[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 3123-3125]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 CONDEMNING VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW BY THE GOVERNMENT OF SYRIA

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 121) expressing the 
sense of the Congress condemning the gross violations of international 
law amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity by the 
Government of Syria, its allies, and other parties to the conflict in 
Syria, and asking the President to direct his Ambassador at the United 
Nations to promote the establishment of a war crimes tribunal where 
these crimes could be addressed, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.
  The text of the concurrent resolution is as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 121

       Whereas the Government of Syria, led by President Bashar 
     al-Assad, has engaged in widespread torture and rape, 
     employed starvation as a weapon of war, and massacred 
     civilians, including through the use of chemical weapons, 
     cluster munitions, and barrel bombs;
       Whereas the vast majority of the civilians who have died in 
     the Syrian conflict have been killed by the Government of 
     Syria led by President Bashar al-Assad and its allies, 
     specifically the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of 
     Iran, and Iran's terrorist proxies including Hezbollah;
       Whereas the Government of Syria reportedly has subjected 
     nearly 1,000,000 civilians to devastating sieges and 
     manipulated the delivery of humanitarian aid for its own 
     gain, thereby weaponizing starvation against populations, 
     such as in Madaya;
       Whereas the Government of Syria continues to target 
     schools, water, electric, and medical facilities as a way to 
     deny civilians access to critical infrastructure and basic 
     services;
       Whereas the Government of Syria has conducted massive and 
     widespread enforced disappearances, systematic torture, and 
     killing, amounting to what the United Nations Independent 
     International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab 
     Republic recently described as ``extermination'' at the hands 
     of the State;
       Whereas the same Commission of Inquiry described these and 
     other actions perpetrated by the Government of Syria as war 
     crimes and crimes against humanity;
       Whereas the Government of Syria and its allies have carried 
     out mass atrocities without regard for international norms or 
     human decency;
       Whereas the Government of Syria and its allies have 
     attacked various religious and ethnic minority populations in 
     Syria, including Christians, Turkmens, and Ismaelis;
       Whereas the Russian Federation has not only enabled the 
     Government of Syria's perpetration of these crimes but has 
     committed its own violations of international law by leading 
     deliberate bombing campaigns on civilian targets including 
     bakeries, hospitals, markets, and schools, contrary to United 
     Nations Security Council Resolution 2254, adopted on December 
     18, 2015, which demanded ``that all parties immediately cease 
     any attacks against civilians and civilian objects'';
       Whereas the attacks by the Government of Syria and its 
     allies have focused on civilian targets and the United 
     States-backed opposition, and have led to the expansion of 
     the Islamic State in Syria;
       Whereas other parties to the conflict in Syria, including 
     the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and the al-Nusra 
     Front, have engaged in torture, rape, summary execution of 
     government soldiers, kidnapping for ransom, and violence 
     against civilians;
       Whereas these continued violations of international law, 
     without any promise of accountability, jeopardize hope for 
     establishing a meaningful and lasting peace through the 
     Geneva and Vienna processes;
       Whereas Syria is not a state-party to the Rome Statute and 
     is not a member of the International Criminal Court;
       Whereas the United States supports the collection and 
     analysis of documentation related to the ongoing violations 
     of human rights, the coordination of Syrian and international 
     actors working on documentation and transitional justice 
     efforts, and education and outreach on transitional justice 
     concepts and processes, including efforts of the Syria 
     Justice and Accountability Center sponsored by the United 
     States and various other states and multilateral 
     institutions;
       Whereas the international community has previously 
     established ad hoc or regional tribunals through the United 
     Nations to bring justice in specific countries where war 
     crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide have been 
     committed;
       Whereas ad hoc or regional tribunals, including the 
     International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, 
     the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and the 
     Special Court for Sierra Leone, have successfully 
     investigated and prosecuted war crimes, crimes against 
     humanity, and genocide, and there are many positive lessons 
     to be learned from such tribunals; and
       Whereas any lasting, peaceful solution to the conflict in 
     Syria must be based upon justice for all, including members 
     of all factions, political parties, ethnicities, and 
     religions: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) strongly condemns the continued use of unlawful and 
     indiscriminate violence against civilian populations by the 
     Government of Syria, its allies, and other parties to the 
     conflict;
       (2) urges the United States and its partners to continue to 
     demand and work toward the cessation of attacks on Syrian 
     civilians by the Government of Syria, its allies, and other 
     parties to the conflict;
       (3) urges the Administration to establish additional 
     mechanisms for the protection of civilians and to ensure 
     consistent and equitable access to humanitarian aid for 
     vulnerable populations;
       (4) urges the United States to continue its support for 
     efforts to collect and analyze documentation related to 
     ongoing violations of human rights in Syria, and to 
     prioritize the collection of evidence that can be used to 
     support future prosecutions for war crimes and crimes against 
     humanity committed by the Government of Syria, its allies, 
     and other parties to the conflict;
       (5) urges the President to direct the United States 
     representative to the United Nations to use the voice and 
     vote of the United States to immediately promote the 
     establishment of a Syrian war crimes tribunal, a regional or 
     international hybrid court to prosecute the perpetrators of 
     grave crimes committed by the Government of Syria, its 
     allies, and other parties to the conflict; and
       (6) urges other nations to apprehend and deliver into the 
     custody of such a Syrian war crimes tribunal persons indicted 
     for war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide in 
     Syria, and to provide information pertaining to such crimes 
     to the tribunal.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on this resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the U.N. Security Council should move immediately to 
establish a Syrian war crimes tribunal. H. Con. Res. 121, which I 
introduced, is a bipartisan piece of legislation backed by Chairman 
Royce as well as by Eliot Engel and others, calling upon the 
administration to pursue this policy goal, including using our voice 
and vote at the United Nations.
  Mr. Speaker, past ad hoc/regional war crimes tribunals, including 
courts for Sierra Leone, Rwanda, and the former Yugoslavia, have made a 
significant difference, holding some of the

[[Page 3124]]

worst mass murderers to account with successful prosecutions followed 
by long jail sentences.
  Who can forget the picture of the infamous former President of 
Liberia, Charles Taylor, with his head bowed, incredulous that the 
Special Court for Sierra Leone in 2012 meted out a 50-year jail term 
for his crimes against humanity and war crimes.
  According to the Syrian Center for Policy Research, approximately 5 
years of wanton bloodshed in Syria has killed either directly or 
indirectly an estimated 470,000 people. Other estimates put the death 
toll at a quarter of a million.
  While the United Nations long ago abandoned estimating the death toll 
due to its inability to verify the veracity of the numbers, the war in 
Syria has caused a massive loss of life, including genocide against 
Christians, Yazidis, and other religious minorities, especially women 
and children.
  The International Syria Support Group, co-chaired by the United 
States and Russia, as we all know, brokered a cessation of hostilities 
that kicked in on February 27 that applies to all parties except ISIS 
and al-Nusra.
  While we all hope and pray the cease-fire holds as it goes into the 
third week and humanitarian groups gain access to sick, frail, and at-
risk people, the atrocities committed against Syria's population demand 
accountability and justice.
  There have been--I think I should point this out because many people 
who are following the news know this--numerous violations of the cease-
fire by Assad and his forces.
  In an opinion piece in Newsweek a few hours ago, it was noted that 
``regime forces are openly bombing and, in some cases, launching ground 
operations to capture key rebel territory without making any pretense 
of attacking the Nusra Front.''
  Further, the Syria Ceasefire Monitor ``reports 111 violations as of 
March 9--almost all perpetuated by the Assad regime or Russian 
forces.''
  A Syrian court is needed for all the past, present, and--God forbid--
likely future atrocities being committed in Syria.
  Rigorous investigations by a new Syrian court, followed by 
prosecutions, convictions, and serious jail time for perpetrators of 
crime on all sides will not only hold those responsible for war crimes 
accountable, but will send a clear message that such barbaric behavior 
has dire personal consequences. The victims and their loved ones, Mr. 
Speaker, deserve no less.
  Can a U.N. Security Council resolution establishing a Syrian war 
crimes tribunal prevail? Yes, I believe. With a serious and sustained 
diplomatic push by the United States and other interested parties, past 
success in creating war crimes tribunals can, indeed, be prologue.

                              {time}  1600

  Notwithstanding Russia's solidarity with Serbia during the Balkan 
war, especially with Slobodan Milosevic, the International Criminal 
Court Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia was unanimously approved. 
Ditto for the special court in Sierra Leone in 2002. The Rwanda 
tribunal was created in 1994, with China choosing to abstain rather 
than to veto that court.
  At a Syrian war crimes court, no one on any side who commits 
genocide, war crimes, or crimes against humanity would be precluded 
from prosecution.
  As I said, in the early 1990s, the Russians knew that the Yugoslav 
court was designed to hold all transgressors liable, whether they be 
Bosnian or Croats and not just Serbians and, again, they didn't veto 
that particular court as it was established.
  I believe the Russians and the Chinese can be persuaded to support or 
at least abstain from blocking establishment of such a court.
  An ad hoc or a regional court has significant advantages over the 
International Criminal Court, or the ICC, as a venue for justice. For 
starters, neither Syria nor the United States is a member of the ICC, 
although mechanisms exist to push prosecutions there.
  The ICC, however, has operated since 2002, and only boasts of only 
two, two, just two, convictions. By way of contrast, the Yugoslav court 
convicted 80 people; Rwanda, 61; and Sierra Leone, 9. Moreover, a 
singularly focused Syrian tribunal that provides Syrians with a degree 
of ownership could significantly enhance its effectiveness.
  I chaired a Congressional hearing on establishing a Syrian war crimes 
tribunal back in 2013, and included such great leaders as David Crane, 
the former prosecutor for the Special Court for Sierra Leone, and 
founder and chairman of the Syria Accountability Project.
  Mr. Crane testified that the Syria Accountability Project has 
collected data ``and built a framework by which President Assad and his 
henchmen''--this is his quote--``along with members of the opposition 
can be prosecuted openly and fairly.''
  He and his team have ``developed a crime base matrix which catalogs 
most of the incidents chronologically and highlights the violations of 
the Rome Statute, the Geneva Conventions, as well as domestic Syrian 
criminal law.''
  Significantly, with respect to the ICC, Mr. Crane testified that ``it 
lacks the capability and the political and diplomatic sophistication to 
handle such a mandate.''
  Indeed, I would like to relay some words that I had with David Crane 
just a few hours ago; and he reminded us that it is important that the 
Congress continue the quest to seek justice for the oppressed and work 
on justice for the Syrian people, in particular, as we recall the fifth 
anniversary of the beginning of the civil war in that country. 
Tomorrow, March 15, marks the fifth anniversary of this horrific 
conflict.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, accountability that is aggressive, predictable, 
transparent, and applicable to all perpetrators of genocide and crimes 
against humanity on all sides of the divide must be pursued now.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I want to commend the gentleman from New Jersey for authoring and 
bringing this resolution to the floor.
  Mr. Speaker, Syria and much of Iraq face two great evils. ISIS is 
well-known to us, and its evil is established by them on their own Web 
sites every day.
  The second evil is the extremist Shiite alliance, consisting of Iran, 
Assad, Hezbollah, and many of the Shiite militias based in Baghdad to 
Basra. And, of course, this Shiite alliance is aided by Russia, 
although today there were reports that give us a glimmer of hope that 
Russia will be diminishing its role in the Syrian conflict.
  The Shiite extremist alliance, I believe, is even more dangerous than 
ISIS since they include two state actors and a nuclear program. And the 
extremist Shiite alliance has killed more Americans than ISIS, from the 
Marines who died in Lebanon in the 1980s, to the IEDs that were 
manufactured in Iran and deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  There is a substantial difference in style between these two evil 
forces. When ISIS kills people, they put the beheadings on YouTube. 
When Assad kills thousands with his barrel bombs, or even with chemical 
weapons there for a while, Assad had the good taste to deny it. But 
different styles do not mask the fact that we are confronted with two 
great evils; and this resolution, I think, is an important step in 
dealing with those evils.
  This resolution condemns the gross violation of international law, 
perpetrated by the Assad regime and those forces supporting Assad, 
which have amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
  We all hope that the current ceasefire holds and even holds better 
than it has, but 5 years of civil war in Syria has shown us the use of 
weapons we thought were relegated only to the history books, including 
chemical weapons used by the Syrian government against its own 
civilians.
  Assad has conducted deliberate bombings of schools, hospitals, and 
humanitarian sites for the clear purpose of causing civilians to flee, 
and overall, he has conducted a brutal war that has killed hundreds of 
thousands of Syrians and sent millions fleeing the country.
  He has been aided in this process by the Iran Revolutionary Guard 
Corps, whose chief spokesman redisclosed just

[[Page 3125]]

last week how proud the Revolutionary Guard Corps is of helping Assad 
and how Tehran is helping to finance both Hezbollah and the Shiite 
militias that are helping Assad.
  The resolution before us today makes specific mention of the role 
that Iran and the Shiite extremist militias are playing, and that is an 
important part of the resolution. So I agree with the gentleman from 
New Jersey. It is time to show the people who are committing these war 
crimes that there will be a tribunal, that they will be personally held 
to account.
  And while I would hope that would drive home a message that would be 
relevant both to those who direct ISIS and those surrounding Assad, I 
think it will have a bigger impact on the generals around Assad who do 
not view themselves as martyrs, but view themselves as powerful 
individuals in Syria who would wish to travel and enjoy the good life 
with money they have stolen and taken from the Syrian people.
  So I do not see that I have any speakers on our side, and I have been 
notified that I should not expect any, and for that reason, I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I do want to thank the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman) for his very eloquent remarks 
and strong support for this resolution. I urge support and passage of 
this resolution.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. GABBARD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to oppose H. Con. Res. 121.
  Make no mistake, this is a War Bill--a thinly veiled attempt to use 
the rationale of ``humanitarianism'' as a justification for 
overthrowing the Syrian government of Assad. Similar resolutions were 
used in the past to legitimize the regime change wars to overthrow the 
governments of Iraq and Libya. I will have no part of it. I oppose H. 
Con. Res. 121 because I oppose more unnecessary, interventionist regime 
change wars.
  We all know that Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, is a brutal 
dictator. But this resolution's purpose is not merely to recognize him 
as such. Rather, it is a call to action. Specifically, it is a call to 
escalate our war to overthrow the Syrian government of Assad.
  For the last five years, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and 
others have been working hand-in-hand to overthrow the Assad 
government, supposedly for humanitarian reasons. But how has our war to 
overthrow Assad helped humanity?
  Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been killed. Millions have 
become homeless refugees. Much of the country's infrastructure has been 
destroyed. Terrorist organizations like ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and others have 
taken over large areas of the country and are engaging in genocide. And 
now, the same people who are behind this war to overthrow Assad want to 
escalate that war, and this resolution is an attempt to gin up public 
support for such an escalation.
  This resolution urges the Administration to create ``additional 
mechanisms for the protection of civilians'' which is coded language 
for the creation of a so-called ``no-fly'' or ``safe zone.'' The 
creation of a ``no fly zone'' or ``safe zone'' in Syria would be a 
major escalation of the war. Such a measure would cost billions of 
dollars, require tens of thousands of ground troops and a massive U.S. 
air presence, and it won't work. Furthermore, it will likely result in 
a direct confrontation between the United States and Russia. 
Fortunately, President Obama has thus far resisted pressure to escalate 
the war in this way.
  The fact is that the main area in Syria where Christians, Alawites, 
Shiites, Druze, Yazidis and other religious minorities can practice 
their faith without fear of persecution is in the Syrian territories 
where Assad maintains control. Therefore, the overthrow of Assad would 
worsen the genocidal activities by ISIS, al-Qaeda and other terrorist 
organizations against Christians, Alawites, and other Syrian religious 
minorities.
  H. Con. Res. 121 could be used to lay the groundwork for the 
escalation of the present U.S. military action aimed at overthrowing 
the Assad government.
  Previous Congresses passed Iraq and Libya resolutions, which were 
used for remarkably similar ends in several ways. The Iraq resolution 
was introduced in 1998, and it called upon the United States to ``take 
steps necessary, including the reprogramming of funds, to ensure United 
States support for efforts to bring Saddam Hussein and other Iraqi 
officials to justice.''
  The Libya resolution went further, urging ``the United Nations 
Security Council to take such further action as may be necessary to 
protect civilians in Libya from attack, including the possible 
imposition of a no-fly zone over Libyan territory.'' Both of those 
statements, while not legally binding, were a part of the public 
campaign that were later used to build support for U.S. military 
action.
  Similarly, H. Con. Res. 121 urging ``the Administration to establish 
additional mechanisms for the protection of civilians and to ensure 
consistent and equitable access to humanitarian aid for vulnerable 
populations'' could be used for similar ends by a future 
administration.
  Of course, there are many differences in the Iraq, Libya and Syria 
conflicts, as well as the military action taken. But if the U.S. 
learned nothing else in Iraq and Libya, we should have learned that 
toppling ruthless dictators in the Middle East creates even more human 
suffering and strengthens our enemy, groups like ISIS and other 
terrorist organizations, in those countries.
  It is undeniable that in both Iraq and Libya, humanitarian conditions 
today are far worse than they were before those governments were 
overthrown, and ISIS and other terrorist organizations are more 
powerful, causing even more human suffering.
  If the U.S. is successful in its current effort to overthrow the 
Syrian government of Assad, allowing ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and other 
terrorist groups to take over all of Syria, including the Assad-
controlled areas where Christians and other religious minorities remain 
protected, then the United States will be morally culpable for the 
genocide that will result.
  This is exactly what happened when we overthrew Saddam Hussein in 
Iraq. It is what happened in Libya when we overthrew Muammar Gaddafi. 
To do the same thing over and over and expect a different outcome is 
insanity.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Duncan of Tennessee). The question is on 
the motion offered by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) that 
the House suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. 
Con. Res. 121, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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