[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 590 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 590

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding calling 
  on the President to direct the United States Representative to the 
  United Nations to use the voice, vote, and influence of the United 
   States to immediately promote the establishment of an appropriate 
regional or international justice mechanism through the United Nations 
   and United Nations General Assembly to investigate and prosecute 
    possible war crimes, crimes against humanity, and violations of 
 internationally recognized human rights stemming from the conflict in 
                     Syria, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 13, 2023

     Ms. Tlaib (for herself and Ms. Omar) submitted the following 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding calling 
  on the President to direct the United States Representative to the 
  United Nations to use the voice, vote, and influence of the United 
   States to immediately promote the establishment of an appropriate 
regional or international justice mechanism through the United Nations 
   and United Nations General Assembly to investigate and prosecute 
    possible war crimes, crimes against humanity, and violations of 
 internationally recognized human rights stemming from the conflict in 
                     Syria, and for other purposes.

Whereas the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations 
        General Assembly on December 10th, 1948, with the support of 48 
        countries including Syria, enshrines the fundamental and inviolable 
        rights and freedoms of all human beings;
Whereas the Syrian Arab Republic is a State Party to the following core 
        international human rights instruments:

    (1) The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of 
Racial Discrimination.

    (2) The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

    (3) The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

    (4) The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination 
against Women.

    (5) The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or 
Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

    (6) The Convention on the Rights of the Child.

    (7) The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child 
on the involvement of children in armed conflict.

    (8) The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child 
on the sale of children, child prostitution, and child pornography.

    (9) The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All 
Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.

    (10) The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

    (11) The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons 
with Disabilities;

Whereas significant volumes of publicly accessible information exist indicating 
        that the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic, led by the dictator 
        Bashar al-Assad, has violated significant portions of the aforementioned 
        agreements, as well as the Geneva Conventions, during the conflict in 
        Syria that began in 2011 and continues to this day;
Whereas the international community has previously established ad hoc tribunals 
        and special courts and other justice mechanisms through the United 
        Nations to bring justice in specific countries where there have been war 
        crimes; and
Whereas various 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, and there are many positive lessons to be learned 
        from these 3 ad hoc tribunals: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that--
            (1) the United States should publicly declare that it is a 
        requirement of basic justice that violations of internationally 
        recognized human rights, international law, war crimes, and 
        crimes against humanity should be investigated and prosecuted;
            (2) the President should direct the United States 
        Representative to the United Nations to use the voice, vote, 
        and influence of the United States to immediately promote the 
        establishment of an international justice mechanism for war 
        crimes, crimes against humanity, and other violations of 
        internationally recognized human rights, and to prosecute the 
        alleged perpetrators of such serious crimes committed during 
        the period of conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic;
            (3) in working with other countries to establish this 
        regional or international justice mechanism, the United States 
        should assist all its partners in this effort to develop 
        judicial procedures that enable the fair and open prosecution 
        of those persons accused of perpetrating such serious crimes;
            (4) the United States should encourage, support, and 
        collect any and all information that can be supplied to an 
        appropriate regional or international justice mechanism 
        regarding possible war crimes, crimes against humanity, and 
        violations of internationally recognized human rights for use 
        as evidence to support the indictment and trial of any persons 
        responsible; and
            (5) the United States should urge all other interested 
        states to apprehend and deliver into the custody of an 
        appropriate regional or justice mechanism for war crimes, 
        crimes against humanity, and violations of internationally 
        recognized human rights persons indicted for international 
        crimes and urge all interested states to provide any and all 
        data and information pertaining to such crimes to that justice 
        mechanism.
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