[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 617 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 617
To provide humanitarian assistance and support a democratic transition
in Syria, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 19, 2013
Mr. Casey (for himself and Mr. Rubio) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide humanitarian assistance and support a democratic transition
in Syria, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Syria Democratic Transition Act of
2013''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) In March 2011, peaceful demonstrations in Syria began
against the authoritarian rule of Bashar al-Assad. The regime
responded with terrible violence against the citizens of Syria,
including the use of weapons of war, torture, extrajudicial
killings, arbitrary executions, sexual violence, and
interference with access to medical treatment.
(2) In December 2011, the Government of Syria agreed to
allow an Arab League observer group into the country to assess
the humanitarian and political situation on the ground.
However, on January 28, 2012, the League officially ended its
observer mission, citing escalating violence and the
intransigence of the Assad regime.
(3) In February 2012, the group Friends of the Syrian
People met in Tunis and issued a declaration demanding, among
other things, that the Syrian regime ``allow free and unimpeded
access by the United Nations and humanitarian agencies to carry
out a full assessment of needs''.
(4) 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--
(A) commit to stop the fighting and urgently
achieve a United Nations-supervised cessation of
violence;
(B) cease military activity in and around civilian
population centers;
(C) work with the Envoy in an inclusive Syrian-led
political process;
(D) ensure timely provision of humanitarian
assistance;
(E) release arbitrarily detained persons;
(F) ensure freedom of movement for journalists; and
(G) respect freedom of association and the right to
demonstrate peacefully.
(5) As of February 2013, the United Nations estimated that
nearly 70,000 people have been killed as a result of the
violence in Syria.
(6) As a result of the violence, the United Nations
estimates that 4,000,000 people are in need of humanitarian
assistance, including access to food, water, shelter, and
medical care: the Syrian Arab Red Crescent estimates that, more
than 2,500,000 are internally displaced in Syria. Basic
services such as health care, education, electricity, and water
have also been cut off in some parts of the country.
(7) Syria faces growing food insecurity, as wheat harvests
have declined due to drought. The United Nations has been
providing food aid to 1,500,000 Syrians since September 2012,
with the number of people requiring such aid expected to reach
2,500,000 people in the months following February 2013.
(8) Millions of Syrians have fled their homes due to
escalating violence. According to the United Nations, there are
more than 1,000,000 Syrian refugees registered in Lebanon,
Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq, and even more who are
unregistered. Also according to the Syrian Arab Red Crescent,
more than 2,500,000 Syrians are displaced within the country.
More than three-quarters of refugees and internally displaced
persons are women and children, who are particularly vulnerable
to economic and physical insecurity.
(9) In January 2013, a donor pledging conference was held
in Kuwait, pledging an additional $1,500,000,000 in
humanitarian assistance to the existing $1,000,000,000 already
provided for Syria. The Governments of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia,
and the United Arab Emirates each pledged $300,000,000.
Kuwait's ambassador to the European Union called it the
``largest humanitarian pledging conference in the history of
the United Nations''. According to the United Nations, only 13
percent of the $1,500,000,000 pledged in Kuwait has been
received to date.
(10) Challenges exist to ensure this assistance reaches
those who need it. An agreement between the United Nations and
the Syrian regime to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian
assistance in the country has allowed aid workers greater
access to victims of the conflict. However, staff of the
International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Arab
Red Crescent cite security concerns as a major obstacle to aid
distribution. The Government of Syria is also refusing to grant
visas for aid workers from countries that have criticized the
regime, including the United States, Canada, the United
Kingdom, and France.
(11) Amnesty International's 2012 Annual Report on Syria,
along with the findings of other human rights groups, details a
number of atrocities in Syria. In November 2012, the United
Nations Human Rights Council's Independent International
Commission of Inquiry indicated that Syria's military forces
have employed ``killings, torture, rape and other forms of
sexual violence, imprisonment, or other forms of severe
deprivation of liberty and enforced disappearances'' to
maintain their hold on the country. Human Rights Watch raises
concerns that authorities in Syria could choose to kill
detainees rather than allow them to be released in the event of
a political transition.
(12) As of March 2013, according to the Department of
State, the United States Government has provided nearly
$385,000,000 in humanitarian assistance to support those
affected by the violence in Syria. On February 28, 2013, the
United States Government announced its plans to provide an
additional $63,000,000 in non-lethal assistance to the Syrian
Opposition Coalition and the Supreme Military Council.
(13) On February 18, 2013, the Council of the European
Union called on the Syrian regime to allow the delivery of
humanitarian assistance to reach all those in need and amended
their sanctions against the regime to allow greater non-lethal
support and technical assistance to the opposition for the
protection of civilians.
(14) The February 26, 2013, communique by the Friends of
the Syrian People International Working Group on Sanctions
``called on all states to take steps, in their own capacity, by
imposing, at a minimum, an asset freeze on senior Syrian regime
officials involved in the repression, as well as an asset
freeze on, and restrictions on transactions with banks tied
with the Syrian regime such as the Central Bank of Syria, the
Commercial Bank of Syria and the Syrian International Islamic
Bank''.
(15) According to the Unclassified Report to Congress on
the Acquisition of Technology Relating to Weapons of Mass
Destruction and Advanced Conventional Munitions Covering 1
January to 31 December 2011, ``Syria has had a [chemical
weapons] program for many years and has a stockpile of CW
agents, which can be delivered by aerial bombs, ballistic
missiles, and artillery rockets.'' In a hearing before the
Committee on Armed Services of the Senate in March 2012,
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey
testified that the magnitude of Syria's chemical weapons
arsenal was ``100 times more than we experienced in Libya''.
The Government of Syria's stockpiles are thought to include
mustard, sarin, and VX gases.
(16) There are concerns about the existence of numerous
rebel militias and their role in Syria during a post-transition
period. On June 30, 2012, during an international meeting on
Syria in Geneva, Special Envoy Kofi Annan said, ``A transition
must be implemented in a climate of safety for all, stability
and calm, including completion of withdrawals and the
disarming, demobilization and reintegration of armed groups.''
(17) According to reports, the Government of Iran provides
resources and military training to groups such as Jaysh al-
Shi'ite. These groups also receive military training from
Hezbollah and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States--
(1) to strongly condemn the ongoing violence and widespread
human rights violations perpetrated against the Syrian people
by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad;
(2) to support civilians and innocent victims of the
conflict in Syria, particularly women and children who are
displaced and vulnerable to physical and psychological
exploitation;
(3) to assist the people of Syria in meeting basic needs,
including access to food, health care, shelter, and clean
drinking water;
(4) to affirm the neutrality of medical professionals
providing humanitarian assistance and health care on a non-
political basis and to condemn attacks against such personnel
or interference in the provision of medical care;
(5) to support efforts of democratically oriented political
opposition groups in Syria to agree upon a political transition
plan that is inclusive and protects the rights of all minority
ethnic groups in the country;
(6) to work with the international community, including
multilateral organizations and host countries, to support
Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, and
other host countries;
(7) to welcome the pledges of humanitarian assistance made
by the Governments of Australia, Botswana, Brazil, Canada,
China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Morocco, New
Zealand, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates,
and members of the European Union, and to encourage prompt
delivery of those pledges which will contribute to meeting the
needs of the victims of this conflict, and to encourage all
donors to coordinate with the United Nations;
(8) to support efforts to identify, recover, and dispose of
chemical weapons and other conventional and unconventional
weapons stockpiled in Syria;
(9) that the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary
and Opposition Forces (SOC) is the sole and legitimate
representative of the Syrian people;
(10) to support the National Coalition for Syrian
Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (SOC) efforts to establish
a transitional government;
(11) to support transparent and impartial judicial
processes, in which Syrians have a leading voice, for all those
who have committed gross violations of human rights and
international law, while noting that the majority of these
violations have been committed by the Assad regime;
(12) to help ensure that, once a stable transitional
government is established in Syria, it is committed to
multiparty democracy, open and transparent governance, respect
for human rights and religious freedom, protection of refugees
and asylees, promoting peace and stability with its neighbors,
enhancing the rule of law, and rehabilitating and reintegrating
former combatants; and
(13) to affirm that the end of the Assad regime is in the
national security interests of the United States, as it would
weaken the position of Iran and Hezbollah in the region and
allow for the return of displaced persons currently seeking
refuge in host countries.
SEC. 4. ASSISTANCE TO THE SYRIAN PEOPLE.
(a) Authority.--The President is authorized, notwithstanding any
other provision of law, to furnish, on such terms and conditions as the
President may determine, assistance in order to--
(1) provide enhanced support for humanitarian activities
taking place in and outside Syria, including the provision of
food, shelter, water, health care, and medical supplies;
(2) support efforts for a peaceful resolution of the
conflict in Syria as well as the establishment of an inclusive
representative form of government in Syria;
(3) continue to encourage the participation of all groups,
including women, business leaders, civil society organizations,
traditional and religious leaders, and minority groups in
efforts for a peaceful resolution of the conflict and political
transition in Syria;
(4) encourage the Arab League and other international
bodies to insist that transitional and future governments are
committed to multiparty democracy, open and transparent
governance, respect for human rights and religious freedom,
ending the violence throughout the country, promoting peace and
stability with Syria's neighbors, enhancing the rule of law and
combating corruption, and rehabilitating and reintegrating
former combatants;
(5) contribute seed funding to establish a Syria
Reconstruction Fund, which would leverage contributions from
other international donors and be used for the physical
reconstruction and re-establishment of basic services in Syria
after the cessation of the conflict and the fall of the Assad
regime;
(6) contribute future capacity building for legitimate
governing institutions after a political transition takes place
in Syria;
(7) support post-transition efforts, including programs for
demobilizing and reintegrating former combatants; and
(8) expand the public awareness-raising campaign of the
United States Government about United States humanitarian
assistance efforts through both English-language and regional
traditional media sources, as well as social or new media
sources.
(b) Funding.--
(1) Fiscal years 2014 and 2015.--Of the amounts made
available to carry out the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) for fiscal years 2014 and 2015, such sums
as may be necessary should be allocated for bilateral
assistance programs in Syria.
(2) Future funding.--It is the sense of Congress that the
Department of State should submit a budget request for fiscal
year 2015 that contains an appropriate increase in bilateral
and multilateral assistance for Syria based on progress toward
accomplishing the policy objectives described in section 3.
(3) Availability.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to the
authorization of appropriations under paragraphs (1) and (2)--
(A) are authorized to remain available until
expended; and
(B) are in addition to funds otherwise available
for such purposes.
(c) Coordination With Other Donor Nations.--The United States
should work with other donor nations, on a bilateral and multilateral
basis, to increase international contributions to the people of Syria
and accomplish the policy objectives described in section 3.
(d) Branding Requirement.--
(1) In general.--All assistance made available under this
section shall be identified as being ``From the American
People'' if the relevant Assistant Secretary of State, in
consultation with the implementing partner, determines that
such identification would not--
(A) jeopardize the safety or impartiality of
implementing partners that deliver the assistance;
(B) jeopardize the health and safety of the
intended beneficiaries;
(C) compromise the intrinsic independence or
neutrality of a program or materials where implementing
partner independence or neutrality is inherently
important to the success of the effort;
(D) undermine United States efforts to empower the
democratically inclined political opposition; or
(E) otherwise render the provision of assistance
impracticable.
(2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection shall
be construed as prohibiting the identification of assistance
with a contractor or grantee's own organizational brand or
logo, subject to any standards or regulations that the
President may establish.
(e) Notification Requirement.--
(1) In general.--In cases where the authority in this
section is relied upon to overcome applicable restrictions on
the provision of assistance to Syria, obligation of such funds
shall be subject to the regular 15-day notification procedures.
(2) Waiver.--Notification under paragraph (1) may be waived
if failure to do so would pose a substantial risk to human
health or welfare, in which case notification shall be provided
as early as practicable, but in no event later than 3 days
after taking the action to which such notification requirement
was applicable. The waiver shall be accompanied by an
explanation of the emergency circumstances necessitating the
waiver.
SEC. 5. INCREASING ASSISTANCE TO THE NATIONAL COALITION FOR SYRIAN
REVOLUTIONARY AND OPPOSITION FORCES.
(a) Authority.--The President is authorized, notwithstanding any
other provision of law, to furnish assistance, and make contributions,
in order to--
(1) increase the provision of training to and build the
capacity of the Syrian Opposition Coalition and the Assistance
Coordination Unit to enhance their ability to provide basic
services to the people of Syria and establish the beginnings of
a functioning government;
(2) provide training in international humanitarian law and
the law of armed conflict to members of the Syrian Opposition
Coalition and Free Syrian Army;
(3) provide non-lethal equipment and training, including
training and equipment related to chemical weapons and
equipment such as body armor, night vision equipment, and
communications equipment, to vetted members of the Free Syrian
Army, to improve their ability to conduct operations and
provide security for convoys of humanitarian assistance inside
Syria;
(4) provide special operations training to vetted members
of the Free Syrian Army; and
(5) allocate additional Department of State personnel to
conduct thorough vetting of opposition individuals receiving
aid.
(b) Funding for Fiscal Years 2014 and 2015.--Of the amounts made
available to carry out the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C.
2151 et seq.) for fiscal years 2014 and 2015, such sums as may be
necessary should be allocated to build the capacity of the Coalition
for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces.
(c) Notification Requirement.--
(1) In general.--In cases where the authority in this
section is relied upon to overcome applicable restrictions on
the provision of assistance to Syria, obligation of such funds
shall be subject to the regular 15-day notification procedures.
(2) Waiver.--Notification under paragraph (1) may be waived
if failure to do so would pose a substantial risk to human
health or welfare, in which case notification shall be provided
as early as practicable, but in no event later than 3 days
after taking the action to which such notification requirement
was applicable. The waiver shall be accompanied by an
explanation of the emergency circumstances necessitating the
waiver.
SEC. 6. IMPOSITION AND CONDITIONAL TERMINATION OF SANCTIONS.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Account; correspondent account; payable-through
account.--The terms ``account'', ``correspondent account'', and
``payable-through account'' have the meanings given those terms
in section 5318A of title 31, United States Code.
(2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Finance, the Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and the Committee
on Foreign Relations of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Ways and Means, the Committee
on Financial Services, and the Committee on Foreign
Affairs of the House of Representatives.
(3) Foreign financial institution.--The term ``foreign
financial institution'' has the meaning of that term as
determined by the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to section
104(i) of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and
Divestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8513(i)).
(b) Imposition of Sanctions With Respect to the Central Bank of
Syria and Other Syrian Financial Institutions.--
(1) In general.--The President should prohibit the opening,
and prohibit or impose strict conditions on the maintaining, in
the United States of a correspondent account or a payable-
through account by a foreign financial institution that the
President determines has knowingly conducted any significant
arms sale to the Government of Bashar al Assad through the
Central Bank of Syria or another Syrian financial institution
designated by the Secretary of the Treasury for the imposition
of sanctions pursuant to the International Emergency Economic
Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) or any Syrian individual or
entity added after April 28, 2011, and before the date of the
enactment of this Act to the Specially Designated Nationals
List maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the
Department of the Treasury.
(2) Exception for humanitarian transactions.--The President
may not impose sanctions under paragraph (1) on a foreign
financial institution for engaging in a transaction with the
Central Bank of Syria for the sale of food, medicine, medical
devices, donations intended to relieve human suffering, or non-
lethal aid to the people of Syria.
(3) Applicability.--Paragraph (1) applies with respect to
financial transactions commenced on or after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(4) Waiver.--
(A) In general.--The President may waive the
application of paragraph (1) with respect to a foreign
financial institution for a period of not more than 180
days, and may renew that waiver for additional periods
of not more than 180 days, if the President determines
and reports to the appropriate congressional committees
that the waiver is necessary to the national security
interest of the United States.
(B) Form.--A report submitted pursuant to
subparagraph (A) shall be submitted in unclassified
form, but may contain a classified annex.
(c) Termination of Sanctions.--
(1) In general.--The requirements under subsection (b) to
impose sanctions shall no longer have force or effect with
respect to Syria if the President determines and certifies to
the appropriate congressional committees that the termination
of such sanctions is in the national security interest of the
United States.
(2) Notification requirement.--Upon making the
certification described in paragraph (1), the President shall
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report
assessing--
(A) the extent to which Bashar al-Assad or members
of his regime control Syrian territory;
(B) the existence and capability of a democratic
transitional government to control Syrian territory and
provide basic services to the Syrian people;
(C) whether the transitional government supports
acts of terrorism or has committed human rights
violations; and
(D) whether the transitional government is
cooperating with the United States Government in
locating, securing, and removing conventional and
unconventional weapons.
SEC. 7. INCREASING CONTRIBUTIONS AND OTHER HUMANITARIAN AND DEVELOPMENT
ASSISTANCE THROUGH INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS.
(a) In General.--The President should instruct the United States
permanent representative or executive director, as the case may be, to
the United Nations voluntary agencies, including the World Food
Program, the United Nations Development Program, United Nations
Children's Fund, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,
and other appropriate international organizations such as the
International Committee of the Red Cross to use the voice and vote of
the United States to support additional humanitarian and development
assistance for the people of Syria in order to accomplish the policy
objectives described in section 3. The President is authorized,
notwithstanding any other provision of law, to permit the United States
to vote and take action in favor of the provision of assistance for
Syria at any international financial institution in order to support
the transition to peace, democracy, and sustainable development in
Syria.
(b) Notification Requirement.--
(1) In general.--In cases where the authority in this
section is relied upon to overcome applicable restrictions on
the provision of assistance to Syria, obligation of such funds
shall be subject to the regular 15-day notification procedures.
(2) Waiver.--Notification under paragraph (1) may be waived
if failure to do so would pose a substantial risk to human
health or welfare, in which case notification shall be provided
as early as practicable, but in no event later than 3 days
after taking the action to which such notification requirement
was applicable. The waiver shall be accompanied by an
explanation of the emergency circumstances necessitating the
waiver.
SEC. 8. INCREASING BILATERAL ASSISTANCE TO COUNTRIES THAT HOST SYRIAN
REFUGEES.
(a) Authority.--The President should increase bilateral funding to
countries, including Iraq, Jordan, Turkey, Egypt, and Lebanon, which
have experienced an influx of refugees from Syria.
(b) Funding for Fiscal Years 2014 and 2015.--Of the amounts made
available to carry out the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C.
2151 et seq.) for fiscal years 2014 and 2015, such sums as may be
necessary should be allocated for bilateral refugee assistance programs
in the countries surrounding Syria.
SEC. 9. COORDINATION OF INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE FOR SYRIA.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State should work with the
appropriate United Nations agencies, the International Committee of the
Red Cross, regional organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and
the broader international community to convene an international donors
group to maximize resources and efficiently provide humanitarian
assistance to the people of Syria.
(b) Purpose.--The Secretary of State should take steps to ensure
donor groups coordinate resources for the following activities in Syria
and the region:
(1) Providing humanitarian relief to civilians impacted by
the violence in Syria and Syrian refugees in host countries.
(2) Supporting inclusive post-transitional governance and
the establishment of the rule of law.
(3) Supporting disarmament, demobilization, and
reintegration of combatants and members of militias.
(c) Annual Report.--The Department of State shall submit a report
on the specific programs, projects, and activities funded by the donors
group and implemented by humanitarian organizations during the
preceding year, including an evaluation of the results of such
programs, projects, and activities.
SEC. 10. SECURING WEAPONS IN SYRIA.
(a) Transition Plan.--The United States should work with regional
partners to develop a plan, to be implemented in the event of a
political transition, to--
(1) identify and secure conventional and unconventional
weapons stockpiles in Syria;
(2) recover and dispose of all unconventional weapons
stockpiled in Syria, with particular attention to chemical
weapons; and
(3) prevent the illicit sale or transfer of conventional
and unconventional weapons out of Syria in order to preclude
regional weapons proliferation.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the
Department of State should submit a budget request for fiscal year 2014
that contains an increase in bilateral nonproliferation, demining, and
anti-terrorism assistance for Syria toward accomplishing the policy
objectives described in this section.
(c) Authority.--The President is authorized, notwithstanding any
other provision of law, to furnish, assistance in order to conduct
activities in support of the purposes of this section.
(d) Notification Requirement.--
(1) In general.--In cases where the authority in this
section is relied upon to overcome applicable restrictions on
the provision of assistance to Syria, obligation of such funds
shall be subject to the regular 15-day notification procedures.
(2) Waiver.--Notification under paragraph (1) may be waived
if failure to do so would pose a substantial risk to human
health or welfare, in which case notification shall be provided
as early as practicable, but in no event later than 3 days
after taking the action to which such notification requirement
was applicable. The waiver shall be accompanied by an
explanation of the emergency circumstances necessitating the
waiver.
SEC. 11. REPORT ON HUMANITARIAN AND STABILIZATION EFFORTS IN SYRIA.
Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act,
and annually thereafter, the President shall submit to Congress a
detailed report on the implementation of this Act, including a
description of--
(1) progress made as a result of humanitarian and
stabilization efforts, including refugee assistance to those
affected by the violence in Syria;
(2) progress made toward establishing an inclusive,
democratic government that protects the rights of all Syrians;
and
(3) key challenges, gaps, and obstacles to further
enhancing stability and peace in Syria, including between Syria
and its neighbors.
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