[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 510 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 510

Supporting the findings of the United Nations International Independent 
  Investigation Commission that is investigating the assassination of 
former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, condemning the Government 
  of Syria for its apparent involvement in this terrorist attack, and 
  demanding compliance by Syria with United Nations Security Council 
                            Resolution 1595.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 25, 2005

  Mr. Wexler (for himself, Mr. Chabot, Mr. Lantos, Mr. Ackerman, Mr. 
   Menendez, Mr. Crowley, Mr. Tancredo, Mr. Issa, and Mr. McCotter) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                       on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Supporting the findings of the United Nations International Independent 
  Investigation Commission that is investigating the assassination of 
former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, condemning the Government 
  of Syria for its apparent involvement in this terrorist attack, and 
  demanding compliance by Syria with United Nations Security Council 
                            Resolution 1595.

Whereas Rafik Hariri, the former Prime Minister of Lebanon, was assassinated in 
        a terrorist attack on February 14, 2005, that killed 22 others and 
        injured more than 100 people;
Whereas the United Nations Security Council issued a Presidential Statement 
        (February 15, 2005) condemning the terrorist bombing that killed former 
        Prime Minister Hariri and calling on ``the Lebanese Government to bring 
        to justice the perpetrators, organizers and sponsors of this heinous 
        terrorist act'';
Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 1595 (April 7, 2005) 
        established an International Independent Investigation Commission 
        (UNIIIC) based in Lebanon to assist the Lebanese authorities in their 
        investigation of all aspects of the terrorist attack that killed former 
        Prime Minister Hariri;
Whereas the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan notified the United 
        Nations Security Council that the UNIIIC, led by German prosecutor 
        Detlev Mehlis, was declared operational on June 16, 2005;
Whereas during the course of the investigation--from June 16, 2005, through 
        October 6, 2005--the UNIIIC issued 244 witness statements, 293 
        investigator notes, and 22 suspect statements, producing 16,711 pages of 
        documents with the assistance of investigators from 17 different 
        countries;
Whereas the UNIIIC focused on the crime scene, analysis of telephone intercepts, 
        the testimony of more than 500 witnesses and sources, and received 
        support from the Government of Lebanon and other national and 
        international entities;
Whereas on October 19, 2005, Commissioner Mehlis presented the UNIIIC's findings 
        to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan;
Whereas the UNIIIC report concluded that the assassination of former Prime 
        Minister Hariri was carried out by a group with extensive resources and 
        capabilities, and that the crime had been prepared over the course of 
        several months;
Whereas the UNIIIC report concluded that the decision to assassinate former 
        Prime Minister Hariri ``could not have been taken without the approval 
        of top-ranked Syrian security officials and could not have been further 
        organized without the collusion of their counterparts in the Lebanese 
        security forces'';
Whereas the UNIIIC report established that leads in the investigation pointed 
        directly toward senior Syrian security and military officials as being 
        involved with the assassination, including the former Syrian 
        Intelligence Chief in Lebanon, General Rustum Ghazali;
Whereas the UNIIIC report found: ``[T]he context of the assassination of Mr. 
        Hariri was one of extreme political polarization and tension. 
        Accusations and counter accusations targeting mainly Mr. Hariri over the 
        period proceeding his assassination corroborate the Commission 
        conclusion that the likely motive of the assassination was political.'';
Whereas the UNIIIC report found that ``[t]he apparent growing conflict between 
        Mr. Hariri and senior Syrian officials, including Syrian President 
        Bashar Assad, was a central aspect of the information provided to the 
        Commission through interviews and documents'';
Whereas the UNIIIC report found that ``[a] meeting in Damascus between Mr. 
        Hariri and President Assad on August 26, 2004 appeared to bring the 
        conflict to a head'' culminating with President Assad allegedly 
        threatening Mr. Hariri if he opposed the extension of Lebanese President 
        Emile Lahoud's term; and
Whereas the UNIIIC report found: ``While the Syrian authorities, after initial 
        hesitation, have cooperated to a limited degree with the Commission, 
        several interviewees tried to mislead the investigation by giving false 
        or inaccurate statements. The letter addressed to the Commission by the 
        Foreign Minister of the Syrian Arab Republic proved to contain false 
        information. The full picture of the assassination can only be reached 
        through an extensive and credible investigation that would be conducted 
        in an open and transparent manner to the full satisfaction of 
        international scrutiny.'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) condemns the Government of Syria for its apparent 
        involvement in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime 
        Minister Rafik Hariri;
            (2) supports the findings of the United Nations 
        International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC), 
        led by Detlev Mehlis, which assisted the Lebanese authorities 
        in their investigation of all aspects of the terrorist attack 
        that killed former Prime Minister Hariri;
            (3) demands Syrian President Bashar Assad and the 
        Government of Syria fully cooperate with international and 
        Lebanese efforts to further investigate the assassination of 
        former Prime Minister Hariri and bring those responsible to 
        justice;
            (4) supports the full implementation of United Nations 
        Security Council Resolution 1595 (April 7, 2005), which calls 
        on all states and parties to fully cooperate with the UNIIIC 
        and provide it with any relevant information they may possess 
        pertaining to this terrorist attack;
            (5) directs the United States Permanent Representative to 
        the United Nations to use the voice, vote, and influence of the 
        United States in the United Nations Security Council to demand 
        Syrian compliance with the ongoing UNIIIC investigation under 
        Chapter 7 of the United Nations Charter, given evidence linking 
        the Syrian regime to the assassination of former Prime Minister 
        Hariri and Syria's failure to abide by the provisions of 
        Security Council Resolution 1595; and
            (6) urges the Government of the United States to actively 
        support ongoing international and Lebanese efforts to 
        investigate the assassination of former Prime Minister Hariri 
        and bring its perpetrators to justice, including through 
        support of the establishment of an international tribunal, if 
        so requested by the Government of Lebanon.
                                 <all>