RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the United Nations, in its Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenants on Human Rights, has affirmed that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth therein, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status; and

WHEREAS, there are seven core international human rights treaties, including the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child; and

WHEREAS, in addition, there are many other universal instruments relating to human rights, including declarations, principles, guidelines, standard rules and recommendations that have no binding legal effect, but do have an undeniable moral force and provide practical guidance; and

WHEREAS, other universal instruments relating to human rights include covenants, statutes, protocols and conventions that are legally-binding for those that ratify or accede to them; and

WHEREAS, while the United States was instrumental in composing the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it has failed to ratify several principal international agreements that are designed to enhance civil and human rights worldwide; and

WHEREAS, for instance, the United States is the only industrialized country that has not ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, placing it in the company of countries like Iran, Sudan, and Somalia; and

WHEREAS, the United States may soon be the only country in the world that has not ratified one of the most widely received conventions, the Convention on the Rights of the Child; and

WHEREAS, the State of Hawai`i has set an example as a forerunner amongst this nation's states for its dedication to human rights by previously adopting the Draft United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; and

WHEREAS, the State of Hawai`i should not sit idly by while the nation fails to ratify what this state believes to be righteous; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawai`i, Regular Session of 2006, the Senate concurring, that the Legislature requests the Hawai`i Institute for Human Rights to convene a working group to examine, and make recommendations regarding, United Nations' human rights instruments for adoption by the State of Hawai`i; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group seek input from the public and include in its membership the Hawai`i Human Rights Center and representatives from the Senate Committee on Energy, Environment and International Affairs, and the House International Affairs Committee; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to submit a report, including any recommendations for legislation, to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2007, detailing the United Nations' human rights instruments that the working group proposes for adoption by the State of Hawai`i; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to Director of the Hawai`i Institute for Human Rights, the Director of the Hawai`i Human Rights Center, the Chair of the Senate Committee on Energy, Environment and International Affairs, the Chair of the House International Affairs Committee, and the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Report Title:

UNITED NATIONS' HUMAN RIGHTS INSTRUMENTS