[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 77 (Monday, June 19, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S5363]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 124--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE CONGRESS 
 WITH REGARD TO IRAQ'S FAILURE TO RELEASE PRISONERS OF WAR FROM KUWAIT 
    AND NINE OTHER NATIONS IN VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS

  Mr. MURKOWSKI submitted the following concurrent resolution; which 
was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                            S. Con. Res. 124

       Whereas in 1990 and 1991, thousands of Kuwaitis were 
     randomly arrested on the streets of Kuwait during the Iraqi 
     occupation;
       Whereas in February 1993, the Government of Kuwait compiled 
     evidence documenting the existence of 605 prisoners of war 
     and submitted its files to the International Committee of the 
     Red Cross (ICRC), which passed those files on to Iraq, the 
     United Nations, and the Arab League;
       Whereas numerous testimonials exist from family members who 
     witnessed the arrest and forcible removal of their relatives 
     by Iraqi armed forces during the occupation;
       Whereas eyewitness reports from released prisoners of war 
     indicate that many of those who are still missing were seen 
     and contacted in Iraqi prisons;
       Whereas official Iraqi documents left behind in Kuwait 
     chronicle in detail the arrest, imprisonment, and transfer of 
     significant numbers of Kuwaitis, including those who are 
     still missing;
       Whereas in 1991, the United Nations Security Council 
     overwhelmingly passed Security Council Resolutions 686 and 
     687 that were part of the broad cease-fire agreement accepted 
     by the Iraqi regime;
       Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 686 
     calls upon Iraq to arrange for immediate access to and 
     release of all prisoners of war under the auspices of the 
     ICRC and to return the remains of the deceased personnel of 
     the forces of Kuwait and the Member States cooperating with 
     Kuwait;
       Whereas United Nations Security Resolution 687 calls upon 
     Iraq to cooperate with the ICRC in the repatriation of all 
     Kuwaiti and third-country nationals, to provide the ICRC with 
     access to the prisoners wherever they are located or 
     detained, and to facilitate the ICRC search for those 
     unaccounted for;
       Whereas the Government of Kuwait, in accordance with United 
     Nations Security Council Resolution 686, immediately released 
     all Iraqi prisoners of war as required by the terms of the 
     Geneva Convention;
       Whereas immediately following the cease-fire in March 1991, 
     Iraq repatriated 5,722 Kuwaiti prisoners of war under the 
     aegis of the ICRC and freed 500 Kuwaitis held by rebels in 
     southern Iraq;
       Whereas Iraq has hindered and blocked efforts of the 
     Tripartite Commission, the eight-country commission chaired 
     by the ICRC and responsible for locating and securing the 
     release of the remaining prisoners of war;
       Whereas Iraq has denied the ICRC access to Iraqi prisons in 
     violation of Article 126 of the Third Geneva Convention, to 
     which Iraq is a signatory; and
       Whereas Iraq--under the direction and control of Saddam 
     Hussein--has failed to locate and secure the return of all 
     prisoners of war being held in Iraq, including prisoners from 
     Kuwait and nine other nations: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That--
       (1) the Congress--
       (A) acknowledges that there remain 605 prisoners of war 
     unaccounted for in Iraq, although Kuwait was liberated from 
     Iraq's brutal invasion and occupation on February 26, 1991;
       (B) condemns and denounces the Iraqi Government's refusal 
     to comply with international human rights instruments to 
     which it is a party;
       (C) urges Iraq immediately to disclose the names and 
     whereabouts of those who are still alive among the Kuwaiti 
     prisoners of war and other nations to bring relief to their 
     families; and
       (D) insists that Iraq immediately allow humanitarian 
     organizations such as the International Committee of the Red 
     Cross to visit the living prisoners and to recover the 
     remains of those who have died while in captivity; and
       (2) it is the sense of the Congress that the United States 
     Government should--
       (A) actively and urgently work with the international 
     community and the Government of Kuwait, in accordance with 
     United Nations Security Council Resolutions 686 and 687, to 
     secure the release of Kuwaiti prisoners of war and other 
     prisoners of war who are still missing nine years after the 
     end of the Gulf War; and
       (B) exert pressure, as a permanent member of the United 
     Nations Security Council, on Iraq to bring this issue to a 
     close, to release all remaining prisoners of the Iraqi 
     occupation of Kuwait, and to rejoin the community of nations 
     with a humane gesture of good will and decency.

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