HJ0144 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HJ0144 LRB094 21697 KXB 60093 r

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, On 16 September 2005 at the World Summit Outcome of the United Nations General Assembly, the United States of America and the other Members of the United Nations embraced the principle of the responsibility to protect according to which, "each individual State has the responsibility to protect its populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. This responsibility entails the prevention of such crimes, including their incitement, through appropriate and necessary means. We accept that responsibility and will act in accordance with it. The international community should, as appropriate, encourage and help States to exercise this responsibility and support the United Nations in establishing an early warning capability" (U.N. Document A/RES/60/1, par. 138 (2005)); and

WHEREAS, The United States of America and other Members of the United Nations further agreed that, "the international community, through the United Nations, also has the responsibility to use appropriate diplomatic, humanitarian and other peaceful means, in accordance with Chapters VI and VIII of the Charter, to help to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. In this context, we are prepared to take collective action, in a timely and decisive manner, through the Security Council, in accordance with the Charter, including Chapter VII, on a case-by-case basis and in cooperation with relevant regional organizations as appropriate, should peaceful means be inadequate and national authorities are manifestly failing to protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity... We also intend to commit ourselves, as necessary and appropriate, to helping States build capacity to protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity and to assisting those which are under stress before crises and conflicts break out" (U.N. Document A/RES/60/1, par. 139 (2005)); and

WHEREAS, On 28 April 2006, the United Nations Security Council reaffirmed the provisions of paragraphs 138 and 139 of the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document regarding the responsibility to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity (U.N. Document S/RES/1674 (2006), par. 4); and

WHEREAS, The principle of the responsibility to protect now reflects the commitment of all the Members of the United Nations to determine means to protect populations from the deadly and devastating consequences of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity (hereinafter "atrocity crimes"); and

WHEREAS, Efforts by the United Nations and individual nations to prevent and respond to atrocity crimes and thus protect populations have far too often failed or not even been attempted, with the result since 1945 that millions of innocent civilians have lost their lives or been wounded or displaced and their property and livelihoods destroyed; and

WHEREAS, In the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document, the United States of America has accepted its responsibility to protect its own population from atrocity crimes and should continue acting in accordance with this principle; and

WHEREAS, The continued commission of atrocity crimes and the likely future threat of them is morally intolerable and unacceptable; and

WHEREAS, At other times in the history of the State of Illinois and of the United States, such abominations as slavery and the denial of basic civil and voting rights to all citizens have been rendered illegal and to significant degrees eliminated through the concerted actions of concerned citizens, civil society, the courts, and State and national lawmakers and leaders; and

WHEREAS, In the State of Illinois there reside many citizens who have fled from atrocity crimes, for whom the State of Illinois provides services and various forms of support, and many thousands of relatives of victims of the atrocity crimes that have occurred in other countries and who seek effective policies by the United States and other nations to help protect their surviving relatives; and

WHEREAS, The moral imperative of the responsibility to protect is inescapable and it reflects the highest American values of freedom, humanitarian care, and the preservation of the lives of innocent non-combatant men, women, and children; and

WHEREAS, The United States of America, as the most powerful and influential country in the world, has the moral duty and capacity to lead in domestic, in multinational initiatives and in the United Nations Security Council to prevent and respond rapidly to protect populations from the commission of atrocity crimes; and

WHEREAS, The citizens of the State of Illinois contribute men and women and financial resources to the U.S. Armed Forces and elect Members of Congress and, with other states, the President and Vice-President of the United States, and strongly believe that these public officials and their subordinates have profound responsibilities, to use every possible legal means, under both federal and international law, to protect populations from atrocity crimes; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the President and Congress should commit the leadership of the United States Government to effective implementation of the World Summit Outcome declaration on the responsibility to protect, and to do so in part through strengthening the preventive early warning capabilities of the federal government and the United Nations, and to develop strategies and policies as outlined in the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document (U.N. Document A/RES/60/1) and in the Security Council Resolution 1674 (2006) to ensure that the responsibility to protect populations has both credible meaning and effect, and that the United States is in the forefront of its domestic and global application; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the President should initiate discussions with the permanent and non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, the members of the United Nations General Assembly and in separate forums with the governments of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the European Union, the African Union, the Organization of American States, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations respectively, to develop coordinated strategies for regional efforts to implement the responsibility to protect, and that Congress should express its full support for these discussions by joint resolution; and be it further

RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be sent to the President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, each member of the Illinois congressional delegation, the President and Vice-President of the United States, the U.S. Secretary of State, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, and the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations.