[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 435 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 435

    Calling for democratic change in Syria, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 25, 2012

     Mr. Casey (for himself and Mr. Rubio) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
    Calling for democratic change in Syria, and for other purposes.

Whereas the Republic of Syria is a party to the International Covenant on Civil 
        and Political Rights (ICCPR), adopted at New York December 16, 1966, and 
        the United Nations Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman 
        or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, done at New York December 10, 
        1984, and voted in favor of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 
        adopted at Paris December 10, 1948;
Whereas, since March 2011, the Government of Syria has engaged in a sustained 
        campaign of violence and gross human rights violations against civilians 
        in Syria, including the use of weapons of war, torture, extrajudicial 
        killings, arbitrary executions, sexual violence, and interference with 
        access to medical treatment;
Whereas the United Nations estimated that, as of April 16, 2012, at least 10,000 
        people had been killed in Syria since the violence began in March 2011;
Whereas, on August, 18, 2011, President Barack Obama called upon President 
        Bashar al Assad to step aside;
Whereas, in November 2011 and February 2012, the United Nations Commission of 
        Inquiry released reports documenting gross human rights violations 
        committed in Syria;
Whereas the League of Arab States deployed a team of international monitors to 
        Syria on December 26, 2011;
Whereas, on January 28, 2012, the League of Arab States suspended its monitoring 
        mission in Syria in response to an escalation in violence;
Whereas, on March 16, 2012, United Nations and League of Arab States Special 
        Envoy Kofi Annan presented a six-point peace plan for Syria that called 
        on the Government of Syria to, among other things: commit to stop the 
        fighting and urgently achieve a United Nations-supervised cessation of 
        violence; work with the Envoy in an inclusive Syrian-led political 
        process; cease military activity in and around civilian population 
        centers; ensure timely provision of humanitarian assistance; release 
        arbitrarily detained persons; ensure freedom of movement for 
        journalists; and respect the freedom of association and the right to 
        demonstrate peacefully;
Whereas, on March 21, 2012, the United Nations Security Council unanimously 
        adopted a Presidential Statement giving full support to the efforts of 
        Joint Special Envoy Annan and calling on the Government of Syria and the 
        opposition in Syria to work in good faith to fully and immediately 
        implement Mr. Annan's six point proposal;
Whereas, on April 1, 2012, the group Friends of the Syrian People met in 
        Istanbul and announced measures to increase the pressure on the Assad 
        regime, provide greater humanitarian relief to people in need, and 
        support the Syrian opposition as it works toward an inclusive democratic 
        transition.
Whereas, as of April 1, 2012, the United States Government had pledged 
        $25,000,000 in humanitarian assistance, as well as non-lethal 
        communications equipment, to activists inside Syria;
Whereas, on April 5, 2012, the United Nations Security Council adopted a 
        Presidential Statement calling on the Government of Syria to implement 
        urgently and visibly its commitments to Mr. Annan, including ceasing 
        armed violence within 48 hours;
Whereas, on April 14, 2012, the United Nations Security Council adopted 
        Resolution 2042, which authorized the deployment of an advance team of 
        United Nations military observers to monitor adherence to a ceasefire in 
        the country;
Whereas the Governments of Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq have provided 
        refuge for tens of thousands of people displaced by the violence in 
        Syria; and
Whereas the Governments of the Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of 
        Iran continue to supply military equipment to the Government of Syria 
        notwithstanding that government's violent repression of demonstrators:
Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) condemns Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's ongoing 
        slaughter of his own people;
            (2) reaffirms that it is the policy of the United States 
        that the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people cannot be 
        realized so long as Bashar al-Assad remains in power and that 
        he must step aside;
            (3) recognizes the efforts of the United Nations and the 
        League of Arab States to establish a ceasefire in Syria and to 
        deploy international personnel to observe adherence by the 
        Government of Syria to Special Envoy Kofi Annan's six-point 
        peace plan to bring an end to violence and human rights 
        violations and as a first step toward a full democratic 
        transition in Syria;
            (4) urges robust support for the United Nations-
        administered Emergency Response Fund to ensure the sustained 
        provision of humanitarian and emergency medical support for the 
        population of Syria affected by the conflict;
            (5) urges the continued provision of adequate humanitarian 
        assistance to displaced Syrians currently located in Turkey, 
        Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq;
            (6) calls on the President to engage with the League of 
        Arab States, the European Union, and the Government of the 
        Republic of Turkey to explore options to protect civilians in 
        Syria;
            (7) demands that the Government of Syria allow additional 
        United Nations personnel into the country, with complete 
        freedom of movement, and take necessary measures to ensure 
        their safety in Syria so that they may observe the ceasefire 
        and the adherence by the Government of Syria to the United 
        Nations six-point peace plan;
            (8) urges the Syrian opposition to renew its commitment to 
        a democratic and inclusive society in the post-Assad era based 
        on the rule of law, commitment to universal human rights for 
        all of its people, and protections for religious and ethnic 
        minorities;
            (9) calls upon the League of Arab States, the United 
        Nations, the Friends of the Syrian People, and other interested 
        international bodies to continue to exert maximum diplomatic 
        pressure for Assad to step aside and for a political transition 
        in Syria;
            (10) urges the Friends of the Syrian People to renew 
        efforts to incentivize the enhanced cohesion of democratically 
        oriented organizations in Syria, and to encourage these groups 
        to make clear their intention to represent and protect the 
        interests of all Syrians;
            (11) calls upon the President to continue to provide 
        support, including communications equipment to organizations in 
        Syria that are representative of the people of Syria, make 
        demonstrable efforts to protect human rights and religious 
        freedom, reject terrorism, cooperate with international 
        counterterrorism and nonproliferation efforts, and abstain from 
        destabilizing neighboring countries;
            (12) urges the President to develop a plan to identify 
        weapons stockpiles and prevent the proliferation of 
        conventional, biological, chemical, and other types of weapons 
        in Syria; and
            (13) strongly condemns the Governments of the Russian 
        Federation and the Islamic Republic of Iran for providing 
        military and security equipment to the Government of Syria, 
        which has been used to repress peaceful demonstrations and 
        commit mass atrocities against unarmed civilian populations in 
        Syria.
                                 <all>