THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

150

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

concerning the rights of united states citizens in foreign countries.

 

WHEREAS, we, the elected representatives of the people of Hawaii, affirm our support for the principles of equality of every human being as expressed in the United Nations' Charter; and

WHEREAS, we affirm our support for our embassies and consulates and their responsibility to protect the internationally accepted rights of our citizens abroad; and

WHEREAS, we believe our citizens abroad are entitled to the rights, privileges, and benefits of all international agreements where the host country has ratified the same; and

WHEREAS, we believe that if one of our citizens is accused of an offense in a foreign country that individual deserves to know the legal rights to which he or she is entitled; and

WHEREAS, we believe our citizens should be told what responsibility our embassies and consulates abroad have to provide protective services if one of our citizens is denied due process by the internationally accepted standards of law; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-Second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2004, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Secretary of State's office is respectfully requested to answer the following:

(1) Whether our citizens are entitled to the legal rights embodied in the United Nations' International Covenant on Civil Political Rights, while in a country that has ratified this accord;

(2) Should these legal rights be violated or denied to our citizens in a country that has ratified the United Nations' Covenant, whether a diplomatic protest is possible by the embassy or consulate and, if so, at what level of the host government's hierarchy a protest should be made; and

(3) Should the embassy's or consulate's initial protest not receive a satisfactory response, whether our embassies or consulates have a responsibility to take further diplomatic actions to ensure that our citizen's legal rights are guaranteed; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State's office is requested to provide these answers to the Office of the Governor of Hawaii so that this information may be made available to the citizens of this State; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

U.S. Citizens' rights in foreign countries.