[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 440 Introduced in House (IH)]
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114th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 440
Calling for urgent international action on behalf of Iraqi and Syrian
civilians facing a dire humanitarian crisis and severe persecution
because of their faith or ethnicity in the Nineveh Plain region of Iraq
and Khabor, Kobane, and Aleppo regions of Syria.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 24, 2015
Mr. Trott (for himself, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Fortenberry, Mr. Dold, Mr.
Benishek, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Vargas, and Mr. Denham) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign
Affairs
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RESOLUTION
Calling for urgent international action on behalf of Iraqi and Syrian
civilians facing a dire humanitarian crisis and severe persecution
because of their faith or ethnicity in the Nineveh Plain region of Iraq
and Khabor, Kobane, and Aleppo regions of Syria.
Whereas the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees stated in its Global
Trends report that in 2014, the total population of concern in Iraq and
Syria numbered nearly 12,000,000 people, including refugees and
internally displaced persons, many of whom face grave deprivation and
imminent threats to life, health, and safety;
Whereas recent extremist attacks on civilians in Hassake, Syria, and the Nineveh
Plains have exacerbated the serious dislocations and pressures facing
individuals within this population of concern, and have had a
particularly severe effect on ethnic and religious minority communities
such as Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac Christians, Armenians, Yezidis, Shabak
and other minorities in the region, where civilians require immediate
and urgent access to potable water, health care, fuel, electricity, and
basic security;
Whereas the United Nations Security Council stated on July 22, 2014, ``The
members of the Security Council further recall that widespread or
systematic attacks directed against any civilian populations because of
their ethnic background, religious beliefs or faith may constitute a
crime against humanity, for which those responsible must be held
accountable'', and denounced the persecution of Iraqi Christians and
other minorities, including Yezidis and Mandeans;
Whereas many of the Christian communities of the Khabor region of Syria fled
Simele, Iraq, in 1933 as a result of a massacre of over 3,000 Assyrians,
and were resettled along the Khabor River in Syria, and have once again
been forced to flee due to violent persecution;
Whereas, on July 14, 2014, the United Nations Security Council adopted
Resolution 2165, which provides guidance for urgent action in Iraq, as
it addresses similarly grave humanitarian needs in neighboring Syria;
Whereas the Syriac Military Council along with the Kurds have provided security
for the Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac Christians in the greater Hassake
region of Syria and require immediate assistance to continue combating
the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant;
Whereas villages in the Khabor region have been planted with IEDs to discourage
repatriation by ethnic minorities who previously resided therein;
Whereas grotesque acts of violence have been committed against the ancient
Yezidi population, including killings, torture, and selling women and
girls into sexual slavery; and
Whereas the grave humanitarian crisis facing ethno-religious minorities in Iraq
and Syria will have serious consequences for the broader stability of
those countries and other nations in the region: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) deplores and condemns the religious bigotry,
intimidation, and violent attacks directed against innocent
civilians, as well as the vandalism and destruction of property
and ancient sites, by armed extremists in Iraq and Syria;
(2) calls on the relevant parties to protect all citizens
in the region, and recognizes the responsibility of the
relevant governments to uphold the constitutional rights of
their own citizens;
(3) calls on the President, Secretary of State, and United
States Permanent Representative to the United Nations, working
through the United Nations Security Council and its member
states as appropriate to accelerate the implementation of an
immediate, coordinated, and sustained response to provide
humanitarian assistance, protect civilians, build resilience,
and help reestablish livelihoods for displaced and persecuted
persons in their communities of origin;
(4) calls on the United States Permanent Representative to
the United Nations to work with the relevant United Nations
agencies, including the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees, on a sustained basis to document human rights abuses
against Iraqi and Syrian refugees and develop an immediate plan
to facilitate safe humanitarian access to potable water, health
care, fuel, electricity, and basic security for the most
vulnerable refugee populations;
(5) calls on the relevant United Nations agencies to
collaborate and coordinate with international humanitarian
organizations working in Iraq and Syria--
(A) to develop an effective resettlement strategy
for displaced and persecuted populations in beleaguered
areas, including the ancestral villages in the Nineveh
Plain, that incorporates micro-enterprise activities
and business startup loans for the displaced, builds
resilience, and facilitates a transition from emergency
relief to longer-term economic development in
communities of origin; and
(B) to develop transparent, accountable mechanisms
to ensure that assistance reaches vulnerable ethnic and
religious minorities and is not diverted; and
(6) calls on the Secretary of State and the Secretary of
Defense--
(A) to support the training and equipping of vetted
local Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac Christians security
forces in Iraq and Syria; and
(B) to work to ensure that minority communities in
Iraq and Syria are fully integrated into any future
security forces in Iraq and Syria.
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