IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 909 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Russian Federation’s status as a permanent member of the United Nations Security 

Council contravenes the spirit and purpose of the United Nations, that 

the rights and privileges it enjoys in that role be limited, suspended, 

or terminated, and that the Republic of India be appointed as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council with all the rights 

and privileges of the position. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 5, 2023 

Mr. BACON (for himself, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, Mr. RESCHENTHALER, Mr. 

FITZPATRICK, and Ms. VAN DUYNE) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 

the Russian Federation’s status as a permanent member 

of the United Nations Security Council contravenes the 

spirit and purpose of the United Nations, that the rights 

and privileges it enjoys in that role be limited, suspended, 

or terminated, and that the Republic of India be appointed as a permanent member of the United Nations 

Security Council with all the rights and privileges of 

the position. 

Whereas, on March 2, 2022, the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution condemning 


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the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine, demanded 

the Russian Federation’s immediate withdrawal from 

Ukraine, and reaffirmed Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity; 

Whereas the Russian Federation has carried out a brutal war 

against Ukraine, threatening to destroy Ukraine as a sovereign nation state, and has attempted to annex entire 

regions of Ukraine’s sovereign territory to its own benefit; 

Whereas the Russian Federation has committed atrocities 

against Ukrainian civilians, has occupied and threatened 

to destroy civilian-use nuclear power stations, placing 

millions of people both inside and outside Ukraine at 

risk, and has purposefully caused the destruction of entire Ukrainian cities; 

Whereas the Russian Federation has repeatedly threatened to 

use nuclear weapons against Ukraine in disregard of the 

Joint Statement on Preventing Nuclear War and Avoiding Arms Races that the Russian Federation adopted in 

2022, in concurrence with the 4 other permanent members of the United Nations Security Council; 

Whereas the Russian Federation is in violation of its commitments under the Memorandum on Security Assurances in 

Connection with Ukraine’s Accession to the Treaty on the 

Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, signed in Budapest on December 7, 1994, whereby Ukraine agreed to 

relinquish its nuclear weapons in exchange for the assurances of the Russian Federation that it would respect the 

independence, sovereignty, and existing borders of 

Ukraine, and would refrain from the threat or use of 

force against the territorial integrity and independence of 

Ukraine; 


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Whereas the Russian Federation continues to threaten the 

local and global food supply by destroying crop harvests, 

reducing agricultural yields, and preventing deliveries to 

and from Ukraine in violation of its commitments under 

the Initiative on the Safe Transportation of Grain and 

Foodstuffs from Ukrainian Ports which it adopted on 

July 22, 2022; 

Whereas the Russian Federation’s continued war of aggression against Ukraine since February 24, 2022, and its 

escalation of military activities to unprecedented levels 

have caused thousands of civilian casualties, displaced 

millions of people, devastated Ukraine cities, destroyed 

most of the countryside, and stretched the humanitarian 

capacities of Ukraine’s neighboring nations to provide aid 

and shelter to Ukraine and her displaced citizens to their 

limits; 

Whereas the Russian Federation has repeatedly chosen brutal 

force over diplomacy to achieve its foreign policy objectives, in violation of the international norms that govern 

the peaceful coexistence of nations, thereby showing a 

blatant disregard for the core principles and values of the 

United Nations and its Charter; 

Whereas the Russian aggression in Ukraine has been strongly 

condemned by the international community; 

Whereas the Russian Federation continues to curtail the freedom of expression and the freedom of assembly in its own 

country via the closure of independent news organizations, the intensification of crackdowns and the manipulation of Russian citizens, the repression of peaceful protests, and the application of extreme restrictions on access to social media to control the narrative of the 

Ukraine war and its activities therein; 


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Whereas the spirit, purpose, and principles of the United Nations have been obstructed by the Russian Federation 

and its malfeasant behavior; 

Whereas the Russian Federation continues to utilize its veto 

power to block United Nations Security Council resolutions that are detrimental to its national interests, resulting in the paralysis of the Security Council, inhibiting its 

very function and purpose, and exacerbating the geopolitical rivalry between Western democracies and the 

dictatorships of the People’s Republic of China and the 

Russian Federation; 

Whereas the Russian Federation’s continued brutal aggression is a fundamental violation of the United Nations 

Charter; 

Whereas the Russian Federation has ignored its obligation to 

observe and implement rulings and recommendations 

issued by United Nations bodies, including determinations by the United Nations General Assembly, the 

United Nations Human Rights Council, the International 

Court of Justice, the President of the United Nations Security Council, and the United Nations Secretary General, which have called for the Russian Federation to 

cease all military operations in Ukraine and stop its 

human rights violations and illegal annexation of Ukrainian sovereign territory; 

Whereas the Russian Federation has abused its veto power 

and violated the procedures of the United Nations Security Council under Article 23, paragraph 1 of the United 

Nations Charter with false claims and disagreements; 

Whereas the Russian Federation has blocked 152 resolutions, 

by veto, since the Security Council’s founding, more than 


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any other nation, and as of February 2023, has effectively stopped the business of the Security Council; 

Whereas nations in the international community and international organizations have condemned the Russian Federation’s violations of international law and taken actions 

to condemn the Russian Federation; 

Whereas Article 6 of the United Nations Charter permits the 

United Nations Security Council to recommend the expulsion of a member nation that has persistently violated 

the principles of the United Nations Charter upon a twothirds vote of the United Nations General Assembly; 

Whereas the United Nations has the power to amend its 

Charter to remove or add new permanent members; 

Whereas the United Nations General Assembly established an 

open-ended working group in 1993 to address the issue 

of Security Council reform; 

Whereas discussions have occurred regarding many aspects of 

Security Council reform, including— 

(1) increasing the number of permanent members; 

(2) increasing the number of nonpermanent members; 

(3) discussing the status of new permanent members, including extension of the veto to such members; 

(4) the continuation of the veto power; and 

(5) limits on veto use; 

Whereas Security Council reform discussions have increased 

recently, due in part to some United Nations members’ 

objections to the Security Council’s lack of action regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict; 

Whereas the United States has generally supported enlarging 

Security Council membership, both for permanent and 


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nonpermanent members, and cited the importance of providing permanent seats for those nations that the United 

States has long supported, including the Republic of 

India; 

Whereas the issue of the Republic of India’s accession to a 

permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council 

is not new, but has been discussed by permanent members since the 1950s; 

Whereas the Republic of India was a founding member of the 

United Nations; 

Whereas the Republic of India has served as a nonpermanent 

member of the United Nations Security Council for 8 

terms (16 years), with the last term ending in 2022; 

Whereas the Republic of India has grown into an emerging 

diplomatic, economic, military, and technological powerhouse and the world’s most populous country; 

Whereas the Republic of India is South Asia’s predominant 

nation with nearly 1,400,000,000 citizens and the world’s 

sixth-largest economy; 

Whereas the Republic of India has expressed an interest in 

becoming a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for decades, most recently in response to 

the paralysis of the United Nations Security Council over 

the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine; 

Whereas the Republic of India’s case for permanent membership has focused on its existing contributions to peace 

and security; 

Whereas, since the onset of United Nations peacekeeping 

missions in 1948, the Republic of India has sent contingents of personnel on over 49 operations, contributed 


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close to 200,000 military troops, and lost more than 160 

military personnel in service to United Nations missions; 

Whereas the emergence of the United States-Republic of 

India partnership has been a noteworthy reformation of 

the geopolitical landscape in the 21st century, including 

extensive cooperation on defense operations and militaryto-military weapon sales discussions; 

Whereas the Republic of India is a key player in the United 

States Indo-Pacific strategy and a member of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, which has rapidly become a 

strong and outspoken regional partnership dedicated to 

advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific; 

Whereas the United States not only views the Republic of 

India as an emerging great power player and important 

partner of the United States, but as a fundamental counterbalance to China’s growing international influence; 

Whereas the United States and the Republic of India have 

pursued a strategic partnership and an expansion of bilateral security cooperation to include sales of United 

States weapons to the Republic of India and the Republic 

of India’s participation in combined military exercises; 

Whereas the Republic of India shares common values with 

the United States and many of the permanent members, 

supports the principles of the United Nations Charter, 

and seeks to promote a rules-based international order 

that safeguards sovereignty and territorial integrity, upholds democratic values, and promotes peace and prosperity; 

Whereas, in contrast, the Russian Federation thwarts the 

purpose of the United Nations and continues to be in diVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Dec 05, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR909.IH HR909

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rect violation of the principles of the United Nations 

Charter and the Security Council; and 

Whereas the Security Council is the principal organ of the 

United Nations, with the primary responsibility for maintaining global peace and security: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That— 

2 (1) it is the sense of the House of Representa3 tives that the Russian Federation’s attack on 

4 Ukraine is a breach of the United Nations Charter, 

5 qualifying as a ‘‘crime against peace’’ as defined by 

6 the Charter of the International Military Tribunal 

7 (Nuremberg Charter) and as an ‘‘aggression’’ per 

8 the terms of Resolution 3314 (XXIX) of the United 

9 Nations General Assembly adopted in 1974; and 

10 (2) the House of Representatives— 

11 (A) condemns, in the strongest terms pos12 sible, the Russian Federation’s brutal attack 

13 against Ukraine, and reaffirms its continuing 

14 support for the Ukrainian people, and the sov15 ereignty, independence, and territorial integrity 

16 of the nation of Ukraine; 

17 (B) is deeply disturbed by evidence of vio18 lations of human rights and international hu19 manitarian law by the Russian Federation, in20 cluding attacks against civilian targets, indis21 criminate use of artillery and weapons, attacks 


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1 on humanitarian corridors, and the taking of 

2 hostages; 

3 (C) finds that the Russian Federation has 

4 repeatedly and with intent, through the exercise 

5 of its veto power and actions, violated the spirit, 

6 principles, and the very purpose of the United 

7 Nations and has hindered the United Nations 

8 in its ability to fulfill its role of maintaining 

9 global peace and security in the world; 

10 (D) finds that the Russian Federation’s 

11 actions are antagonistic and counterproductive 

12 to the interests of the United Nations, the 

13 United States, and the other permanent mem14 bers of the United Nations Security Council; 

15 (E) finds that the Republic of India shares 

16 core democratic values with the United States 

17 and other permanent member nations; 

18 (F) finds that the Republic of India sup19 ports the principles of the United Nations 

20 Charter and seeks to promote a rules-based 

21 international order that safeguards sovereignty 

22 and territorial integrity, upholds democratic val23 ues, and promotes peace and prosperity; 

24 (G) finds that the accession of the Repub25 lic of India to a permanent seat on the United 


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1 Nations Security Council would further the pur2 pose and principles of the United Nations and 

3 would be beneficial to the furtherance of the in4 terests and national security goals of the 

5 United States; and 

6 (H) urges the President of the United 

7 States to direct the Department of State and 

8 all other relevant Federal departments and 

9 agencies to engage in all appropriate meas10 ures— 

11 (i) to determine whether the Russian 

12 Federation is, lawfully, a member of the 

13 United Nations Security Council since the 

14 United Nations Charter itself assigned the 

15 responsibility to the Union of Soviet So16 cialist Republics and was never amended to 

17 reflect its dissolution; and 

18 (ii) in conjunction with United Na19 tions permanent members, nonpermanent 

20 members, and allies— 

21 (I) to limit, suspend, or termi22 nate the rights and privileges that the 

23 Russian Federation enjoys as a per24 manent member of the United Na25 tions Security Council; and 


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1 (II) to support the accession of 

2 the Republic of India as a permanent 

3 member of the United Nations Secu4 rity Council, to enjoy all the rights 

5 and privileges of that position, and to 

6 do the same with respect to ensuring 

7 that the Republic of India enjoys 

8 membership in all other organs and 

9 specialized agencies of the United Na10 tions. 

Æ 


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