Unless the secretary of state made a series of certifications to Congress relating to the UNHRC membership and leadership, this bill would withhold the amount normally allocated to the council from the annual U.S. budgetary contribution to the UN, bar the secretary from making a voluntary contribution to the UNHRC, and forbid the U.S. from running for a UNHRC seat. It would also direct the secretary to withhold an amount equal to that allocated to the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories or any other official or procedure ‘display[ing] bias’ against the U.S. or Israel.
The bill was partially motivated by what lawmakers regard as the UNHRC’s ‘virulently anti-Israel behavior,’ which the U.S. has condemned since joining the council in 2009. It specifically highlights the council’s choice of William Schabas, a Canadian international law professor with a purported ‘clear conflict of interest and lack of impartiality,’ to lead an investigation into possible war crimes during Israel’s summer 2014 assault on Gaza.
3 cosponsors (3R).
See also: H.R. 3155 or 9/19/13.
Last major action: 9/18/14 Referred to House Comm. on Foreign Affairs.