McCaul Amendment Injects Common Sense into United Nations

McCaul Amendment Injects Common Sense into United Nations

Congressman Michael McCaul, of Texas, introduced an amendment which the United States House of Representatives passed this week preventing U.S. taxpayer dollars from supporting the United Nations Human Rights Council as long as state sponsors of terrorism remain a part of that body.

The U.S. currently provides 22 percent of the U.N.'s annual budget, which amounts to more than $900 million in 2007. Congressman McCaul's amendment forbids the United States funding of the United Nations Human Rights Council until such time as it makes real reform and stops state sponsors of terrorism from sitting on the Human Rights Council.

"Until the United Nations engages in true reform to defeat terrorism, we should send them a strong message through this amendment by cutting off U.S. funding to the Human Rights Council," said McCaul.

Previous human rights councils have included state sponsors of terror such as Iran, Syria and Libya. The reforms to the Human Rights Council by the United Nations over the last year were cosmetic and without substantive change. Today, countries that sponsor terrorism and countries that have atrocious human rights records still remain on this council, and the American taxpayer funds them.

"Any Human Rights Council reform that allows countries who sponsor terrorism to remain as members, such as Cuba, is not real reform. Additionally, any Human Right Council reform that allows countries with despicable human rights records to remain as members, such as China, is not real reform," stated Congressman Michael McCaul.

"I am grateful to my colleagues in the House for supporting this legislation."

The amendment and the bill it is part of now move to the Senate for consideration.

http://www.house.gov/list/press/tx10_mccaul/06_29_06_SSJC_amendment.html