A resolution urging the President of the United States diplomatic corps to dissuade member states of the United Nations from supporting resolutions that unfairly castigate Israel and to promote within the United Nations General Assembly more balanced and constructive approaches to resolving conflict in the Middle East.

Mr. President, today, along with Senators Coleman, Lautenberg and Voinovich, I am submitting a resolution to address a serious and persistent problem: the unfair and inequitable treatment of Israel in the United

Nations. The resolution urges the President and all members of the United States diplomatic corps to dissuade member states of the United Nations from voting in support of General Assembly resolutions that unfairly castigate Israel, and to promote within the United Nations General Assembly more balanced and constructive approaches to resolving conflict in the Middle East.

On October 21, 2003, the United Nations General Assembly ratified a resolution condemning Israeli security measures. The resolution did not call on the Palestinian Authority to dismantle terrorist organizations, nor did it name those organizations. Yet it passed by a vote of 144-4, with 12 abstentions. Other than the United States, only Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Israel itself voted against the resolution.

This resolution was only the latest in a long line of General Assembly resolutions castigating Israel with little regard to the security threats that Israel faces. For decades, the Assembly has devoted a disproportionate amount of time and resources to resolutions related to Israel--conducting, for example, 22 rollcall votes on UN General Assembly resolutions that related to Israel out of the 69 for all of the 57th Session of the Assembly. Besides distracting the United Nations from the countless other critical issues the world faces, these resolutions undermine efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East by casting blame almost entirely on one party. They are also unfair in that they subject Israel to discriminatory treatment not accorded to any other member state of the UN.

It is long past time for the General Assembly to stop ratifying these biased, unproductive resolutions. Voting patterns that discriminate against Israel appeared during the Cold War, when conflict in the Middle East was fueled by the rivalry between the West and the Soviet bloc. The Cold War has ended. So, too, should the polarization it engendered. We have also seen new alliances and relationships emerge in the global war on terrorism, and have witnessed the world come together in condemning terrorist violence. I refer to UN Security Council Resolution 1373, passed on September 28, 2001, which reaffirmed that any act of international terrorism constitutes a threat to international peace and security and called on states to work together to prevent and suppress terrorist acts.

Resolution 1373 reminded us of what the United Nations was meant to be--a forum for the world to come together to identify common threats and find common ways to address them. It offered the hope of a world united in its resolve to fight terrorism, with the United States leading that fight--in Afghanistan and in other parts of the world where international terrorists operate.

It is therefore with great disappointment that we witness business as usual at the General Assembly. The spirit of unity that prevailed for a time after September 11 has not led to a common approach to the conflict in the Middle East, and the United States has thus far been unable to enlist its friends and allies in its effort to ensure that Israel is treated fairly.

Since the inception of the United Nations, the United States has played a unique and critical role in ensuring that the U.N. lives up to the promise of its Charter--to maintain peace and security. As the sole remaining superpower, we have an opportunity to shape a global consensus on terrorism and security, one that requires new, more productive approaches to the conflict in the Middle East. This requires that we recognize the harm that comes from repeated, biased condemnations of a valuable ally in the United Nations General Assembly. It also requires sustained efforts, in the United Nations and within our bilateral and multilateral relationships, to change the voting patterns of friends, allies, and other member states.

We must bring our own values and our own vision of peace and security to the United Nations. Voting against resolutions that unfairly castigate Israel is not enough, particularly when we find ourselves in a tiny minority. We must seek to ally the world with us on this critical matter. The resolution we are introducing today thus urges the President and all members of the United States diplomatic corps to dissuade member states of the United Nations from voting in support of General Assembly resolutions that unfairly castigate Israel, and to promote within the Nations General assembly more balanced and constructive approaches to resolving conflict in the Middle East.

The United Nations can be--must be--a forum for defending our values. Through committed leadership, we can begin to change how other countries approach the General Assembly and how they vote on issues related to the Middle East. By doing so, we will be taking an important step toward peace.

Mr. President, today I am proud to submit, along with my good friend and colleague Senator Corzine, a bipartisan resolution dealing with the unfair treatment of Israel at the United Nations.

For too long, Israel has been singled out for castigation by the United Nations General Assembly. Israeli defensive actions are condemned, while terrorism against Israeli civilians goes largely unnoticed. There are whole bodies designed to do nothing but produce anti-Israel materials. There is a Division of Palestinian Rights which sits at the same level in the U.N. organization as a single division for the Americas and Europe, a single division for Asia and the Pacific, and two Africa divisions. Of all the resolutions adopted by rollcall vote at the last session of the UN General Assembly, one-third singled out Israel.

Let me be clear on this point: I do think it is appropriate to help the Palestinian people, and I do share President Bush's vision of two states living side by side in peace.

But for the United Nations to spend so much of its time on this one crisis, with an unbalanced approach, ultimately undermines its ability to contribute constructively to the peace process. To accord the Palestinian people--however serious their problems are the same level of attention as entire continents is inappropriate in a world where there are so many other oppressed groups and nations. Why is there no Division of Tibetan Rights? Why no Division of Chechen Rights?

If you look at the General Assembly voting records, there are too many one-sided resolutions dealing with Israel that pass with only a handful of negative votes--cast by the U.S., Israel, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, Nauru and Palau. Last Friday, I was pleased to note Australia joined us as well.

The good news is that we are starting to see some progress. A joint U.S.-European-Israeli effort to consolidate seven resolutions on UNRWA into one resolution recently was a good start. The resolution was passed out of the committee by a vote of 109 to 0, albeit with 54 abstentions. True, several superfluous resolutions on UNRWA were also approved by the committee. But this year, it was five resolutions instead of seven.

When the U.S., Europe, and Israel can work together on a resolution dealing with Palestinian refugees--and one that is passed without any negative votes--we get a glimpse of the U.N.'s potential for bringing parties together.

I would be remiss if I did not commend the work of U.S. diplomats, and applaud their increased attention to this issue. This resolution gives them a tool to use with their diplomatic counterparts--a strong statement from the U.S. Senate that we are paying attention to these votes, and that we support a more balanced approach toward the Middle East at the United Nations.

It should be a goal we can all agree upon. By reducing the number of anti-Israel resolutions passed by the General Assembly, the United Nations can live up to the promise of its charter: ``to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbors.''