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1
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, On 16 September 2005 at the World Summit Outcome
3 of the United Nations General Assembly, the United States of
4 America and the other Members of the United Nations embraced
5 the principle of the responsibility to protect according to
6 which, "each individual State has the responsibility to protect
7 its populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and
8 crimes against humanity. This responsibility entails the
9 prevention of such crimes, including their incitement, through
10 appropriate and necessary means. We accept that responsibility
11 and will act in accordance with it. The international community
12 should, as appropriate, encourage and help States to exercise
13 this responsibility and support the United Nations in
14 establishing an early warning capability" (U.N. Document
15 A/RES/60/1, par. 138 (2005)); and
 
16     WHEREAS, The United States of America and other Members of
17 the United Nations further agreed that, "the international
18 community, through the United Nations, also has the
19 responsibility to use appropriate diplomatic, humanitarian and
20 other peaceful means, in accordance with Chapters VI and VIII
21 of the Charter, to help to protect populations from genocide,
22 war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. In
23 this context, we are prepared to take collective action, in a
24 timely and decisive manner, through the Security Council, in
25 accordance with the Charter, including Chapter VII, on a
26 case-by-case basis and in cooperation with relevant regional
27 organizations as appropriate, should peaceful means be
28 inadequate and national authorities are manifestly failing to
29 protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic
30 cleansing and crimes against humanity... We also intend to
31 commit ourselves, as necessary and appropriate, to helping
32 States build capacity to protect their populations from
33 genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against
34 humanity and to assisting those which are under stress before

 

 

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1 crises and conflicts break out" (U.N. Document A/RES/60/1, par.
2 139 (2005)); and
 
3     WHEREAS, On 28 April 2006, the United Nations Security
4 Council reaffirmed the provisions of paragraphs 138 and 139 of
5 the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document regarding the
6 responsibility to protect populations from genocide, war
7 crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity (U.N.
8 Document S/RES/1674 (2006), par. 4); and
 
9     WHEREAS, The principle of the responsibility to protect now
10 reflects the commitment of all the Members of the United
11 Nations to determine means to protect populations from the
12 deadly and devastating consequences of genocide, war crimes,
13 ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity (hereinafter
14 "atrocity crimes"); and
 
15     WHEREAS, Efforts by the United Nations and individual
16 nations to prevent and respond to atrocity crimes and thus
17 protect populations have far too often failed or not even been
18 attempted, with the result since 1945 that millions of innocent
19 civilians have lost their lives or been wounded or displaced
20 and their property and livelihoods destroyed; and
 
21     WHEREAS, In the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document, the
22 United States of America has accepted its responsibility to
23 protect its own population from atrocity crimes and should
24 continue acting in accordance with this principle; and
 
25     WHEREAS, The continued commission of atrocity crimes and
26 the likely future threat of them is morally intolerable and
27 unacceptable; and
 
28     WHEREAS, At other times in the history of the State of
29 Illinois and of the United States, such abominations as slavery
30 and the denial of basic civil and voting rights to all citizens

 

 

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1 have been rendered illegal and to significant degrees
2 eliminated through the concerted actions of concerned
3 citizens, civil society, the courts, and State and national
4 lawmakers and leaders; and
 
5     WHEREAS, In the State of Illinois there reside many
6 citizens who have fled from atrocity crimes, for whom the State
7 of Illinois provides services and various forms of support, and
8 many thousands of relatives of victims of the atrocity crimes
9 that have occurred in other countries and who seek effective
10 policies by the United States and other nations to help protect
11 their surviving relatives; and
 
12     WHEREAS, The moral imperative of the responsibility to
13 protect is inescapable and it reflects the highest American
14 values of freedom, humanitarian care, and the preservation of
15 the lives of innocent non-combatant men, women, and children;
16 and
 
17     WHEREAS, The United States of America, as the most powerful
18 and influential country in the world, has the moral duty and
19 capacity to lead in domestic, in multinational initiatives and
20 in the United Nations Security Council to prevent and respond
21 rapidly to protect populations from the commission of atrocity
22 crimes; and
 
23     WHEREAS, The citizens of the State of Illinois contribute
24 men and women and financial resources to the U.S. Armed Forces
25 and elect Members of Congress and, with other states, the
26 President and Vice-President of the United States, and strongly
27 believe that these public officials and their subordinates have
28 profound responsibilities, to use every possible legal means,
29 under both federal and international law, to protect
30 populations from atrocity crimes; therefore, be it
 
31     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE

 

 

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1 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
2 SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the President and Congress
3 should commit the leadership of the United States Government to
4 effective implementation of the World Summit Outcome
5 declaration on the responsibility to protect, and to do so in
6 part through strengthening the preventive early warning
7 capabilities of the federal government and the United Nations,
8 and to develop strategies and policies as outlined in the 2005
9 World Summit Outcome Document (U.N. Document A/RES/60/1) and in
10 the Security Council Resolution 1674 (2006) to ensure that the
11 responsibility to protect populations has both credible
12 meaning and effect, and that the United States is in the
13 forefront of its domestic and global application; and be it
14 further
 
15     RESOLVED, That the President should initiate discussions
16 with the permanent and non-permanent members of the United
17 Nations Security Council, the members of the United Nations
18 General Assembly and in separate forums with the governments of
19 the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the European Union, the
20 African Union, the Organization of American States, and the
21 Association of Southeast Asian Nations respectively, to
22 develop coordinated strategies for regional efforts to
23 implement the responsibility to protect, and that Congress
24 should express its full support for these discussions by joint
25 resolution; and be it further
 
26     RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be sent to the
27 President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate, the Speaker of the
28 U.S. House of Representatives, each member of the Illinois
29 congressional delegation, the President and Vice-President of
30 the United States, the U.S. Secretary of State, the U.S.
31 Secretary of Defense, and the U.S. Permanent Representative to
32 the United Nations.