Bill Text: CA SR59 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relative to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From committee without further action. [SR59 Detail]
Download: California-2015-SR59-Introduced.html
BILL NUMBER: SR 59 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Nguyen
FEBRUARY 11, 2016
Relative to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
HOUSE OR SENATE RESOLUTIONS DO NOT CONTAIN A DIGEST
WHEREAS, On February 15 and 16, 2016, President Obama will host
the government leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) for a summit in the city of Rancho Mirage,
California; and
WHEREAS, International summits have historically provided venues
for diplomatic discussions with government leaders on various
policies, from economic prosperity and cultural tolerance, to the
worldwide protection of human rights and intellectual property; and
WHEREAS, All members of ASEAN are currently members of the General
Assembly of the United Nations that penned The Universal Declaration
on Human Rights in 1948, which proclaimed that every individual and
every organ of society shall strive to promote respect for rights and
freedoms of men and women; and
WHEREAS, The preamble of the ASEAN Charter signed in Singapore on
November 20, 2007, acknowledges its expanded membership's commitment
to adhere "to the principles of democracy, the rule of law and good
governance, respect for and protection of human rights and
fundamental freedoms"; and
WHEREAS, The Human Rights Watch, in a report prepared for the
February summit, has declared that most of ASEAN's 10 members have
extraordinarily poor human rights records, including, but not limited
to, restrictions on civil society, failures on women's rights, the
political use of courts, high-level corruption, and lack of basic
freedoms such as expression and peaceful assembly; and
WHEREAS, The Human Rights Watch report dually urges President
Obama to raise concerns involving political prisoners in Vietnam,
politically motivated prosecutions in Malaysia, political repression
in Cambodia, and the suppression of free expression in Thailand; and
WHEREAS, The California State Legislature previously passed Senate
Joint Resolution 5 which urged the President of the United States
and the United States Congress to reauthorize the Humanitarian
Resettlement Program and the Orderly Departure Program to allow
disabled veterans of the South Vietnamese Army and their families
currently living in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to apply to
enter the United States, citing human rights concerns that persist in
the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, That the
Legislature respectfully urges the President of the United States to
focus on the ongoing human rights injustices that continue to occur
in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and in other Southeast Asian
nations when the President hosts the leaders of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations at the Sunnylands Estate in Rancho Mirage,
California on February 15 and 16, 2016; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature respectfully urges President Obama
to discuss the implementation of Senate Joint Resolution 5 with the
government leader of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, regarding the
reauthorization of the Humanitarian Resettlement Program and the
Orderly Departure Program to allow disabled veterans of the South
Vietnamese Army and their families currently living in the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam to apply to enter the United States; and be it
further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States,
to the Majority Leader of the Senate, to the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, to each Senator and Representative from California
in the Congress of the United States, and to the author for
appropriate distribution.
