[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 42 (Thursday, March 13, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1661-S1662]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 384--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE CONCERNING 
 THE HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN SYRIA AND NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES, RESULTING 
  HUMANITARIAN AND DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES, AND THE URGENT NEED FOR A 
                    POLITICAL SOLUTION TO THE CRISIS

  Mr. KAINE (for himself, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Durbin, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. 
Murphy, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Cardin, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Menendez, Mrs. 
Gillibrand, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Casey, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. 
Warner, Mr. Kirk, Mr. King, Mr. Markey, and Mr. Cruz) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations:

                              S. Res. 384

       Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 2139, 
     adopted on February 22, 2014, expresses grave alarm at the 
     significant and rapid deterioration of the humanitarian 
     situation in Syria, in particular the dire situation of 
     hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in besieged areas, 
     most of whom are besieged by the Syrian armed forces and some 
     by opposition groups, as well as the dire situation of over 
     3,000,000 people in hard-to-reach areas, and deplores the 
     difficulties in providing, and the failure to provide, access 
     for the humanitarian assistance to all civilians in need 
     inside Syria;
       Whereas widespread and systematic attacks on civilians, 
     schools, hospitals, and other civilian infrastructure, in 
     violation of international humanitarian law, continue in 
     Syria, and parties to the conflict are blocking humanitarian 
     aid delivery, including food and medical care from many 
     civilian areas;
       Whereas the World Health Organization estimates that 70 
     percent of Syria's health professionals, up to 80,000 people, 
     have fled the country, cases of typhoid, tuberculosis, polio 
     and other diseases are rampant and increasing, and medical 
     personnel inside Syria are deliberately targeted by parties 
     to the conflict;
       Whereas the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 
     (UNHCR) has registered

[[Page S1662]]

     more than 2,500,000 Syrian refugees, nearly 80 percent of 
     whom are women and children, and by the end of this year, the 
     United Nations estimates the number of refugees will increase 
     to 4,000,000;
       Whereas nearly 500,000 refugees from the Syrian conflict 
     are children under the age of five, and more than 11,000 
     children have been killed and thousands more have suffered 
     severe injuries, including burns, shrapnel wounds, the 
     severing of limbs, and spinal cord injuries;
       Whereas over 5,000,000 children affected by the conflict 
     desperately need food, clean water, shelter, medical care and 
     psychosocial support;
       Whereas, since 2011, nearly 3,000,000 Syrian children have 
     been forced to quit their education as fighting has destroyed 
     classrooms, left children too terrified to go to school, and 
     forced families to flee the country;
       Whereas the refugee crisis threatens the stability of the 
     Middle East, putting immense burdens on Syria's neighbors, 
     most notably Lebanon and Jordan, as well as Turkey and Iraq; 
     and
       Whereas the United States Government has played a leading 
     role in addressing the Syria crisis, providing $1,700,000,000 
     in humanitarian assistance to those suffering inside Syria, 
     as well as to refugees and host communities in the 
     neighboring countries: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) strongly condemns the unlawful use of violence against 
     civilians by all parties to the conflict in Syria, 
     particularly the ongoing violence and widespread human rights 
     violations perpetrated against the people of Syria by the 
     Government of Syria;
       (2) urges all parties to the conflict to immediately halt 
     indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian 
     infrastructure;
       (3) affirms the neutrality of medical professionals 
     providing humanitarian assistance and health care on a non-
     political basis, and condemns attacks against such personnel 
     or interference in the provision of medical care;
       (4) urges all parties in Syria to allow for and facilitate 
     immediate, unfettered access to humanitarian aid throughout 
     the Syrian Arab Republic, respecting the safety, security, 
     independence, and impartiality of humanitarian workers and 
     ensuring freedom of movement to deliver aid;
       (5) supports the immediate and full implementation of 
     United Nations Security Council Resolution 2139 (2014), which 
     calls for unimpeded access of humanitarian assistance to all 
     Syrians to addresses the rapid deterioration of the 
     humanitarian situation in Syria, in particular the dire 
     situation of hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in 
     besieged areas, most of whom are besieged by the Syrian armed 
     forces and some by opposition groups, as well as the dire 
     situation of over 3,000,000 people in hard-to-reach areas;
       (6) calls on the international community to assist the 
     people of Syria, especially internally displaced persons and 
     refugees, in meeting basic needs, including access to food, 
     health care, shelter, and clean drinking water;
       (7) calls on the international community to support 
     civilians and innocent victims of the conflict in Syria, 
     particularly women and children who are displaced and 
     vulnerable to physical and psychological exploitation;
       (8) calls on the international community to implement steps 
     that prevent gender-based violence, and assure the protection 
     of women and girls against sexual exploitation, human 
     trafficking, and rape;
       (9) calls on the international community to continue to 
     support neighboring countries and host communities who are 
     generously supporting refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria;
       (10) calls on the international community to increase 
     investment for education in host communities to expand 
     learning opportunities for refugee children and to support 
     programs that help children gain access to quality education, 
     protect them from violence and abuse, and provide counseling 
     and psychosocial support;
       (11) calls on countries that are hosting refugees in the 
     region to support refugee self-reliance and dignity by 
     expanding employment opportunities for refugees;
       (12) calls on international donors and aid agencies to 
     integrate humanitarian relief and longer term development 
     programs through a comprehensive regional strategy to address 
     the protracted crisis in Syria; and
       (13) calls on the President to develop and submit to the 
     appropriate committees of Congress within 90 days from 
     adoption of this resolution a strategy for United States 
     engagement in addressing the Syrian humanitarian crisis, to 
     include assistance and development, and protecting human 
     rights inside Syria and in the region.
  Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, today, along with Senator Rubio, I am 
submitting a bipartisan resolution to coincide with the third 
anniversary of the Syria crisis.
  We are witnessing one of history's greatest humanitarian catastrophes 
unfolding before our eyes. The numbers are staggering. Nearly 3 million 
Syrians have fled to neighboring countries. Syrians are about to pass 
Afghans as the world's biggest refugee population.
  The UN released a report this week stating Syria has become the 
world's most dangerous place for children. This is truly heartbreaking. 
More than 5.5 million children are in need of desperate humanitarian 
assistance and three million are out of school. 40,000 babies have been 
born as refugees.
  Conditions inside are even Syria worse. There are nearly 7 million 
internally displaced persons and over 9 million in need of humanitarian 
assistance. Nearly 250,000 remained besieged, mostly at the hands of 
the Assad regime, and are suffering from disease and starvation.
  The Syria Humanitarian Resolution of 2014 strongly condemns the 
unlawful use of violence against civilians by all parties to the 
conflict in Syria, particularly the ongoing violence and widespread 
human rights violations perpetrated against the people of Syria by the 
Government of Syria.
  The resolution urges all parties to the conflict to immediately halt 
indiscriminate attacks on civilians and to allow for immediate, 
unfettered access to humanitarian aid throughout the Syrian Arab 
Republic, respecting the safety, security, independence, and 
impartiality of humanitarian workers and ensuring freedom of movement 
to deliver aid. We call on the international community to assist the 
people of Syria, especially internally displaced persons and refugees, 
in meeting basic needs, including access to food, health care, shelter, 
and clean drinking water. Finally we call for the full implementation 
of UN Security Council 2139 and call on the President to submit to the 
appropriate committees of Congress within 90 days a strategy for United 
States engagement in addressing the Syrian humanitarian crisis, to 
include assistance and development, and protection of human rights 
inside Syria and in the region.
  The solution to the Syrian conflict will be complicated. But the 
people of Syria should not continue to suffer in the interim. I refuse 
to accept that there is nothing more we can do to end the suffering. 
Humanitarian relief and access are fundamental principles all parties 
should adhere to. History will harshly judge those who do not.

                          ____________________