[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
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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.
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