[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4034 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4034
To withhold certain United Nations funding until the United Nations
Human Rights Council mandates a body to investigate human rights abuses
in the People's Republic of China, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 21, 2024
Mr. Wicker (for himself, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Braun, Mrs.
Hyde-Smith, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Scott of Florida, and Mr. Scott of South
Carolina) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To withhold certain United Nations funding until the United Nations
Human Rights Council mandates a body to investigate human rights abuses
in the People's Republic of China, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``No Bystanders at the United Nations
Human Rights Council Act of 2024''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) According to the United Nations System Chief Executives
Board for Coordination, the United States Government
contributed $18,095,456,587 to the United Nations system in
2022, the most recent year for which the United Nations has
made data available.
(2) The United States is the single largest financial
contributor to the United Nations system.
(3) All United Nations member states must certify that they
will adhere to the United Nations Charter, Chapter 1, Article
1, which states that the United Nations will promote and
encourage respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms
for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or
religion.
(4) The United Nations Human Rights Council (in this Act
referred to as the ``Council'') is responsible for
strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights
around the globe and for addressing situations of human rights
violations and making recommendations on them.
(5) The Council possesses the power to establish
independent investigative bodies to respond to situations of
serious violations of international humanitarian law and
international human rights law.
(6) The Council has never established an independent body
to investigate the human rights abuses of the Chinese Communist
Party (CCP) in the People's Republic of China (PRC). The
Council's failure to establish a body to investigate the human
rights abuses of the CCP constitutes bystander behavior.
(7) Following the Council's 2018 Universal Periodic Review
(UPR) of China, Former United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights Michelle Bachelet wrote a letter to Former Chinese
Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi welcoming his government's
efforts to promote and protect human rights.
(8) The Council has established 38 investigative bodies
since the Council was created in 2006.
(9) The Council has established an independent
investigative body to investigate Israel nine times.
(10) The CCP has committed a number of grave human rights
violations, including--
(A) the forced labor of ethnic Uyghur and other
Muslims in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, as
detailed in the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020
(Public Law 116-145);
(B) mass arrests of pro-democracy advocates
peacefully exercising their freedoms of assembly and
expression in Hong Kong; and
(C) widespread censorship and detainment of
citizens protesting draconian ``zero-COVID''
restrictions.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the human rights abuses of the CCP warrant
investigation by the Council;
(2) the Council's failure to investigate the human rights
abuses of the CCP contradicts the purpose of the United Nations
stated in the United Nations Charter, Chapter 1, Article 1; and
(3) the United States should not provide funding for the
Council until it fulfills its stated responsibilities by
establishing an independent investigative body to adequately
examine the human rights abuses of the CCP.
SEC. 4. WITHHOLDING OF UNITED NATIONS FUNDING.
(a) Annual United States Contributions to Regular Budget of United
Nations.--The Secretary of State shall withhold from annual United
States contributions to the regular budget of the United Nations an
amount equal to the amount the Secretary determines would be allocated
by the United Nations to support the United Nations Human Rights
Council until the Secretary certifies to Congress that the United
Nations Human Rights Council has mandated a body to investigate human
rights abuses in the People's Republic of China.
(b) Prohibition on Voluntary Contributions to Budget of UNHRC.--The
Secretary of State may not make voluntary contributions to the budget
of the United Nations Human Rights Council until the Secretary
certifies to Congress that the United Nations Human Rights Council has
mandated a body to investigate human rights abuses in the People's
Republic of China.
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