HCR 55 Text

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.

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