[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

_______________________________________________________________________

                               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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