[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 89 (Thursday, June 4, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S3807]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 1689. Mr. CARDIN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to 
amendment SA 1463 proposed by Mr. McCain to the bill H.R. 1735, to 
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2016 for military activities 
of the Department of Defense and for military construction, to 
prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the end of subtitle F of title XII, add the following:

     SEC. 1274. REPORT ON ACCOUNTABILITY FOR WAR CRIMES AND CRIMES 
                   AGAINST HUMANITY IN SYRIA.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, and again not later than 180 days 
     after the cessation of violence in Syria, the Secretary of 
     State shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
     committees a report on war crimes and crimes against humanity 
     in Syria.
       (b) Elements.--The report required under subsection (a) 
     shall include the following elements:
       (1) A description of violations of internationally 
     recognized human rights, war crimes, and crimes against 
     humanity perpetrated during the civil war in Syria, 
     including--
       (A) an account of incidents that may constitute war crimes 
     and crimes against humanity committed by the regime of 
     President Bashar al-Assad and all forces fighting on its 
     behalf;
       (B) an account of incidents that may constitute war crimes 
     and crimes against humanity committed by violent extremist 
     groups, anti-government forces, and any other combatants in 
     the conflict;
       (C) a description of any incidents that may violate the 
     principle of medical neutrality and, when possible, an 
     identification of the individual or individuals who engaged 
     in or organized such violations; and
       (D) where possible, a description of the conventional and 
     unconventional weapons used for such crimes and, the origins 
     of the weapons.
       (2) A description of efforts by the Department of State and 
     the United States Agency for International Development to 
     ensure accountability for violations of internationally 
     recognized human rights, international humanitarian law, and 
     crimes against humanity perpetrated against the people of 
     Syria by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, violent 
     extremist groups, and other combatants involved in the 
     conflict, including--
       (A) a description of initiatives that the United States 
     Government has undertaken to train investigators in Syria on 
     how to document, investigate, and develop findings of war 
     crimes, including the number of United States Government or 
     contract personnel currently designated to work full-time on 
     these issues and an identification of the authorities and 
     appropriations being used to support training efforts;
       (B) a description and assessment of Syrian and 
     international efforts to ensure accountability for crimes 
     committed during the Syrian conflict, including efforts to 
     promote a transitional justice process that would include 
     criminal accountability and the establishment of an ad hoc 
     tribunal to prosecute the perpetrators of war crimes 
     committed during the civil war in Syria; and
       (C) an assessment of the influence of accountability 
     measures on efforts to reach a negotiated settlement to the 
     conflict during the reporting period.
       (c) Form.--The report required under subsection (a) may be 
     in unclassified or classified form, but shall include a 
     publicly available annex.
       (d) Appropriate Congressional Committee Defined.--In this 
     section, the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' 
     means--
       (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; and
       (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
     Representatives.
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