[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 93 (Wednesday, June 6, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3253-S3254]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 2347. Mr. CARDIN (for himself and Mr. Rubio) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 2282 submitted by Mr.
Inhofe (for himself and Mr. McCain) and intended to be proposed to the
bill H.R. 5515, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2019 for
military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
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 C of title XII, add the following:
SEC. 12__. SYRIAN WAR CRIMES ACCOUNTABILITY.
(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) March 2017 marks the sixth year of the ongoing conflict
in Syria.
(2) As of February 2017--
(A) more than 13,000,000 people are in need of humanitarian
assistance in Syria;
(B) approximately 6,600,000 people are displaced from their
homes inside Syria; and
(C) approximately 5,600,000 Syrians have fled to
neighboring countries as refugees.
(3) Since the conflict in Syria began, the United States
has provided more than $8,000,000,000 to meet humanitarian
needs in Syria, making the United States the world's single
largest donor by far to the Syrian humanitarian response.
(4) In response to growing concerns over systemic human
rights violations in Syria, the Independent International
Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic (referred
to in this subsection as ``COI'') was established on August
22, 2011. The purpose of COI is to ``investigate all alleged
violations of international human rights law since March 2011
in the Syrian Arab Republic, to establish the facts and
circumstances that may amount to such violations and of the
crimes perpetrated and, where possible, to identify those
responsible with a view to ensuring that perpetrators of
violations, including those that may constitute crimes
against humanity, are held accountable''.
(5) On December 21, 2016, the United Nations General
Assembly adopted a resolution to establish the International,
Impartial and Independent Mechanism to Assist in the
Investigation and Prosecution of Those Responsible for the
Most Serious Crimes under International Law Committed in the
Syrian Arab Republic since March 2011.
(6) In 2017, then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson stated
``ISIS is clearly responsible for genocide against Yezidis,
Christians, and Shia Muslims in areas it controls or has
controlled. ISIS is also responsible for crimes against
humanity and ethnic cleansing directed at these same groups,
and in some cases against Sunni Muslims, Kurds, and other
minorities . . . . The protection of these groups, and others
subject to violent extremism, is a human rights priority for
the Trump administration.''.
(7) On February 7, 2017, Amnesty International reported
that between 5,000 and 13,000 people were extrajudicially
executed in the Saydnaya Military Prison between September
2011 and December 2015.
(8) In February 2017, COI released a report--
(A) stating that a joint United Nations-Syrian Arab Red
Crescent convoy in Orum al-Kubra, Syria, was attacked by air
on September 19, 2016;
(B) explaining that the attack killed at least 14 civilian
aid workers, injured at least 15 others, and destroyed
trucks, food, medicine, clothes, and other supplies; and
(C) concluding that ``the attack was meticulously planned
and ruthlessly carried out by the Syrian air force to
purposefully hinder the delivery of humanitarian aid and
target aid workers, constituting the war crimes of
deliberately attacking humanitarian relief personnel, denial
of humanitarian aid and targeting civilians.''.
(9) On October 26, 2017, the Organization for the
Prohibition of Chemical Weapons-United Nations Joint
Investigative Mechanism transmitted its sixth report, which
concluded that the Syrian Arab Armed Forces and the Islamic
State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have both used chemical
weapons against villages in Syria, including the use of sarin
by the forces of the Government of Syria in Khan Sheikhoun in
April 2017.
(10) On August 8, 2017, COI released a report stating that
certain offenses, including deliberately attacking hospitals,
holding back humanitarian aid as a tactic to control civilian
populations, and the continued use of chemical weapons
against civilians, constitute war crimes and crimes against
humanity.
(11) Physicians for Human Rights reported that, between
March 2011 and the end of December 2017, Syrian government
and allied forces--
(A) had committed 446 attacks on 330 separate medical
facilities (including through the use of indiscriminate
barrel bombs on at least 80 occasions); and
(B) had killed 847 medical personnel.
(12) The Department of State's 2017 Country Reports on
Human Rights Practices--
(A) states that President Bashar al-Assad ``engaged in
frequent violations and abuses, including massacres,
indiscriminate killings, kidnapping of civilians, arbitrary
detentions, and rape as a war tactic.'';
(B) explains that ``these attacks included bombardment with
improvised explosive devices, commonly referred to as `barrel
bombs' . . .''; and
(C) reports that ``[t]he government [of Syria] continued
the use of torture and rape, including of children''.
(13) In February 2016, COI reported that--
(A) ``crimes against humanity continue to be committed by
[Syrian] Government forces and by ISIS'';
(B) the Syrian government has ``committed the crimes
against humanity of extermination, murder, rape or other
forms of sexual violence, torture, imprisonment, enforce
disappearance and other inhuman acts''; and
(C) ``[a]ccountability for these and other crimes must form
part of any political solution''.
(14) Credible civil society organizations collecting
evidence of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide
in Syria report that at least 12 countries in western Europe
and North America have requested assistance on investigating
such crimes.
(15) In April 2018, the COI--
(A) reported at least 34 chemical attacks during the period
beginning in 2013 and ending in January 2018, many of which--
(i) used chlorine or sarin, a nerve agent; and
(ii) were conducted by the Government of Syria.
(16) According to the World Health Organization, following
the April 7, 2018, chemical weapons attack in Douma, Eastern
Ghouta, an estimated 500 people were treated for ``signs and
symptoms consistent with exposure to toxic chemicals''.
(17) On April 13, 2018, United States Ambassador to the
United States Nikki Haley stated: ``The United States
estimates that Assad has used chemical weapons in the Syrian
war at least 50 times. Public estimates are as high as 200.''
(b) Sense of Congress.--Congress--
(1) strongly condemns--
(A) the ongoing violence, use of chemical weapons,
targeting of civilian populations with barrel, incendiary,
and cluster bombs and SCUD missiles, and systematic gross
human rights violations carried out by the Government of
Syria and pro-government forces under the direction of
President Bashar al-Assad; and
(B) all abuses committed by violent extremist groups and
other combatants involved in the civil war in Syria;
(2) expresses its support for the people of Syria seeking
democratic change;
(3) urges all parties to the conflict--
(A) to immediately halt indiscriminate attacks on
civilians;
[[Page S3254]]
(B) to allow for the delivery of humanitarian and medical
assistance; and
(C) to end sieges of civilian populations;
(4) calls on the President to support efforts in Syria, and
on the part of the international community, to ensure
accountability for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and
genocide committed during the conflict; and
(5) supports the request in United Nations Security Council
Resolutions 2139 (2014), 2165 (2014), and 2191 (2014) for the
Secretary-General to regularly report to the Security Council
on implementation on the resolutions, including of paragraph
2 of Resolution 2139, which ``demands that all parties
immediately put an end to all forms of violence [and] cease
and desist from all violations of international humanitarian
law and violations and abuses of human rights''.
(c) Report on Accountability for War Crimes, Crimes Against
Humanity, and Genocide in Syria.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of State shall submit a
report on war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide
in Syria to the appropriate congressional committees not
later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act and another such report not later than 180 days after the
Secretary of State determines that the violence in Syria has
ceased.
(2) Elements.--The reports required under paragraph (1)
shall include--
(A) a description of alleged war crimes, crimes against
humanity, and genocide perpetrated during the civil war in
Syria, including--
(i) incidents that may constitute war crimes, crimes
against humanity, or genocide committed by the regime of
President Bashar al-Assad and all forces fighting on its
behalf;
(ii) incidents that may constitute war crimes, crimes
against humanity, or genocide committed by violent extremist
groups, anti-government forces, and any other combatants in
the conflict;
(iii) any incidents that may violate the principle of
medical neutrality and, if possible, the identification of
the individual or individuals who engaged in or organized
such incidents; and
(iv) if possible, a description of the conventional and
unconventional weapons used for such crimes and the origins
of such weapons; and
(B) a description and assessment by the Department of State
Office of Global Criminal Justice, the United States Agency
for International Development, the Department of Justice, and
other appropriate agencies of programs that the United States
Government has undertaken to ensure accountability for war
crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide 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 programs--
(i) to train investigators within and outside of Syria on
how to document, investigate, develop findings of, and
identify and locate alleged perpetrators of war crimes,
crimes against humanity, or genocide, including--
(I) the number of United States Government or contract
personnel currently designated to work full-time on these
issues; and
(II) the identification of the authorities and
appropriations being used to support such training efforts;
(ii) to promote and prepare for a transitional justice
process or processes for the perpetrators of war crimes,
crimes against humanity, and genocide in Syria beginning in
March 2011;
(iii) to document, collect, preserve, and protect evidence
of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in
Syria, including support for Syrian, foreign, and
international nongovernmental organizations, and other
entities, including the International, Impartial and
Independent Mechanism to Assist in the Investigation and
Prosecution of Persons Responsible for the Most Serious
Crimes under International Law Committed in the Syrian Arab
Republic since March 2011 and the Independent International
Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic; and
(iv) to assess the influence of accountability measures on
efforts to reach a negotiated settlement to the Syrian
conflict during the reporting period.
(3) Form.--The report required under paragraph (1) may be
submitted in unclassified or classified form, but shall
include a publicly available annex.
(4) Protection of witnesses and evidence.--The Secretary
shall take due care to ensure that the identification of
witnesses and physical evidence are not publicly disclosed in
a manner that might place such persons at risk of harm or
encourage the destruction of evidence by the Government of
Syria, violent extremist groups, anti-government forces, or
any other combatants or participants in the conflict.
(d) Transitional Justice Study.--Not later than 180 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
State (acting through appropriate officials and offices,
which may include the Office of Global Criminal Justice),
after consultation with the Department of Justice, the United
States Agency for International Development, and other
appropriate Federal agencies, shall--
(1) complete a study of the feasibility and desirability of
potential transitional justice mechanisms for Syria,
including a hybrid tribunal, to address war crimes, crimes
against humanity, and genocide perpetrated in Syria beginning
in March 2011; and
(2) submit a detailed report of the results of the study
conducted under paragraph (1), including recommendations on
which transitional justice mechanisms the United States
Government should support, why such mechanisms should be
supported, and what type of support should be offered, to--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives;
(C) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and
(D) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives.
(e) Technical Assistance Authorized.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of State (acting through
appropriate officials and offices, which may include the
Office of Global Criminal Justice), after consultation with
the Department of Justice and other appropriate Federal
agencies, is authorized to provide appropriate assistance to
support entities that, with respect to war crimes, crimes
against humanity, and genocide perpetrated by the regime of
President Bashar al-Assad, all forces fighting on its behalf,
and all non-state armed groups fighting in the country,
including violent extremist groups in Syria beginning in
March 2011--
(A) identify suspected perpetrators of war crimes, crimes
against humanity, and genocide;
(B) collect, document, and protect evidence of crimes and
preserve the chain of custody for such evidence;
(C) conduct criminal investigations;
(D) build Syria's investigative and judicial capacities and
support prosecutions in the domestic courts of Syria,
provided that President Bashar al-Assad is no longer in
power;
(E) support investigations by third-party states, as
appropriate; or
(F) protect witnesses that may be helpful to prosecutions
or other transitional justice mechanisms.
(2) Additional assistance.--The Secretary of State, after
consultation with appropriate Federal agencies and the
appropriate congressional committees, and taking into account
the findings of the transitional justice study required under
subsection (e), is authorized to provide assistance to
support the creation and operation of transitional justice
mechanisms, including a potential hybrid tribunal, to
prosecute individuals suspected of committing war crimes,
crimes against humanity, or genocide in Syria beginning in
March 2011.
(3) Briefing.--The Secretary of State shall provide
detailed, biannual briefings to the appropriate congressional
committees describing the assistance provided to entities
described in paragraph (1).
(f) State Department Rewards for Justice Program.--Section
36(b)(10) of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of
1956 (22 U.S.C. 2708(b)(10)) is amended by inserting
``(including war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide
committed in Syria beginning in March 2011)'' after
``genocide''.
(g) Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the
Syrian Arab Republic.--The Secretary of State, acting through
the United States Permanent Representative to the United
Nations, should use the voice, vote, and influence of the
United States at the United Nations to advocate that the
United Nations Human Rights Council, while the United States
remains a member, annually extend the mandate of the
Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian
Arab Republic until the Commission has completed its
investigation of all alleged violations of international
human rights laws beginning in March 2011 in the Syrian Arab
Republic.
(h) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
(B) the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
(C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives; and
(D) the Committee on Armed Services of the House of
Representatives.
(2) Genocide.--The term ``genocide'' means any offense
described in section 1091(a) of title 18, United States Code.
(3) Hybrid tribunal.--The term ``hybrid tribunal'' means a
temporary criminal tribunal that involves a combination of
domestic and international lawyers, judges, and other
professionals to prosecute individuals suspected of
committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide.
(4) Transitional justice.--The term ``transitional
justice'' means the range of judicial, nonjudicial, formal,
informal, retributive, and restorative measures employed by
countries transitioning out of armed conflict or repressive
regimes--
(A) to redress legacies of atrocities; and
(B) to promote long-term, sustainable peace.
(5) War crime.--The term ``war crime'' has the meaning
given the term in section 2441(c) of title 18, United States
Code.
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