[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 124 Engrossed in Senate (ES)]
2d Session
S. CON. RES. 124
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Whereas the Government of Iraq has not provided the fullest possible accounting
for United States Navy Commander Michael Scott Speicher, who was shot
down over Iraq on January 16, 1991, during Operation Desert Storm;
Whereas in 1990 and 1991, thousands of Kuwaitis were randomly arrested on the
streets of Kuwait during the Iraqi occupation;
Whereas in February 1993, the Government of Kuwait compiled evidence documenting
the existence of 605 prisoners of war and submitted its files to the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which passed those
files on to Iraq, the United Nations, and the Arab League;
Whereas numerous testimonials exist from family members who witnessed the arrest
and forcible removal of their relatives by Iraqi armed forces during the
occupation;
Whereas eyewitness reports from released prisoners of war indicate that many of
those who are still missing were seen and contacted in Iraqi prisons;
Whereas official Iraqi documents left behind in Kuwait chronicle in detail the
arrest, imprisonment, and transfer of significant numbers of Kuwaitis,
including those who are still missing;
Whereas in 1991, the United Nations Security Council overwhelmingly passed
Security Council Resolutions 686 and 687 that were part of the broad
cease-fire agreement accepted by the Iraqi regime;
Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 686 calls upon Iraq to
arrange for immediate access to and release of all prisoners of war
under the auspices of the ICRC and to return the remains of the deceased
personnel of the forces of Kuwait and the Member States cooperating with
Kuwait;
Whereas United Nations Security Resolution 687 calls upon Iraq to cooperate with
the ICRC in the repatriation of all Kuwaiti and third-country nationals,
to provide the ICRC with access to the prisoners wherever they are
located or detained, and to facilitate the ICRC search for those
unaccounted for;
Whereas the Government of Kuwait, in accordance with United Nations Security
Council Resolution 686, immediately released all Iraqi prisoners of war
as required by the terms of the Geneva Convention;
Whereas immediately following the cease-fire in March 1991, Iraq repatriated
5,722 Kuwaiti prisoners of war under the aegis of the ICRC and freed 500
Kuwaitis held by rebels in southern Iraq;
Whereas Iraq has hindered and blocked efforts of the Tripartite Commission, the
eight-country commission chaired by the ICRC and responsible for
locating and securing the release of the remaining prisoners of war;
Whereas Iraq has denied the ICRC access to Iraqi prisons in violation of Article
126 of the Third Geneva Convention, to which Iraq is a signatory; and
Whereas Iraq--under the direction and control of Saddam Hussein--has failed to
locate and secure the return of all prisoners of war being held in Iraq,
including prisoners from Kuwait and nine other nations: Now, therefore,
be it
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring),
That--
(1) the Congress--
(A) demands that the Government of Iraq immediately
provide the fullest possible accounting for United
States Navy Commander Michael Scott Speicher in
compliance with United Nations Security Council
Resolution 686 and other applicable international law;
(B) acknowledges that there remain 605 prisoners of
war unaccounted for in Iraq, although Kuwait was
liberated from Iraq's brutal invasion and occupation on
February 26, 1991;
(C) condemns and denounces the Iraqi Government's
refusal to comply with international human rights
instruments to which it is a party;
(D) urges Iraq immediately to disclose the names
and whereabouts of those who are still alive among the
Kuwaiti prisoners of war and other nations to bring
relief to their families; and
(E) insists that Iraq immediately allow
humanitarian organizations such as the International
Committee of the Red Cross to visit the living
prisoners and to recover the remains of those who have
died while in captivity; and
(2) it is the sense of the Congress that the United States
Government should--
(A) actively seek the fullest possible accounting
for United States Navy Commander Michael Scott
Speicher;
(B) actively and urgently work with the
international community and the Government of Kuwait,
in accordance with United Nations Security Council
Resolutions 686 and 687, to secure the release of
Kuwaiti prisoners of war and other prisoners of war who
are still missing nine years after the end of the Gulf
War; and
(C) exert pressure, as a permanent member of the
United Nations Security Council, on Iraq to bring this
issue to a close, to release all remaining prisoners of
the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, and to rejoin the
community of nations with a humane gesture of good will
and decency.
Passed the Senate July 19, 2000.
Attest:
Secretary.
106th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. CON. RES. 124
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of Congress with regard to Iraq's failure to
provide the fullest possible accounting of United States Navy Commander
Michael Scott Speicher and prisoners of war from Kuwait and nine other
nations in violation of international agreements.