitism and anti-Israel bias at the United Nations. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Promoting Equality and Accountability at the United 

6 Nations Act of 2017’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents is 

8 as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—LIMITATIONS RELATING TO THE UNITED NATIONS RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY FOR PALESTINE REFUGEES IN THE 

NEAR EAST (UNRWA) 

Sec. 101. Findings. 

Sec. 102. Limitations relating to UNRWA funding. 

Sec. 103. Sense of Congress. 

TITLE II—LIMITATIONS RELATING TO THE UNITED NATIONS 

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL AND THE UNITED NATIONS HUMAN 

RIGHTS OFFICE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER 

Sec. 201. Findings. 

Sec. 202. Limitations relating to the United Nations Human Rights Council 

and the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High 

Commissioner membership and funding. 

Sec. 203. Sense of Congress. 

Sec. 204. Statement of policy. 

TITLE III—STATUS OF PALESTINIAN ENTITIES AT THE UNITED 

NATIONS 

Sec. 301. Findings. 

Sec. 302. Reaffirmation of United States policy regarding the status of Palestinian entities at the United Nations, its specialized agencies 

or its affiliated organizations. 

Sec. 303. Restriction regarding participation in the United Nations, its specialized agencies or its affiliated organizations. 

Sec. 304. Statement of policy. 

TITLE IV—ANTI-SEMITISM AT THE UNITED NATIONS 

Sec. 401. Anti-Semitism at the United Nations. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT4 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com5 mittees’’ means— 

6 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 

7 Committee on Appropriations, and the Com8 mittee on Oversight and Government Reform of 

9 the House of Representatives; and 


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1 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 

2 the Committee on Appropriations, and the 

3 Committee on Homeland Security and Govern4 mental Affairs of the Senate. 

5 (2) FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION.—The 

6 term ‘‘foreign terrorist organization’’ means an or7 ganization designated as a foreign terrorist organiza8 tion by the Secretary of State in accordance with 

9 section 219(a) of the Immigration and Nationality 

10 Act (8 U.S.C. 1189(a)). 

11 (3) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ means 

12 an individual who is employed in the general serv13 ices, professional staff, or senior management of the 

14 United Nations, including consultants, contractors, 

15 and subcontractors. 

16 (4) GENERAL ASSEMBLY.—The term ‘‘General 

17 Assembly’’ means the General Assembly of the 

18 United Nations. 

19 (5) MEMBER STATE.—The term ‘‘Member 

20 State’’ means a Member State of the United Na21 tions. Such term is synonymous with the term 

22 ‘‘country’’. 

23 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

24 the Secretary of State. 


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1 (7) SECRETARY-GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Sec2 retary-General’’ means the Secretary-General of the 

3 United Nations. 

4 (8) SECURITY COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Security 

5 Council’’ means the Security Council of the United 

6 Nations. 

7 (9) UNITED NATIONS ENTITY.—The term 

8 ‘‘United Nations entity’’ means any United Nations 

9 agency, commission, conference, council, court, de10 partment, forum, fund, institute, office, organiza11 tion, partnership, program, subsidiary body, tri12 bunal, trust, university or academic body, related or13 ganization or subsidiary body, wherever located, that 

14 flies the United Nations flag or is authorized to use 

15 the United Nations logo. 

16 (10) UNITED STATES CONTRIBUTION.—The 

17 term ‘‘United States contribution’’ means an as18 sessed or voluntary contribution, whether financial, 

19 in-kind, or otherwise, from the United States Fed20 eral Government to a United Nations entity, includ21 ing contributions passed through other entities for 

22 ultimate use by a United Nations entity. 


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1 TITLE I—LIMITATIONS RELAT2 ING TO THE UNITED NATIONS 

3 RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY 

4 FOR PALESTINE REFUGEES 

5 IN THE NEAR EAST (UNRWA) 

6 SEC. 101. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) The total annual budget of the United Na9 tions Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refu10 gees in the Near East (UNRWA), including its core 

11 programs, emergency activities, and special projects, 

12 exceeds $1,500,000,000. 

13 (2) UNRWA employs over 33,000 staff to sup14 port 5,000,000 individuals in the West Bank, Gaza, 

15 Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, while the United Na16 tions High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) 

17 employs one-third the staff size of UNRWA, with 

18 just over 10,000 staff to support over 60,000,000 

19 ‘‘refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced per20 sons (IDPs), returnees (refugees and IDPs), state21 less persons, and others of concern to UNHCR’’. 

22 (3) The United States has long been the largest 

23 single contributing country to UNRWA. From 1950 

24 to 2015, the United States has contributed over 


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1 $5,630,000,000 to UNRWA, including over 

2 $380,000,000 in 2015. 

3 (4) UNRWA staff unions, including the teach4 ers’ union, are frequently controlled by members af5 filiated with Hamas. 

6 (5) The curriculum of UNRWA schools, which 

7 use the textbooks of their respective host govern8 ments or authorities, has long contained materials 

9 that are anti-Israel, anti-Semitic, and supportive of 

10 violent extremism. 

11 (6) On July 16, 2014, UNRWA reported that 

12 it had found 20 missiles in one of its schools in 

13 Gaza, likely placed there by Hamas, and then re14 turned them to the ‘‘relevant authorities’’ in Gaza, 

15 territory controlled by Hamas. 

16 (7) On July 22, 2014, UNRWA reported that 

17 it had found a second instance in which missiles 

18 were stockpiled in one of its schools in Gaza. 

19 (8) On July 29, 2014, UNRWA confirmed that, 

20 for the third time in less than a month, a stockpile 

21 of Hamas rockets was found in one of its schools in 

22 Gaza, establishing a pattern of Hamas weapons 

23 being stored in UNRWA facilities, and calling into 

24 question UNRWA’s claim of being caught unawares 

25 to Hamas’ actions. 


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1 (9) On July 30, 2014, three Israeli Defense 

2 Force soldiers were killed in an explosion at a booby3 trapped UNRWA health clinic, which was housing 

4 the opening to one of Hamas’ underground tunnels. 

5 (10) On July 30, 2014, John Ging, head of 

6 UNRWA from 2006–2011, when asked if Hamas 

7 has been using human shields and using United Na8 tions schools and hospitals to store weapons and as 

9 a shelter from which to launch missiles into Israel, 

10 stated in an interview, ‘‘Yes, the armed groups are 

11 firing their rockets into Israel from the vicinity of 

12 UN facilities and residential areas. Absolutely.’’. 

13 (11) On September 1, 2015, the nongovern14 mental organization, UN Watch, published a report 

15 which documented 12 different Facebook accounts 

16 operated by UNRWA officials that openly incite to 

17 anti-Semitism and violence, including Ahmed Fathi 

18 Bader, who identified himself as a Deputy School 

19 Principal at UNRWA and who praised the murder 

20 of ‘‘a group of collaborators with the Jews’’. 

21 (12) On October 16, 2015, UN Watch pub22 lished a report entitled ‘‘Report on UNRWA Teach23 ers and Other Officials Inciting Violence & Anti24 semitism’’, identifying an additional 10 UNRWA in25 dividuals that openly incite to anti-Semitism and vioVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 May 04, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2232.IH H2232

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1 lence, including Hani Al Ramahi, who identified 

2 himself as a ‘‘Projects Support Assistant at 

3 UNRWA’’, and who posted an image that encour4 aged Palestinians to ‘‘stab Zionist dogs’’. 

5 (13) On October 20, 2015, the United Nations 

6 Secretary-General’s Deputy Spokesman’s office, in 

7 response to a question regarding the UNRWA alle8 gations raised in the UN Watch reports, stated that 

9 ‘‘in a number of cases so far, the Agency has found 

10 staff Facebook postings to be in violation of its so11 cial media rules . . . the staff have been subject to 

12 both remedial and disciplinary action, including sus13 pension and loss of pay. The remaining allegations 

14 are under assessment.’’. 

15 (14) On March 2, 2016, UNRWA USA’s Na16 tional Committee communications director, Laila 

17 Mokhiber, tweeted her support for Israeli Apartheid 

18 Week, a designated week designed to build support 

19 for the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanc20 tions (BDS) movement. 

21 (15) On February 26, 2017, UNRWA an22 nounced that it had suspended Suhail al-Hindi, the 

23 chairman of the UNRWA Palestinian workers’ union 

24 in Gaza and the principal of an UNRWA elementary 

25 school after receiving substantial information that 


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1 al-Hindi was elected to Hamas’ politburo in a vote 

2 in early February 2017. 

3 SEC. 102. LIMITATIONS RELATING TO UNRWA FUNDING. 

4 Section 301 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 

5 (22 U.S.C. 2221) is amended by striking subsection (c) 

6 and inserting the following new subsection: 

7 ‘‘(c)(1) WITHHOLDING.—United States contributions 

8 to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Pal9 estine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), to any suc10 cessor or related entity, or to the regular budget of the 

11 United Nations for the support of UNRWA or a successor 

12 entity (through staff positions provided by the United Na13 tions Secretariat or otherwise), may be provided only dur14 ing a period for which a certification described in para15 graph (2) is in effect. 

16 ‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION.—A certification described in 

17 this paragraph is a written determination by the Secretary 

18 of State, based on all information available after diligent 

19 inquiry, and transmitted to the appropriate congressional 

20 committees along with a detailed description of the factual 

21 basis therefore, that— 

22 ‘‘(A) no official, employee, consultant, con23 tractor, subcontractor, representative, or affiliate of 

24 UNRWA— 


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1 ‘‘(i) is a member of a foreign terrorist or2 ganization; 

3 ‘‘(ii) has propagated, disseminated, or in4 cited anti-American, anti-Israel, or anti-Semitic 

5 rhetoric or propaganda; or 

6 ‘‘(iii) has used any UNRWA resources, in7 cluding publications or web sites, to propagate 

8 or disseminate political materials, including po9 litical rhetoric regarding the Israeli-Palestinian 

10 conflict; 

11 ‘‘(B) no UNRWA school, hospital, clinic, other 

12 facility, or other infrastructure or resource is being 

13 used by a foreign terrorist organization for oper14 ations, planning, training, recruitment, fundraising, 

15 indoctrination, communications, sanctuary, storage 

16 of weapons or other materials, or as an access point 

17 to any underground tunnel network, or any other 

18 purposes; 

19 ‘‘(C) UNRWA is subject to comprehensive fi20 nancial audits by an internationally recognized third 

21 party independent auditing firm and has imple22 mented an effective system of vetting and oversight 

23 to prevent the use, receipt, or diversion of any 

24 UNRWA resources by any foreign terrorist organiza25 tion or members thereof; 


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1 ‘‘(D) no UNRWA-funded school or educational 

2 institution uses textbooks or other educational mate3 rials that propagate or disseminate anti-American, 

4 anti-Israel, or anti-Semitic rhetoric, propaganda or 

5 incitement; 

6 ‘‘(E) no recipient of UNRWA funds or loans is 

7 a member of a foreign terrorist organization; and 

8 ‘‘(F) UNRWA holds no accounts or other affili9 ations with financial institutions that the United 

10 States deems or believes to be complicit in money 

11 laundering and terror financing. 

12 ‘‘(3) RECERTIFICATION; EFFECTIVE PERIOD.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

14 after the date on which the Secretary transmits to 

15 the appropriate congressional committees an initial 

16 certification under paragraph (2), and every 180 

17 days thereafter— 

18 ‘‘(i) the Secretary shall transmit to the ap19 propriate congressional committees a recertifi20 cation that the conditions described in para21 graph (2) are continuing to be met; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) if the Secretary is unable to make 

23 such a recertification, the Secretary shall trans24 mit to the appropriate congressional committees 

25 a report that contains the reasons therefor. 


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1 ‘‘(B) EFFECTIVE PERIOD.—An initial certifi2 cation under paragraph (2) or a recertification 

3 under subparagraph (A) shall be effective for the ap4 plicable 180-day period or until the Secretary re5 ceives information rendering that certification or re6 certification factually inaccurate, whichever occurs 

7 first. In the event that a certification or recertifi8 cation becomes ineffective, the Secretary shall 

9 promptly transmit to the appropriate congressional 

10 committees a description of any information that 

11 precludes the renewal or continuation of the certifi12 cation or recertification. 

13 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION.—During a period for which a cer14 tification described in paragraph (2) is in effect, the 

15 United States may make contributions to UNRWA on an 

16 annual basis in an amount that does not exceed the lesser 

17 of— 

18 ‘‘(A) the highest amount contributed to the 

19 budget of UNRWA by a member country of the 

20 League of Arab States for the same year; or 

21 ‘‘(B) the amount that is equal to 22 percent of 

22 the total budget of UNRWA for the same year. 

23 ‘‘(5) OBLIGATION.—During a period for which a cer24 tification in paragraph (2) is not in effect, amounts that 

25 would otherwise be made available for contribution to 


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1 UNRWA in accordance with paragraph (4) are authorized 

2 to be made available for contributions to the United Na3 tions High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). 

4 Amounts made available in this paragraph are in addition 

5 to any other amounts made available under any other pro6 vision of law. 

7 ‘‘(6) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

8 ‘‘(A) the term ‘foreign terrorist organization’ 

9 means an organization designated as a foreign ter10 rorist organization by the Secretary of State in ac11 cordance with section 219(a) of the Immigration and 

12 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189(a)); and 

13 ‘‘(B) the term ‘United States contribution’ 

14 means an assessed or voluntary contribution, wheth15 er financial, in-kind, or otherwise, from the United 

16 States Federal Government to a United Nations en17 tity, including contributions passed through other 

18 entities for ultimate use by a United Nations enti19 ty.’’. 

20 SEC. 103. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

21 It is the sense of Congress that— 

22 (1) the President and the Secretary of State 

23 should lead a high-level diplomatic effort to encour24 age other responsible nations to withhold contribu25 tions to the United Nations Relief and Works AgenVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 May 04, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2232.IH H2232

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1 cy for Palestine Refugees in the Near East 

2 (UNRWA), to any successor or related entity, or to 

3 the regular budget of the United Nations for the 

4 support of UNRWA or a successor entity (through 

5 staff positions provided by the United Nations Sec6 retariat or otherwise) until UNRWA has met the 

7 conditions listed in subparagraphs (A) through (F) 

8 of section 301(c)(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 

9 1961 (as added by section 3 of this Act); 

10 (2) citizens of recognized states should be re11 moved from UNRWA’s jurisdiction; 

12 (3) UNRWA’s definition of a ‘‘Palestine ref13 ugee’’ should be changed to that used for a refugee 

14 by the Office of the United Nations High Commis15 sioner for Refugees; and 

16 (4) in order to alleviate the suffering of Pales17 tinian refugees, responsibility for those refugees 

18 should be fully transferred to the Office of the 

19 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. 


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1 TITLE II—LIMITATIONS RELAT2 ING TO THE UNITED NATIONS 

3 HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL 

4 AND THE UNITED NATIONS 

5 HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICE OF 

6 THE HIGH COMMISSIONER 

7 SEC. 201. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress makes the following findings: 

9 (1) Since its establishment in 2006, the United 

10 Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has 

11 failed to meaningfully promote the protection of 

12 internationally recognized human rights. 

13 (2) The UNHRC agenda contains a permanent 

14 item for criticism of the democratic, Jewish State of 

15 Israel, but no permanent items criticizing any other 

16 state or non-state actor. 

17 (3) Since 2006, the UNHRC has a largely dis18 proportionate number of resolutions focused on criti19 cizing Israel, passing nearly 70 resolutions con20 demning Israel, more than the combined total of all 

21 other country-specific condemnatory resolutions. 

22 (4) In 2008, the Bush administration voted 

23 against the establishment of the UNHRC and later 

24 announced it would withhold United States funding 


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1 to the United Nations regular budget equivalent to 

2 the United States share of the UNHRC budget. 

3 (5) In March 2009, reversing the previous ad4 ministration’s policy, the Obama administration an5 nounced that the United States would run for a seat 

6 on the UNHRC, winning a seat in May 2009. 

7 (6) On July 23, 2014, the UNHRC adopted a 

8 resolution regarding Gaza and the West Bank. The 

9 resolution contained over 1,700 words criticizing 

10 Israel for supposed human rights violations in Gaza, 

11 yet does not mention Hamas, the designated foreign 

12 terrorist organization responsible for using Pales13 tinian children, women, and men as human shields 

14 and launching thousands of rockets indiscriminately 

15 into Israeli civilian populations, even once. 

16 (7) In 2016, the UNHRC had 29 Members 

17 rated ‘‘Not Free’’ or only ‘‘Partly Free’’ by Freedom 

18 House in its 2015 Freedom in the World report— 

19 meaning 62 percent of the body’s membership failed 

20 to meet the standards of a free society. 

21 (8) In October 2016, the United Nations Gen22 eral Assembly elected 14 countries to the UNHRC, 

23 including some of the world’s worst human rights 

24 abusers: Cuba, China, and Saudi Arabia. 


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1 (9) On March 24, 2016, the UNHRC adopted 

2 a resolution that allowed for the creation of a ‘‘data3 base’’ of all businesses that do business in or with 

4 ‘‘the settlements’’, effectively establishing a blacklist 

5 of entities and giving support to the BDS movement 

6 and its supporters. 

7 (10) The United Nations Office of the High 

8 Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) serves 

9 as the Secretariat of the UNHRC, supporting the 

10 Council’s work, providing staffing and recommenda11 tions to the Council. 

12 SEC. 202. LIMITATIONS RELATING TO THE UNITED NA13 TIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL AND THE 

14 UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICE OF 

15 THE HIGH COMMISSIONER MEMBERSHIP AND 

16 FUNDING. 

17 (a) FUNDING PROHIBITION.—No funding from the 

18 United States Government, including assessed, voluntary, 

19 or in-kind contributions, may be made available to support 

20 the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) or 

21 the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for 

22 Human Rights (OHCHR) until after the Secretary cer23 tifies to the appropriate congressional committees that— 

24 (1) participation in the UNHRC is in the na25 tional interest of the United States; 


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1 (2) the UNHRC has removed ‘‘Human rights 

2 situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab terri3 tories’’ and any other specific item targeted at the 

4 State of Israel as permanent items on the Council’s 

5 agenda or programme of work; 

6 (3) the UNHRC does not include a Member 

7 State— 

8 (A) subject to sanctions by the Security 

9 Council; 

10 (B) under a Security Council-mandated in11 vestigation for human rights abuses; 

12 (C) the government of which the Secretary 

13 of State has determined, for purposes of section 

14 6(j) of the Export Administration Act of 1979 

15 (as continued in effect pursuant to the Inter16 national Emergency Economic Powers Act), 

17 section 40 of the Arms Export Control Act, sec18 tion 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 

19 1961, or other provision of law, is a government 

20 that has repeatedly provided support for acts of 

21 international terrorism; 

22 (D) which the President has designated as 

23 a country of particular concern for religious 

24 freedom under section 402(b) of the Inter25 national Religious Freedom Act of 1998; or 


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1 (E) designated by the Department of State 

2 as a ‘‘Tier 3’’ country pursuant to section 

3 110(b)(1)(C) of the Trafficking in Victims Pro4 tection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7107(b)(1)(C)) 

5 as a Tier 3 country; and 

6 (4) the percentage of United States citizens em7 ployed at the senior level in each of the OHCHR’s 

8 four major divisions—the Research and Right to De9 velopment Division (RRDD), the Human Rights 

10 Treaties Division (HRTD), the Field Operations and 

11 Technical Cooperation Division (FOTCD), and the 

12 Human Rights Council and Special Procedures Divi13 sion (HRCSPD)—is at least equivalent to the per14 centage of the total United States assessed contribu15 tions to the United Nations regular budget. 

16 (b) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—The certification 

17 under subsection (a) shall include an explanation of the 

18 reasoning behind the certification. 

19 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

20 of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 

21 Secretary shall submit a report to the appropriate congres22 sional committees that describes— 

23 (1) the resolutions that were considered in the 

24 UNHRC during the previous 12 months; 


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1 (2) steps that have been taken during that 12- 

2 month period to remove ‘‘Human rights situation in 

3 Palestine and other occupied Arab territories’’ and 

4 any other specific item targeted at the State of 

5 Israel as permanent agenda items for the UNHRC; 

6 (3) a detailed list of any country currently on, 

7 or running for a seat on, the UNHRC that meets 

8 any of the criteria as set out in subsection (a)(3); 

9 and 

10 (4) the current employment breakdown by na11 tionality at each of the four major divisions of the 

12 OHCHR. 

13 (d) REVERSION OF FUNDS.—Funds appropriated for 

14 use as a United States contribution to the United Nations 

15 but withheld from obligation and expenditure pursuant to 

16 this section shall immediately revert to the United States 

17 Treasury and shall not be considered arrears to be repaid 

18 to any United Nations entity. 

19 SEC. 203. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

20 It is the sense of Congress that the United States 

21 should use its voice, vote, and influence at the United Na22 tions to work to ensure that the United Nations Human 

23 Rights Council (UNHRC) takes steps to remove perma24 nent items on its agenda or programme of work which tar25 get or single out a specific country or a specific territory 


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1 or territories and that the UNHRC does not include a 

2 Member State that meets any of the criteria described in 

3 section 202(a)(3). 

4 SEC. 204. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

5 It shall be the policy of the United States to take 

6 steps to repeal Resolution A/HRC/31/L.38, which requests 

7 the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for 

8 Human Rights to establish a ‘‘database’’ of entities in9 volved with ‘‘settlements’’, which includes the Jewish 

10 Quarter of Jerusalem and the Western Wall, and to miti11 gate any damage done to Israel and its economy by such 

12 a blacklist through various means. 

13 TITLE III—STATUS OF PALES14 TINIAN ENTITIES AT THE 

15 UNITED NATIONS 

16 SEC. 301. FINDINGS. 

17 Congress makes the following findings: 

18 (1) In 1989, the Palestine Liberation Organiza19 tion (PLO) launched an effort to evade direct nego20 tiations for peace with the State of Israel by instead 

21 pursuing Palestinian membership in international 

22 organizations, which could imply de facto recognition 

23 of a Palestinian state by the United Nations. 

24 (2) The executive branch, with significant sup25 port from Members of Congress, successfully 


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1 stopped the PLO’s effort by credibly threatening, as 

2 noted in a May 1, 1989, statement by then-Sec3 retary of State James A. Baker, ‘‘that the United 

4 States [would] make no further contributions, vol5 untary or assessed, to any organization which makes 

6 any change in the P.L.O.’s present status as an ob7 server organization’’. 

8 (3) The United States success over a period of 

9 decades demonstrated that withholding contributions 

10 and placing conditions of its payment can result in 

11 real reforms, stop counterproductive developments, 

12 and advance U.S. interests at the United Nations. 

13 (4) In 2011, the United Nations Educational, 

14 Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 

15 granted full membership to the Palestinians, trig16 gering United States law that prohibits funding for 

17 any United Nations organization that grants mem18 bership to the PLO. 

19 (5) In September 2015 and again in September 

20 2016, at the United Nations General Assembly, Abu 

21 Mazen threatened that Palestinian leadership would 

22 no longer be bound by its signed agreements with 

23 Israel. 

24 (6) Palestinian leadership continues its effort to 

25 evade direct negotiations for peace with the State of 


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1 Israel by seeking recognition of a Palestinian state 

2 from foreign governments and in international fo3 rums. 

4 (7) Further efforts to bypass negotiations and 

5 to unilaterally declare a Palestinian state, or to ap6 peal to the United Nations or other international fo7 rums or to foreign governments for recognition of a 

8 Palestinian state of membership or other upgraded 

9 status for the Palestinian observer mission at those 

10 forums, or to impose a solution or parameters for 

11 negotiations, would violate the underlying principles 

12 of the Oslo Accords, the Road Map, and other rel13 evant Middle East peace process efforts. 

14 SEC. 302. REAFFIRMATION OF UNITED STATES POLICY RE15 GARDING THE STATUS OF PALESTINIAN EN16 TITIES AT THE UNITED NATIONS, ITS SPE17 CIALIZED AGENCIES, OR ITS AFFILIATED OR18 GANIZATIONS. 

19 Congress hereby reaffirms that it is the law of the 

20 United States to prohibit the use of United States tax21 payer dollars for certain assessed or voluntary contribu22 tions to the United Nations or its specialized agencies re23 garding the status of the Palestinians at the United Na24 tions or its specialized agencies, including under section 

25 414 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal 


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1 Years 1990 and 1991 (Public Law 101–246) and section 

2 410 of Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 

3 1994 and 1995 (Public Law 103–236). 

4 SEC. 303. RESTRICTION REGARDING PARTICIPATION IN 

5 THE UNITED NATIONS, ITS SPECIALIZED 

6 AGENCIES OR ITS AFFILIATED ORGANIZA7 TIONS. 

8 The United States shall not make available any 

9 United States Government official to serve in any capacity 

10 as a representative to any United Nations specialized 

11 agency or affiliated organization which has granted full 

12 membership as a state to any organization or group that 

13 does not have the internationally recognized attributes of 

14 statehood. 

15 SEC. 304. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

16 It is the policy of the United States to oppose the 

17 recognition of a Palestinian state by any United Nations 

18 entity, or any upgrade, including full membership or the 

19 accession to any treaty or agreement, in the status of the 

20 Palestinians at the United Nations, the Palestine Libera21 tion Organization, the Palestinian Authority, or any other 

22 Palestinian administrative organization or governing enti23 ty, at any United Nations entity, prior to the achievement 

24 of a final peace agreement negotiated between and agreed 

25 to by Israel and the Palestinians. 


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•HR 2232 IH

1 TITLE IV—ANTI-SEMITISM AT 

2 THE UNITED NATIONS 

3 SEC. 401. ANTI-SEMITISM AT THE UNITED NATIONS. 

4 The President shall direct the United States Perma5 nent Representative to the United Nations to use the full 

6 voice, vote, and influence of the United States at the 

7 United Nations to make every effort to— 

8 (1) ensure the issuance and implementation of 

9 a directive by the Secretary General or the Secre10 tariat, as appropriate, that— 

11 (A) requires the United Nations and its 

12 specialized agencies to officially and publicly 

13 condemn anti-Semitic statements made at any 

14 session of the United Nations or its specialized 

15 agencies, or at any other session sponsored by 

16 the United Nations; 

17 (B) requires employees of the United Na18 tions and its specialized agencies, programs, 

19 and funds to be subject to punitive action, in20 cluding immediate dismissal, for making anti21 Semitic statements or references; 

22 (C) proposes specific recommendations to 

23 the General Assembly for the establishment of 

24 mechanisms to hold accountable employees and 

25 officials of the United Nations and its specialVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 May 04, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2232.IH H2232

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•HR 2232 IH

1 ized agencies, programs and funds, or Member 

2 States, that make such anti-Semitic statements 

3 or references in any forum of the United Na4 tions or of its specialized agencies; 

5 (D) continues to develop and implements 

6 education awareness programs about the Holo7 caust and anti-Semitism throughout the world, 

8 as part of an effort to combat intolerance and 

9 hatred; and 

10 (E) requires the United Nations Office of 

11 the High Commissioner for Human Rights 

12 (OHCHR) to develop programming and other 

13 measures that address anti-Semitism; 

14 (2) secure the adoption of a resolution by the 

15 General Assembly that establishes the mechanisms 

16 described in paragraph (1)(C); 

17 (3) secure the adoption of a resolution by the 

18 General Assembly that deems the Boycott, Divest19 ment, and Sanctions movement against Israel to be 

20 anti-Semitic in nature; and 

21 (4) continue working toward further reduction 

22 of anti-Semitic language and anti-Israel resolutions 

23 in the United Nations and its specialized agencies, 

24 programs and funds. 

Æ 


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