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.

Bill: 118-hres-909
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Bacon, Don [R-NE-2]
Introduced: 2023-12-05
Policy area: International Affairs
Latest action: action_date: 2023-12-05
text: Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Summaries:
action_date: 2023-12-05
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p>This resolution expresses the sense that Russia's attack on Ukraine is a breach of United Nations (U.N.) Charter.</p><p>The resolution urges the executive branch to determine whether Russia is lawfully a member of the U.N. Security Council.</p><p>The resolution also urges the United States, in conjunction with other U.N. members, (1) to limit, suspend, or terminate Russia's rights and privileges as a permanent member of the  U.N. Security Council; and (2) to support India's accession as a permanent member of the  U.N. Security Council.</p>

tv_txt: IV 118th CONGRESS 1st Session H. RES. 909 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 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; 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; 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 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 two-thirds 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 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 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 military-to-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 direct 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

That— (1) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the Russian Federation’s attack on Ukraine is a breach of the United Nations Charter, qualifying as a crime against peace as defined by the Charter of the International Military Tribunal (Nuremberg Charter) and as an aggression per the terms of Resolution 3314 (XXIX) of the United Nations General Assembly adopted in 1974; and (2) the House of Representatives— (A) condemns, in the strongest terms possible, the Russian Federation’s brutal attack against Ukraine, and reaffirms its continuing support for the Ukrainian people, and the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of the nation of Ukraine; (B) is deeply disturbed by evidence of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law by the Russian Federation, including attacks against civilian targets, indiscriminate use of artillery and weapons, attacks on humanitarian corridors, and the taking of hostages; (C) finds that the Russian Federation has repeatedly and with intent, through the exercise of its veto power and actions, violated the spirit, principles, and the very purpose of the United Nations and has hindered the United Nations in its ability to fulfill its role of maintaining global peace and security in the world; (D) finds that the Russian Federation’s actions are antagonistic and counterproductive to the interests of the United Nations, the United States, and the other permanent members of the United Nations Security Council; (E) finds that the Republic of India shares core democratic values with the United States and other permanent member nations; (F) finds that the Republic of India 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; (G) finds that the accession of the Republic of India to a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council would further the purpose and principles of the United Nations and would be beneficial to the furtherance of the interests and national security goals of the United States; and (H) urges the President of the United States to direct the Department of State and all other relevant Federal departments and agencies to engage in all appropriate measures— (i) to determine whether the Russian Federation is, lawfully, a member of the United Nations Security Council since the United Nations Charter itself assigned the responsibility to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and was never amended to reflect its dissolution; and (ii) in conjunction with United Nations permanent members, nonpermanent members, and allies— (I) to limit, suspend, or terminate the rights and privileges that the Russian Federation enjoys as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council; and (II) to support the accession of the Republic of India as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, to enjoy all the rights and privileges of that position, and to do the same with respect to ensuring that the Republic of India enjoys membership in all other organs and specialized agencies of the United Nations.