[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 27 (Friday, February 17, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1020-S1021]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CONDEMNING VIOLENCE BY THE GOVERNMENT OF SYRIA AGAINST THE SYRIAN
PEOPLE
Mr. REID. Mr. President, if we could return to Calendar No. 325, S.
Res. 379, I ask unanimous consent the action just taken be vitiated.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. REID. We are still on that matter; is that correct?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. We are still on that matter.
The question is on agreeing to the resolution and its preamble.
The resolution (S. Res. 379) was agreed to.
The preamble was agreed to.
The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:
S. Res. 379
Whereas the Syrian Arab Republic is a party to the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),
adopted at New York December 16, 1966, the United Nations
Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment, done at New York December
10, 1984;
Whereas Syria voted in favor of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, adopted at Paris, December 10, 1948;
Whereas, in March 2011, peaceful demonstrations in Syria
began against the authoritarian rule of Bashar al-Assad;
Whereas, in response to the demonstrations, the Government
of Syria launched a brutal crackdown, which has resulted in
gross human rights violations, use of force against
civilians, torture, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary
executions, sexual violence, and interference with access to
medical treatment;
Whereas the United Nations, as of January 25, 2012,
estimated that more than 5,400 people in Syria have been
killed since the violence began in March 2011;
Whereas, on February 4, 2012, President Barack Obama stated
that President Bashar al-Assad ``has no right to lead Syria,
and has lost all legitimacy with his people and the
international community'';
Whereas the Department of State has repeatedly condemned
the Government of Syria's crackdown on its people, including
on January 30, 2012, when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
stated ``The status quo is unsustainable . . . The longer the
Assad regime continues its attacks on the Syrian people and
stands in the way of a peaceful transition, the greater the
concern that instability will escalate and spill over
throughout the region.'';
Whereas President Obama, on April 29, 2011, designated 3
individuals subject to sanctions for humans rights abuses in
Syria: Mahir al-Assad, the brother of Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad and brigade commander in the Syrian Army's 4th
Armored Division; Atif Najib, the former head of the
Political Security Directorate for Daraa Province and a
cousin of Bashar al-Assad; and Ali Mamluk, director of
Syria's General Intelligence Directorate;
Whereas, on May 18, 2011, President Obama issued an
executive order sanctioning senior officials of the Syrian
Arab Republic and their supporters, specifically designating
7 people: President Bashar al-Assad, Vice President Farouk
al-Shara, Prime Minister Adel Safar, Minister of the Interior
Mohammad Ibrahim al-Shaar, Minister of Defense Ali Habib
Mahmoud, Head of Syrian Military Intelligence Abdul Fatah
Qudsiya, and Director of Political Security Directorate
Mohammed Dib Zaitoun;
Whereas President Obama, on August 17, 2011, issued
Executive Order 13582, blocking property of the Government of
Syria and prohibiting certain transactions with respect to
Syria;
Whereas, on December 1, 2011, the Department of the
Treasury designated 2 individuals, Aus Aslan and Muhammad
Makhluf, under Executive Order 13573 and 2 entities, the
Military Housing Establishment and the Real Estate Bank of
Syria, under Executive Order 13582;
Whereas, on May 6, 2011, the European Union's 27 countries
imposed sanctions on the Government of Syria for the human
rights abuses, including asset freezes and visa bans on
members of the Government of Syria and an arms embargo on the
country;
Whereas, on November 12, 2011, the League of Arab States
voted to suspend Syria's membership in the organization;
Whereas, on December 2, 2011, the United Nations Human
Rights Council passed Resolution S-18/1, which deplores the
human rights situation in Syria, commends the League of Arab
States, and supports implementation of its Plan of Action;
Whereas the League of Arab States approved and implemented
a plan of action to send a team of international monitors to
Syria, which began December 26, 2011;
Whereas, on January 28, 2012, the League of Arab States
decided to suspend its international monitoring mission due
to escalating violence within Syria;
Whereas, on February 4, 2012, the Russian Federation and
People's Republic of China vetoed a United Nations Security
Council Resolution in support of the League of Arab States'
Plan of Action;
Whereas, on February 14, 2012, General Martin Dempsey,
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified before the
Committee on Armed Services of the Senate that Syria ``is a
much different situation than we collectively saw in Libya,''
presenting a ``very different challenge'' in which ``we also
know that other regional actors are providing support'' as a
part of a ``Sunni majority rebelling against an oppressive
Alawite-Shia regime'';
Whereas the Governments of the Russian Federation and the
Islamic Republic of Iran remain major suppliers of military
equipment to the Government of Syria notwithstanding that
government's violent repression of demonstrators;
Whereas the gross human rights violations perpetuated by
the Government of Syria against the people of Syria represent
a grave risk to regional peace and stability; and
Whereas the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate
will immediately schedule a hearing to take place as soon as
the Senate reconvenes to assess the situation in Syria and
all the international options available to address this
crisis: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) strongly condemns the Government of Syria's brutal and
unjustifiable use of force against civilians, including
unarmed women and children and its violations of the
fundamental human rights and dignity of the people of Syria;
(2) expresses its solidarity with the people of Syria, who
have exhibited remarkable courage and determination in the
face of unspeakable violence to rid themselves of a brutal
dictatorship;
(3) expresses strong disappointment with the Governments of
the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China for
their veto of the United Nations Security Council resolution
condemning Bashar al-Assad and the violence in Syria and
urges them to reconsider their votes;
(4) encourages the members of the United Nations Security
Council to continue to pursue a resolution in support of a
political solution to the crisis in Syria;
[[Page S1021]]
(5) commends the League of Arab States' efforts to bring
about a peaceful resolution in Syria;
(6) regrets that the League of Arab States observer mission
was not able to monitor the full implementation of the League
of Arab States' Action Plan of November 2, 2011, due to the
escalating violence in Syria; and
(7) urges the international community to review legal
processes available to hold officials of the Government of
Syria accountable for crimes against humanity and gross
violations of human rights.
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