[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 121 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

<DOC>
114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 121


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 15, 2016

      Received and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the Congress condemning the gross violations of 
 international law amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity 
   by the Government of Syria, its allies, and other parties to the 
conflict in Syria, and asking the President to direct his Ambassador at 
    the United Nations to promote the establishment of a war crimes 
            tribunal where these crimes could be addressed.

Whereas the Government of Syria, led by President Bashar al-Assad, has engaged 
        in widespread torture and rape, employed starvation as a weapon of war, 
        and massacred civilians, including through the use of chemical weapons, 
        cluster munitions, and barrel bombs;
Whereas the vast majority of the civilians who have died in the Syrian conflict 
        have been killed by the

              

 Government of Syria led by President Bashar al-Assad and its allies, 
specifically the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and 
Iran's terrorist proxies including Hezbollah;

Whereas the Government of Syria reportedly has subjected nearly 1 million 
        civilians to devastating sieges and manipulated the delivery of 
        humanitarian aid for its own gain, thereby weaponizing starvation 
        against populations, such as in Madaya;
Whereas the Government of Syria continues to target schools, water, electric, 
        and medical facilities as a way to deny civilians access to critical 
        infrastructure and basic services;
Whereas the Government of Syria has conducted massive and widespread enforced 
        disappearances, systematic torture, and killing, amounting to what the 
        United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the 
        Syrian Arab Republic recently described as ``extermination'' at the 
        hands of the State;
Whereas the same Commission of Inquiry described these and other actions 
        perpetrated by the Government of Syria as war crimes and crimes against 
        humanity;
Whereas the Government of Syria and its allies have carried out mass atrocities 
        without regard for international norms or human decency;
Whereas the Government of Syria and its allies have attacked various religious 
        and ethnic minority populations in Syria, including Christians, 
        Turkmens, and Ismaelis;
Whereas the Russian Federation has not only enabled the Government of Syria's 
        perpetration of these crimes but has committed its own violations of 
        international law by leading deliberate bombing campaigns on civilian 
        targets including bakeries, hospitals, markets, and schools, contrary to 
        United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254, adopted on December 18, 
        2015, which demanded ``that all parties immediately cease any attacks 
        against civilians and civilian objects'';
Whereas the attacks by the Government of Syria and its allies have focused on 
        civilian targets and the United States-backed opposition, and have led 
        to the expansion of the Islamic State in Syria;
Whereas other parties to the conflict in Syria, including the Islamic State of 
        Iraq and the Levant and the al-Nusra Front, have engaged in torture, 
        rape, summary execution of government soldiers, kidnapping for ransom, 
        and violence against civilians;
Whereas these continued violations of international law, without any promise of 
        accountability, jeopardize hope for establishing a meaningful and 
        lasting peace through the Geneva and Vienna processes;
Whereas Syria is not a state-party to the Rome Statute and is not a member of 
        the International Criminal Court;
Whereas the United States supports the collection and analysis of documentation 
        related to the ongoing violations of human rights, the coordination of 
        Syrian and international actors working on documentation and 
        transitional justice efforts, and education and outreach on transitional 
        justice concepts and processes, including efforts of the Syria Justice 
        and Accountability Center sponsored by the United States and various 
        other states and multilateral institutions;
Whereas the international community has previously established ad hoc or 
        regional tribunals through the United Nations to bring justice in 
        specific countries where war crimes, crimes against humanity, and 
        genocide have been committed;
Whereas ad hoc or regional tribunals, including the International Criminal 
        Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Tribunal 
        for Rwanda, and the Special Court for Sierra Leone, have successfully 
        investigated and prosecuted war crimes, crimes against humanity, and 
        genocide, and there are many positive lessons to be learned from such 
        tribunals; and
Whereas any lasting, peaceful solution to the conflict in Syria must be based 
        upon justice for all, including members of all factions, political 
        parties, ethnicities, and religions: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) strongly condemns the continued use of unlawful and 
        indiscriminate violence against civilian populations by the 
        Government of Syria, its allies, and other parties to the 
        conflict;
            (2) urges the United States and its partners to continue to 
        demand and work toward the cessation of attacks on Syrian 
        civilians by the Government of Syria, its allies, and other 
        parties to the conflict;
            (3) urges the Administration to establish additional 
        mechanisms for the protection of civilians and to ensure 
        consistent and equitable access to humanitarian aid for 
        vulnerable populations;
            (4) urges the United States to continue its support for 
        efforts to collect and analyze documentation related to ongoing 
        violations of human rights in Syria, and to prioritize the 
        collection of evidence that can be used to support future 
        prosecutions for war crimes and crimes against humanity 
        committed by the Government of Syria, its allies, and other 
        parties to the conflict;
            (5) urges the President to direct the United States 
        representative to the United Nations to use the voice and vote 
        of the United States to immediately promote the establishment 
        of a Syrian war crimes tribunal, a regional or international 
        hybrid court to prosecute the perpetrators of grave crimes 
        committed by the Government of Syria, its allies, and other 
        parties to the conflict; and
            (6) urges other nations to apprehend and deliver into the 
        custody of such a Syrian war crimes tribunal persons indicted 
        for war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide in Syria, 
        and to 


              

        provide information pertaining to such crimes to the tribunal.

            Passed the House of Representatives March 14, 2016.

            Attest:

                                                 KAREN L. HAAS,

                                                                 Clerk.