[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 173 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 173

  Condemning atrocities committed by Bashar al-Assad of Syria and his 
                    regime, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 6, 2015

Mr. Reid (for himself, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Menendez, and Mr. 
  Casey) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and 
                               agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Condemning atrocities committed by Bashar al-Assad of Syria and his 
                    regime, and for other purposes.

Whereas Bashar al-Assad, through his actions and decisions, has lost his 
        legitimacy as a leader of the Syrian people;
Whereas forces loyal to the Assad regime have committed war crimes and crimes 
        against humanity, including starvation, systematic murder, torture, rape 
        and sexual violence, enforced disappearance, and used weapons of mass 
        destruction including chemical weapons;
Whereas the actions of the Assad regime have egregiously violated international 
        laws of war and shocked the global conscience;
Whereas the United Nations has documented the Assad regime's campaign to defeat 
        opposition forces by starving rebels and civilians through calculated 
        efforts to cut off food supplies in opposition-controlled areas such as 
        eastern Aleppo and Homs;
Whereas there is evidence that the Assad regime conducted systematic torture and 
        killing of people who were detained by regime forces;
Whereas rape and sexual violence against civilians by regime forces has been 
        cited as a primary reason families flee Syria;
Whereas it has been reported that more than 11,000 people have disappeared after 
        being taken into custody by forces loyal to the Assad regime;
Whereas the Assad regime continues to use helicopters to indiscriminately drop 
        barrel bombs, even after the United Nations Security Council unanimously 
        passed Resolution 2139 on February 22, 2014, that ``[d]emands that all 
        parties immediately cease all attacks against civilians, as well as the 
        indiscriminate employment of weapons in populated areas, including 
        shelling and aerial bombardment, such as the use of barrel bombs . . 
        .'';
Whereas Syria once possessed one of the most advanced chemical weapons programs 
        in the Middle East;
Whereas there were multiple documented cases of chemical attacks committed by 
        the Assad regime, including the deployment of sarin gas in Aleppo in 
        March and April 2013, as well as the devastating sarin and conventional 
        attack committed near Damascus in August 2013 that killed more than 
        1,400 innocent civilians, including 426 children;
Whereas sarin is banned under the Convention on the Prohibition of the 
        Development, Production, Stockpiling, and Use of Chemical Weapons and on 
        their Destruction, done at Paris January 13, 1993, and entered into 
        force April 29, 1997 (commonly known as the ``Chemical Weapons 
        Convention'');
Whereas, in September 2013, the Assad regime agreed to eliminate its chemical 
        weapons stockpile by handing over all of its chemical weapons to 
        international control, providing inspectors immediate and unfettered 
        access to all suspected sites, and allowing international forces to 
        destroy the entire stockpile and production facilities;
Whereas the September 2013 agreement mandated that Syria accede to the Chemical 
        Weapons Convention;
Whereas, after Syria's accession to the Chemical Weapons Convention, there 
        continue to be numerous documented reports that the Assad regime has 
        repeatedly attacked civilians, including women and children, and armed 
        opposition groups with chlorine gas, a substance that is banned for use 
        as a weapon under the Chemical Weapons Convention;
Whereas, on March 6, 2015, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 
        2209 by a vote of 14 in favor, zero against, and 1 abstention condemning 
        in the strongest terms the use of chlorine as a weapon in Syria and 
        vowing that any future use would result in the imposition of Chapter VII 
        measures;
Whereas, on March 6, 2015, the United States Permanent Representative to the 
        United Nations Samantha Power stated, ``Despite having acceded to the 
        Chemical Weapons Convention, the Assad regime has again demonstrated its 
        brutality by turning to chlorine as another barbaric weapon in its 
        arsenal against the Syrian people. . . . Let's ask ourselves who has 
        helicopters in Syria? Certainly not the opposition. Only the Assad 
        regime does and we have seen them use their helicopters in countless 
        other attacks on innocent Syrians using barrel bombs.'';
Whereas it is clear that Bashar al-Assad has repeatedly lied to the 
        international community about using chemical weapons, deploying barrel 
        bombs, and targeting civilians, demonstrating again and again that he 
        cannot be trusted;
Whereas internationally recognized tribunals have been used in the past to hold 
        leaders accountable for war crimes;
Whereas the conflict in Syria has resulted in the loss of countless innocent 
        lives, has displaced millions of people, and has destabilized the Middle 
        East; and
Whereas the organization known as the Islamic State, the al Qaeda-affiliated 
        Jabhat Al Nusra, and other armed opposition groups have also carried out 
        atrocities in Syria: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved,

SECTION 1. SENSE OF THE SENATE.

    The Senate--
            (1) condemns the actions of Bashar al-Assad and his regime 
        for committing brutal acts of violence against the Syrian 
        people, for committing systematic murder, torture, rape and 
        enforced disappearance against the Syrian people, and for using 
        weapons of mass destruction including chemical weapons against 
        the Syrian people;
            (2) condemns the loss of innocent civilian life during the 
        course of the civil war in Syria;
            (3) supports the diplomatic efforts of the international 
        coalition to drive Bashar al-Assad from office and preserve the 
        institutions of government required to restore stability to 
        Syria; and
            (4) objects to any role for Bashar al-Assad in any final 
        settlement to the civil war.

SEC. 2. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this resolution shall be construed as an authorization 
for the use of military force.
                                 <all>