Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “No Bystanders at the United Nations Human Rights Council Act of 2024”.
No Bystanders at the United Nations Human Rights Council Act of 2024
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.
Sec. 2 Findings
Congress makes the following findings:
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.
The United States is the single largest financial contributor to the United Nations system.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Council has established 38 investigative bodies since the Council was created in 2006.
The Council has established an independent investigative body to investigate Israel nine times.
The CCP has committed a number of grave human rights violations, including—
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);
mass arrests of pro-democracy advocates peacefully exercising their freedoms of assembly and expression in Hong Kong; and
widespread censorship and detainment of citizens protesting draconian “zero-COVID” restrictions.
Sec. 3 Sense of Congress
It is the sense of Congress that—
the human rights abuses of the CCP warrant investigation by the Council;
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
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
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.
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.