IV 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 615
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives in support of full 
membership of Israel in the Western European and Others Group 
(WEOG) at the United Nations. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 30, 2004
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN (for herself, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. PENCE, Mrs. 
JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia, Mr. MCCOTTER, Mr. CROWLEY, and Mr. 
ACKERMAN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on International Relations 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives in 
support of full membership of Israel in the Western 
European and Others Group (WEOG) at the United 
Nations.
Whereas the election of member states of the United Nations 
to the major bodies of the United Nations is determined 
explicitly on a regional basis; 
Whereas Israel has been refused admission to the Asia geo-
graphical region of the United Nations—the only member 
state of the United Nations that remains outside its ap-
propriate geographical region—and therefore cannot be 
elected to any major body of the United Nations, is pre-
cluded from voting in any United Nations major body,
•HRES 615 IH 
except the General Assembly, and is thus denied full par-
ticipation in the day-to-day work of the United Nations; 
Whereas according to current United Nations procedures the 
Bureau of every United Nations conference is comprised 
of one representative from each geographical region of 
the United Nations and Israel is therefore denied access 
to this vital apparatus enjoyed by other United Nations 
member states; 
Whereas on May 30, 2000, Israel accepted an invitation to 
become a temporary member of the Western European 
and Others Group (WEOG) at the United Nations; 
Whereas Israel’s membership in the Western European and 
Others Group is limited and, as such, Israel is not al-
lowed to compete for open seats in the United Nations 
body and Israeli representatives are not allowed to run 
for positions in major bodies of the United Nations or 
United Nations-affiliated agencies, such as the United 
Nations Commission on Human Rights and the Security 
Council; 
Whereas Israel is only allowed to participate in limited activi-
ties of the Western European and Others Group in the 
New York office of the United Nations, is excluded from 
discussions and consultations of the Group at the United 
Nations offices in Geneva, Nairobi, Rome, and Vienna, 
and therefore, cannot participate in United Nations con-
ferences on human rights, racism, and a number of other 
issues handled in these forums; 
Whereas membership in the regional bloc of the Western Eu-
ropean and Others Group includes the non-European 
countries of Canada, Australia, and the United States;
•HRES 615 IH 
Whereas Israel is linked to Western European and Others 
Group member states by strong economic, political, and 
cultural ties; 
Whereas the Western European and Others Group is the only 
regional group which is not purely geographical but rath-
er comprised of countries which share a Western demo-
cratic tradition; and 
Whereas Israel is a free and democratic country and its vot-
ing pattern in the United Nations is consistent with that 
of the Western European and Others Group member 
states: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that—
(1) the President should direct the United 
States Permanent Representative to the United Na-
tions to seek an immediate end to the persistent and 
deplorable inequality experienced by Israel in the 
United Nations; 
(2) United States interests would be well served 
if Israel were afforded the benefits of full member-
ship in the Western European and Others Group 
(WEOG) at the United Nations so that it could fully 
participate in the United Nations system; 
(3) in accordance with section 405(a) of divi-
sion C of H.R. 1950, as passed the House of Rep-
resentatives on July 16, 2003, ‘‘the Secretary of 
State and other appropriate officials of the United
•HRES 615 IH 
States Government should pursue an aggressive dip-
lomatic effort and should take all necessary steps to 
ensure the extension and upgrade of Israel’s mem-
bership in the Western European and Others Group 
at the United Nations’’; and 
(4) the Secretary of State should submit to 
Congress on a regular basis a report which describes 
actions taken by the United States Government to 
encourage the Western European and Others Group 
member states to accept Israel as a full member of 
their regional bloc and describes the responses there-
to from the member states.
Æ