H.Res.1517

Date:________

Re: U.S. position on the expulsion of the Russian Federation from the United Nations

Dear _______________

Recently I learned about the introduction, with bipartisan support, of draft resolution H.Res.1517 – Finding that the Russian Federation’s presence in the United Nations Security Council violates the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

I am writing to you to applaud and support the important steps that H.Res. 1517 urges the President of the United States to take toward limiting, suspending, or terminating Russia’s presence at the UN. As a citizen of the United States of America and a [native of] [long-time resident of] [STATE], I am deeply concerned about the security of our country and its allies and maintaining the leading role that our country plays in the foreign policy arena. Russia has long abused the rights and privileges of UN membership, including by exploiting the Security Council veto that it wields under cover of UN Charter Article 23, paragraph 1. Therefore, I commend the effort to hold Russia to account that draft resolution H.Res. 1517 envisages. I hope that you and your colleagues can give the draft resolution the hearing it deserves and advance it toward adoption.

Further supporting the resolution, you might note that, even before Russia launched its unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine, serious questions already existed about Russia’s presence at the UN. In particular, the steps by which Russia took over the UN Security Council seat formerly held by the USSR were highly irregular. It is clear to me from open sources that the Russian Federation’s presence among the UN Member States in general and its replacement of the former USSR as a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council are groundless. In my opinion, it would further strengthen resolution H.Res. 1517 to note, either in the resolution itself or in a hearing that addresses the resolution before the appropriate House committee, that Russia should never have automatically taken a seat at the UN following the dissolution of the USSR, but, instead, in line with the UN’s long-standing approach, should have had to go through the normal membership procedure like any other new country seeking to participate in the UN. The groundlessness of Russia’s presence at the UN already has drawn attention from other legislative and parliamentary bodies, for example in a recent resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe – PACE Resolution 2463 (2022)—and in Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, in 12.01.2022 Appeal.

I think that it would also support resolution H.Res. 1517, if you and your colleagues were to ask the U.S. Department of State to request from the UN (as other countries have done) the documents, such as internal UN legal memorandums, that might shed light on the irregularity surrounding Russia’s takeover of the former USSR seat at the UN.

I applaud your efforts in the U.S. Congress to restore justice within the United Nations and to prevent Russia from further abusing its rights in this Organization. Passing H.Res. 1517 would advance U.S. security and hold Russia to account for its armed aggression in Ukraine. I hope that you and your colleagues are able to help advance this important resolution.

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