108TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. CON. RES. 27
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Whereas on January 20, 2003, Libya, a gross violator of
human rights and state sponsor of terrorism, was elected
to chair the United Nations Commission on Human
Rights (‘‘Commission’’), a body charged with the respon-
sibility of promoting universal respect for human rights
and fundamental freedoms for all;
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Whereas according to the rotation system which governs the
selection of the Executive Board of the Commission,
2003 was designated as the year for the Africa Group to
chair the Commission, and the Africa Group selected
Libya as its candidate;
Whereas South Africa’s Democratic Alliance spokeswoman,
Dene Smuts, was quoted by the British Broadcasting
Corporation as saying that the South African Govern-
ment’s decision to support Libya’s election was an insult
to human rights and that African countries ‘‘should have
supported a candidate of whom all Africans could be
proud’’;
Whereas Amnesty International has repeatedly documented
that Libya’s human rights situation continues to seri-
ously deteriorate with gross violations taking place sys-
tematically, extrajudicial execution used against govern-
ment opponents, and political detainees routinely tortured
physically and psychologically during interrogation, with
some detainees dying in custody as a result;
Whereas Human Rights Watch recently underscored that
‘‘[o]ver the past three decades, Libya’s human rights
record has been appalling’’ and ‘‘Libya has been a closed
country for United Nations and nongovernmental human
rights investigators’’;
Whereas Human Rights Watch further stated that ‘‘Libya’s
election poses a real test for the Commission . . .
[r]epressive governments must not be allowed to hijack
the U.N. human rights system’’;
Whereas the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights stated
that ‘‘the Government of Libya should not be entrusted
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by the United Nations to lead its international effort to
promote human rights around the world’’;
Whereas Freedom House declared that ‘‘[a] country [such as
Libya] with such a gross record of human rights abuses
should not direct the proceedings of the UN’s main
human rights monitoring body . . . [t]his will undermine
the UN’s moral authority and send a strong and clear
message to fellow rights violators that they are in the
clear’’;
Whereas on November 13, 2001, a German court convicted
a Libyan national for the bombing in 1986 of the La
Belle disco in Berlin, in which two United States service-
men were killed, and the court further declared that
there was clear evidence of responsibility of the Libyan
Government for the bombing;
Whereas Libya was responsible for the December 21, 1988,
explosion of Pan American Airline Flight 103 en route
from London to New York that crashed in Lockerbie,
Scotland, killing 259 passengers and crew, and 11 others
on the ground;
Whereas a French court convicted six Libyan Government of-
ficials in absentia for the bombing of UTA Flight 772
over Niger in 1989;
Whereas United Nations Resolution 748 of March 31, 1992,
imposed an arms and air embargo on Libya and estab-
lished a United Nations Security Council sanctions com-
mittee to address measures against Libya;
Whereas United Nations Resolution 883 of November 11,
1993, tightened sanctions on Libya, including the freez-
ing of Libyan funds and financial resources in third
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countries, and banned the provision to Libya of equip-
ment for oil refining and transportation;
Whereas United Nations Resolution 1192 of August 27,
1998, reaffirmed that the measures set forth in previous
resolutions remain in effect and binding on all member
states, and further expressed the intention of the United
Nations to consider additional measures if the accused
individuals for Pan Am Flight 103 and UTA Flight 772
bombings had not arrived or appeared for trial promptly
in accordance with paragraph 8 of the Resolution;
Whereas in January 2001 a three-judge Scottish court sitting
in the Netherlands found Libyan Abdel Basset al-
Megrahi guilty of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103,
sentenced him to life imprisonment, and said it accepted
evidence that he was a member of Libya’s Jamahariya
Security Organization, and in March 2002 Scottish ap-
peal judges in the Netherlands upheld his conviction;
Whereas as recently as January 12, 2003, Libyan leader,
Moammar Gaddafi, in an interview with Newsweek-
Washington Post reporter, Lally Weymouth, failed to ac-
cept responsibility for the attack and had the audacity of
calling for the United States to share the burden of com-
pensation;
Whereas Libya remains on the Department of State’s list of
state-sponsors of terrorism;
Whereas the United States found the selection of Libya to
chair the Commission to be an affront to international
human rights efforts and, in particular, to victims of
Libya’s repression and Libyan-sponsored terrorism, and
therefore broke with precedent and called for a recorded
vote on Libya’s chairmanship;
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Whereas Canada and one other country joined the United
States in voting against Libya and 17 other countries ab-
stained;
Whereas the European Union’s common position was to ab-
stain from the vote objecting to Libya’s selection as chair
of the Commission;
Whereas 33 countries ignored Libya’s record on human
rights and status as a country subject to United Nations
sanctions for the terrorist bombing of Pan Am Flight
103 and voted for Libya to lead the Commission;
Whereas the majority of these countries are United States
foreign aid recipients;
Whereas the selection of Libya to chair the Commission is
but the most recent example of a malaise plaguing the
Commission, whereby its credibility has been called into
question in recent years as its membership ranks have
swelled with other egregious human rights violators;
Whereas the United States’ challenge is part of a broader ef-
fort to reform the Commission, reclaim it from the op-
pressors, and ensure that it fulfills its mandate;
Whereas on January 20, 2003, Ambassador Kevin Moley,
United States Permanent Representative to the United
Nations and Other International Organizations in Gene-
va, emphasized that ‘‘[w]e seek to actively engage and
strengthen the moral authority of the Commission on
Human Rights, so that it once again proves itself a force-
ful advocate for those in need of having their human
rights protected . . . [w]e are convinced that the best way
for the Commission to ensure the ideals of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights over the long-term is to
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have a membership comprised of countries with strong
human rights records at home’’;
Whereas a majority of the 53 member states of the Commis-
sion are participants in the Community of Democracies
and signed the Seoul Declaration of November 12, 2002,
calling upon democratic nations to work together to up-
hold the principles of democracy, freedom, good govern-
ance, and accountability in international organizations;
Whereas the participants in the Seoul Ministerial meeting of
the Community of Democracies issued a Statement on
Terrorism in which they ‘‘strongly denounced terrorism
as a grave threat to democratic societies and the values
they embrace . . . [they] reaffirmed that terrorism con-
stitutes a threat to international peace and security as
well as to humanity in general and indeed to the very
foundation on which democracies are built . . . [and]
[t]he most recent terrorist attacks confirm that inter-
national cooperation against terrorism will remain a long-
term effort and requires a sustained universal commit-
ment’’; and
Whereas although United Nations sanctions against Libya
have been suspended, the sanctions remain in effect, and
Libya’s continued status as an international outlaw na-
tion and its continued unwillingness to accept responsi-
bility for its terrorist actions should bar it from consider-
ation as a candidate for membership in the United Na-
tions Security Council or any other United Nations entity
or affiliated agency: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring),That Congress—
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(8) calls on countries at various stages of de-
mocratization to demonstrate their commitment to
human rights, democracy, peace and security, and
support efforts to reform the Commission;
(9) calls on the President to instruct the Sec-
retary of State to consult with the appropriate con-
gressional committees, within 30 calendar days of
adoption of this resolution, regarding the United
States priorities and strategy for the 59th session of
the Commission on Human Rights and strategy and
proposals for reform of the Commission;
(10) calls on the President to issue an objection
to the continued suspension of sanctions against
Libya and to call for their full reinstatement until
Libya publicly accepts responsibility for the Pan Am
Flight 103 bombing, provides appropriate compensa-
tion to the victims, and is in full compliance with all
of the other requirements of the United Nations
sanctions imposed as a result of Libya’s orchestra-
tion of the Pan Am 103 terrorist attack; and
(11) calls on the Secretary of State to engage
member countries to support United States efforts
to ensure that states that are gross violators of
human rights, sponsors of terrorist activities, or sub-
ject to United Nations sanctions will not be elected
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to leadership positions in the United Nations Gen-
eral Assembly nor will they be elected to membership
or leadership positions on the United Nations Com-
mission on Human Rights, the United Nations Secu-
rity Council, or any other United Nations entity or
affiliated agency.
Passed the House of Representatives February 11,
2003.
Attest:
Clerk.