[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 181 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 181

Expressing the sense of the Congress with respect to war crimes against 
United States military personnel and their families, and in particular 
 to the war crimes committed in El Salvador against United States Army 
            pilots David H. Pickett and Earnest Dawson, Jr.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 8, 1999

  Mr. Bryant submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
          referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the Congress with respect to war crimes against 
United States military personnel and their families, and in particular 
 to the war crimes committed in El Salvador against United States Army 
            pilots David H. Pickett and Earnest Dawson, Jr.

Whereas in 1991, David H. Pickett was a lieutenant colonel and Earnest Dawson, 
        Jr., was a private first class in the United States Army;
Whereas on January 2, 1991, David H. Pickett and Earnest Dawson, Jr., along with 
        Chief Warrant Officer Daniel Scott, were on official business when their 
        helicopter was shot down over El Salvador by Marxist guerrillas of the 
        Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN);
Whereas in the helicopter crash Daniel Scott died and David H. Pickett and 
        Earnest Dawson, Jr., were wounded;
Whereas David H. Pickett and Earnest Dawson, Jr., were captured and promptly 
        murdered by FMLN guerrillas, including Ferman Hernandez and Serveriano 
        Fuentes;
Whereas after the murders of David H. Pickett and Earnest Dawson, Jr., were 
        investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of 
        Justice sought and obtained a warrant for the arrest of Ferman Hernandez 
        from the United States District Court in Washington, DC;
Whereas the Department of State directed that Ferman Hernandez be detained if he 
        entered the territory of the United States;
Whereas the United Nations brokered a peace agreement that ended the civil war 
        in El Salvador in January 1992 and resulted in the Government of El 
        Salvador signing a comprehensive peace accord with the FMLN;
Whereas the FMLN surrendered Ferman Hernandez and Serveriano Fuentes to the 
        Government of El Salvador on March 17, 1992;
Whereas Ferman Hernandez and Serveriano Fuentes confessed to the murders of 
        David H. Pickett and Earnest Dawson, Jr., and were detained by 
        Salvadoran authorities;
Whereas a commission of the United Nations found, on April 1, 1993, that David 
        H. Pickett and Earnest Dawson, Jr., while wounded and defenseless, had 
        been executed by Ferman Hernandez, who was acting on the orders of 
        Serveriano Fuentes;
Whereas the commission found that the actions of Ferman Hernandez and Serveriano 
        Fuentes were in violation of international humanitarian law;
Whereas the Government of El Salvador enacted a general amnesty law in May 1993, 
        and released Ferman Hernandez and Serveriano Fuentes in accordance with 
        that law;
Whereas the failure and refusal of the Government of El Salvador to bring Ferman 
        Hernandez and Serveriano Fuentes to trial violates the Geneva Convention 
        and other international agreements to which the Government of El 
        Salvador is a signatory;
Whereas the United States has made diplomatic efforts toward the Government of 
        El Salvador, but has failed to persuade the Government of El Salvador to 
        comply with the Geneva Convention and other international human rights 
        agreements by bringing Ferman Hernandez and Serveriano Fuentes to trial;
Whereas the United States has also failed to obtain from the Government of El 
        Salvador the extradition of Ferman Hernandez and Serveriano Fuentes to 
        the United States;
Whereas the Constitution of El Salvador prohibits the extradition of Ferman 
        Hernandez and Serveriano Fuentes to the United States for trial;
Whereas there has been preliminary legislative action in El Salvador to amend 
        the Constitution to permit extradition under certain circumstances, but 
        further legislative action is necessary to ratify the amendment, and the 
        amendment in its present form is not retroactive and therefore would not 
        apply to Ferman Hernandez and Serveriano Fuentes;
Whereas the inability of the United States to meaningfully address the murder of 
        two members of the United States Armed Forces in this instance raises 
        concerns about the effectiveness of legal protections for the men and 
        women of the United States Armed Forces who serve in foreign lands and 
        for their families;
Whereas the United States has more than 350,000 military personnel deployed in 
        over 120 foreign countries;
Whereas tragic and wrongful acts against United States military personnel may 
        occur in the future, and the United States should not again be unable to 
        obtain redress, as in the case of the deaths of David H. Pickett and 
        Earnest Dawson, Jr.; and
Whereas the 104th Congress enacted the War Crimes Act of 1996, which provided by 
        law for criminal penalties for certain war crimes and for certain grave 
        breaches of the Geneva Convention, and the 105th Congress strengthened 
        and improved those provisions: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),

SECTION 1. EXPRESSION OF CONGRESS WITH RESPECT TO THE DEATHS OF DAVID 
              H. PICKETT AND EARNEST DAWSON, JR.

    The Congress expresses--
            (1) sincere appreciation for the military service of 
        Lieutenant Colonel David H. Pickett, Private First Class 
        Earnest Dawson, Jr., and Chief Warrant Officer Daniel Scott;
            (2) deepest sympathy to the families of David H. Pickett 
        and Earnest Dawson, Jr., for their tragic and wrongful deaths; 
        and
            (3) profound regret that the available remedies have failed 
        to bring Ferman Hernandez and Serveriano Fuentes to justice and 
        thereby bring closure to this tragedy.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS WITH RESPECT TO WAR CRIMES.

    It is the sense of the Congress that--
            (1) the United States should improve the legal protections 
        for its military personnel who serve in foreign lands and the 
        families of such military personnel;
            (2) the Government of El Salvador should amend its 
        Constitution to permit the extradition of Ferman Hernandez and 
        Serveriano Fuentes to the United States for trial; and
            (3) the President of the United States should--
                    (A) make vigorous and continuing efforts to obtain 
                the extradition of Ferman Hernandez and Serveriano 
                Fuentes to the United States;
                    (B) initiate changes to the Geneva Convention and 
                other relevant international agreements that would 
                prevent amnesty from being used to deny redress for 
                grave breaches of the Geneva Convention;
                    (C) initiate other changes to the Geneva Convention 
                and other relevant international agreements as 
                appropriate to ensure and improve the legal protections 
                for United States military personnel who serve in 
                foreign lands and the families of such military 
                personnel;
                    (D) examine all status-of-forces agreements and 
                similar agreements and obtain revisions as appropriate 
                to ensure that the legal protections for United States 
                military personnel will not suffer another failure, as 
                in the case of David H. Pickett and Earnest Dawson, 
                Jr.;
                    (E) encourage other countries to enact laws 
                substantially similar to the War Crimes Act of 1996; 
                and
                    (F) report to the Congress at least annually 
                regarding the actions taken and progress made by the 
                President in connection with the matters set forth in 
                this resolution.
                                 <all>