BILL REQ. #:  H-0830.1 

Read first time .   Referred to .

     TO THE HONORABLE GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS, AND TO THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION:
     We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:
     WHEREAS, The World Health Organization (WHO) is the United Nations' specialized agency for health; and
     WHEREAS, The World Health Organization (WHO) was established on April 7, 1948; and
     WHEREAS, The World Health Organization's (WHO) objective, as set out in its Constitution, is the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health; and
     WHEREAS, Health is defined in the World Health Organization's (WHO) Constitution as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity; and
     WHEREAS, The World Health Organization (WHO) is governed by one hundred ninety-three Member States through the World Health Assembly; and
     WHEREAS, The World Health Assembly is composed of representatives from World Health Organization's (WHO) Member States; and
     WHEREAS, The main tasks of the World Health Assembly are to approve the World Health Organization's (WHO) program and the budget for the following biennium and to decide major policy questions; and
     WHEREAS, Exclusion from meaningful participation in the World Health Organization (WHO) endangers the health of the people of any nation because no citizenry that is denied such participation can possibly match the enormous resources, vast technical expertise, and huge store of knowledge that the World Health Organization (WHO) provides; and
     WHEREAS, Taiwan is a free and peace-loving sovereign state with a democratically elected Government that represents the legitimate interests and wishes of its people; and
     WHEREAS, Taiwan is currently excluded from participating in the World Health Organization (WHO) and, therefore, the health interests of the twenty-three million people of Taiwan are not being adequately recognized, upheld, and protected by the World Health Organization (WHO); and
     WHEREAS, It is critical that Taiwan be granted meaningful participation in the World Health Organization (WHO);
     NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully urge that the President of the United States, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, and the Director-General of the World Health Organization support Taiwan's participation in the World Health Organization (WHO) as an observer, support Taiwan's full participation in the World Health Organization's (WHO) technical meetings, support Taiwan's partnership in the World Health Organization's (WHO) Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, and support Taiwan's integration into the International Health Regulations 2005 Mechanism.
     BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the President of the United States, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, and the Director-General of the World Health Organization.
     BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable George W. Bush, President of the United States, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, and the Director-General of the World Health Organization.