Introduced Version
House Concurrent Resolution 55 History
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HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 55
(By Delegate J. Miller, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Thompson, and Delegates
Anderson, Andes, Armstead, Ashley, Azinger, Blair, Border,
Canterbury, Carmichael, Cowles, Evans, Hunt, Ireland, Porter,
Romine, Schadler, Schoen, Shott, Walker and Wells)
Expressing the will of the Legislature urging President Obama to
support the efforts of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to
meaningfully participate in the specialized agencies of the
United Nations.
W
HEREAS
, The mission of the United Nations, as stated in the
preamble to the United Nations Charter, is to "reaffirm faith in
the fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human
person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large
and small"; and
W
HEREAS
, Similarly, Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights states, "Everyone is entitled to all the rights and
freedoms..., without distinction of any kind...no distinction shall
be made on the basis of political jurisdictional; or international
status of the country or territory to which a person belongs...";
and
W
HEREAS
, The global issues addressed by the specialized
agencies of the United Nations are closely connected to the
well-being of all mankind; and
W
HEREAS
, As Taiwan cannot attend the conferences, mechanisms,
and activities of the specialized agencies, the welfare of its
people, as well as the interests of all humankind, have been
seriously jeopardized; and
W
HEREAS
, Taiwan has been campaigning for participation in the
World Health Organization(WHO)for years, but has been unable to
establish direct access to and communication with the WHO regarding
disease prevention; and
W
HEREAS
, Taiwan is restricted from attending WHO technical
conferences and activities and as a result Taiwan can neither
acquire the latest medical and health updates nor receive timely
assistance when epidemics occur, as was the case with the SARS
outbreak; and
W
HEREAS
, As early as May, 2006, Taiwan announced its decision
to comply voluntarily with the International Health Regulations
(IHR2005) that went into effect June 15, 2007; and
W
HEREAS
, Although Taiwan has repeatedly submitted updates to
the WHO about various diseases, the WHO has not responded; and
W
HEREAS
, This has been detrimental to the health rights of the
twenty-three million people of Taiwan and foreigners residing in
and traveling to Taiwan and creates a weakness in the global epidemic surveillance network which can harm the international
community; and
W
HEREAS
, Being the world's eighteenth largest economy and the
twentieth largest outbound investor, Taiwan possesses significant
economic strength; and
W
HEREAS
, The year 2009 marked the thirtieth anniversary of the
"Taiwan Relations Act," the creation of which provided the basic
structure and legal foundation for the United States to develop its
numerous mutual relations with Taiwan; and
W
HEREAS
, Taiwan hopes to share its development experience with
many developing nations; and
W
HEREAS
, Taiwan is also willing to give back to the world
through humanitarian assistance and technical cooperation; and
W
HEREAS
, The issues that the specialized agencies of the United
Nations system handle tend to be functional and technical in
nature; and
W
HEREAS,
Allowing Taiwan's participation with these specialized
agencies would be helpful for cross-strait dialogue to set aside
difference and strengthen cooperation on issues of mutual concern,
thereby gradually reducing friction and promoting stability and
prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That President Obama support Taiwan and its twenty-three
million people in obtaining appropriate and meaningful participation in the specialized agencies of the United Nations
system, including the World Health Organization; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Legislature urges the United States
policy to include the pursuit of an initiative in the specialized
agencies of the United Nations system, such as the World Health
Organization, which would give Taiwan meaningful participation in
a manner that is consistent with the respective organization's
requirements; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates
forward a certified copy of this resolution to the President of the
United States, the members of West Virginia's congressional
delegation and the President of Taiwan.