[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 355 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 355

  Calling on the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to 
  cease the extra-judicial release of Afghan detainees, carry out its 
 commitments pursuant to the Memorandum of Understanding governing the 
   transfer of Afghan detainees from United States custody to Afghan 
   control and to uphold the Afghan Rule of Law with respect to the 
                 referral and disposition of detainees.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 12, 2014

 Mr. Graham (for himself, Mr. Donnelly, Mr. Chambliss, Mr. Blunt, Ms. 
    Ayotte, Mr. McCain, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Inhofe, and Mr. Levin) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                          on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Calling on the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to 
  cease the extra-judicial release of Afghan detainees, carry out its 
 commitments pursuant to the Memorandum of Understanding governing the 
   transfer of Afghan detainees from United States custody to Afghan 
   control and to uphold the Afghan Rule of Law with respect to the 
                 referral and disposition of detainees.

Whereas, on March 9, 2012, Afghan General Abdul Rahim Wardak and United States 
        Marine General John Allen signed a Memorandum of Understanding in which 
        the United States reaffirmed its commitment to transfer Afghan nationals 
        detained by the United States Armed Forces at the Detention Facility in 
        Parwan (DFIP) to Afghanistan, provided that the Government of 
        Afghanistan establish an administrative detention regime under its 
        domestic law and comply with its international obligations with respect 
        to due process;
Whereas, on March 25, 2013, a Memorandum of Understanding between the United 
        States and Afghanistan called for the creation of an Afghan Review Board 
        (ARB) to convene under Afghan law to determine the disposition of all 
        Afghan detainees;
Whereas, in the event of a dispute over the disposition of detainees, the March 
        2013 Memorandum of Understanding also commits the Government of 
        Afghanistan to exchange views and information between the Minister of 
        Defense and the Commander of United States Forces, Afghanistan before 
        any detainee is released;
Whereas the Government of Afghanistan has announced the imminent release of 65 
        dangerous individuals from the DFIP without referral to the Afghan 
        justice system, despite evidence showing these detainees have engaged in 
        violent crimes against the Afghan people and under protest from United 
        States Forces, Afghanistan;
Whereas detainees from this group of 65 are directly linked to attacks wounding 
        or killing 32 United States or Coalition Forces and attacks wounding or 
        killing 23 Afghan National Security Forces or Afghan civilians;
Whereas the United States Government has declassified and provided hundreds of 
        pages of evidence and investigative leads to the ARB;
Whereas the Justice Center in Parwan has successfully adjudicated more than 
        3,000 criminal cases of individuals who committed acts of terror against 
        Coalition Forces, Afghan National Security Forces, and the people of 
        Afghanistan;
Whereas there is a legitimate force protection concern for the lives of 
        Coalition Forces and Afghan National Security Forces if any disputed 
        individual is released, since the primary weapon of choice is the 
        improvised explosive device, which also poses a significant threat to 
        Afghan civilians;
Whereas there is evidence that some detainees already released by the ARB have 
        rejoined the fight against Coalition Forces;
Whereas, despite evidence to the contrary, President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai 
        stated the prisoners set to be released are innocent and must be 
        released;
Whereas releasing the dangerous detainees deprives the people of Afghanistan of 
        their day in court and undermines the rule of law in the country;
Whereas the release of detainees under these conditions is not authorized, and 
        the ARB is performing an extra-judicial function, contrary to the rule 
        of law in Afghanistan; and
Whereas this extra-judicial action harms the prospective Bilateral Security 
        Agreement between the United States and Afghanistan for post-2014 United 
        States military presence in the country: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) insists President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai honor the 
        terms included in the Memorandum of Understanding, dated March 
        25, 2013;
            (2) insists that if the Afghan Review Board (ARB) will not 
        follow the conditions set forth in the Memorandum of 
        Understanding, that the ARB shall be dismantled and the 
        National Directorate for Security (NDS) and Afghan prosecutors 
        shall determine how to handle the remaining detainees;
            (3) urges close and continuing communication between the 
        Minister of Defense and the Commander of United States Forces, 
        Afghanistan prior to the release of any detainee;
            (4) urges the Government of Afghanistan to cease the extra-
        judicial release of detainees and instead refer the dangerous 
        individuals and the remainder of the ARB cases for prosecution 
        at the Justice Center in Parwan or for investigation by the 
        NDS; and
            (5) calls on the Secretary of State to consider the 
        Government of Afghanistan's adherence to existing detainee 
        memoranda of understanding in implementing the certification 
        requirements for assistance for Afghanistan under section 
        7044(3) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and 
        Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2014 (division K of Public 
        Law 113-76).
                                 <all>