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“SENATE RESOLUTION 428--CONDEMNING THE GOVERNMENT OF SYRIA FOR CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Senate section on pages S2551-S2553 on April 19, 2012.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
SENATE RESOLUTION 428--CONDEMNING THE GOVERNMENT OF SYRIA FOR CRIMES
AGAINST HUMANITY, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself, Mr. Graham, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Kirk, Ms. Collins, Mr. Coats, Mr. McCain, and Mr. Cardin) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:
S. Res. 428
Whereas, on December 22, 2010, the Senate passed S. Con. Res. 71 (111th Congress), a bipartisan resolution recognizing that it is in the national interest of the United States to prevent and mitigate acts of genocide and other mass atrocities against civilians;
Whereas, since the uprisings in Syria began in January 2011, the Government of Syria has manifestly failed in its responsibility to protect its people;
Whereas, on August 4, 2011, President Barack Obama issued Presidential Study Directive/PSD 10, stating, ``Preventing mass atrocities and genocide is a core national security interest and a core moral responsibility of the United States.'';
Whereas, on November 23, 2011, the United Nations-appointed Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic expressed grave concern that ``crimes against humanity of murder, torture, rape or other forms of sexual violence of comparable gravity, imprisonment or other severe deprivation of liberty, enforced disappearances of persons and other inhumane acts of a similar character have occurred in different locations in Syria since March 2011'' and that
``the Syrian Arab Republic bears responsibility for these crimes and violations'';
Whereas, on February 3, 2012, Syria security forces began using indiscriminate sniper fire and shelling of the densely populated neighborhoods of Homs with heavy weaponry;
Whereas, on February 4, 2012, President Obama stated that President Assad ``has no right to lead Syria and has lost all legitimacy with his people and the international community'';
Whereas, on February 4, 2012, the United States co-sponsored a draft United Nations Security Council resolution condemning ``the continued widespread and gross violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms by the Syrian authorities such as the use of force against civilians, arbitrary executions, killing and persecution of protestors and members of the media, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, interference with access to medical treatment, torture, sexual violence, and ill-treatment, including against children'';
Whereas, on February 17, 2012, the Senate passed S. Res. 379 (112th Congress), stating that the ``gross human rights violations perpetuated by the Government of Syria against the people of Syria represent a grave risk to regional peace and stability'';
Whereas, on February 22, 2012, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic found in a subsequent report that ``[a] reliable body of evidence exists that, consistent with other verified circumstances, provides reasonable grounds to believe that particular individuals, including commanding officers and officials at the highest levels of Government, bear responsibility for crimes against humanity and other gross human rights violations'' and that ``children continue to be arbitrarily arrested and tortured while in detention'';
Whereas, on February 28, 2012, the United Nations Security Council was informed that over 7500 people in Syria have been killed, an estimated 100 more are killed each day in attacks directed against the civilian population, and there are between 100,000 and 200,000 internally displaced persons in Syria;
Whereas, on February 28, 2012, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified before the Subcommittee on the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs of the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate concerning President Assad, stating that ``based on the definitions of war criminal and crimes against humanity, there would be an argument to be made that he would fit into that category'';
Whereas, on March 1, 2012, Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs Jeffrey Feltman testified before the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate that ``large numbers of Syrians are living every day under siege, deprived of basic necessities including food, clean water and medical supplies, and women and children are wounded and dying for lack of treatment'';
Whereas, on March 8, 2012 Ambassador Susan Rice, the United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations, stated that the United States ``remain[s] determined to hasten the day when the brave people of Syria can shake off the yoke of bondage and tyranny'';
Whereas, on March 27, 2012, United States Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford, in testimony before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, cited massive human rights violations that, ``may amount to crimes against humanity''; and
Whereas, with the intent and knowledge of the highest level of the Government of Syria, including commanding officers of the Syria security forces and the President of the Syrian Arab Republic, Bashir Assad, members of the Syria security forces have reportedly committed a widespread and systematic pattern of gross human rights violations, including use of force against civilians, torture, extra judicial killings, arbitrary executions, sexual violence, the execution of defectors, and interference with medical treatment and other humanitarian assistance: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) condemns the Government of Syria, Syria security forces, and the President of the Syrian Arab Republic for widespread and systematic attacks against the civilian population of Syria;
(2) commends the President for the vote of the United States at the United Nations Security Council to condemn the continued widespread and gross violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms by the authorities in Syria;
(3) urges the President to use his authority to collect information on incidents in Syria that may constitute crimes against humanity under section 2113 of the ADVANCE Democracy Act of 2007 (title XXI of Public Law 110 53; 22 U.S.C. 8213) and take action to ensure that the Government of Syria, its leaders, and senior officials who are responsible for crimes against humanity are brought to account for such crimes in an appropriately constituted tribunal;
(4) urges the President to formally establish the Atrocities Prevention Board established by Presidential Study Directive 10 in August 2011, and for the Board to provide recommendations to the President concerning the prevention of mass atrocities in Syria;
(5) urges the international community, working with the people of Syria to review legal processes available to hold officials of the Government of Syria, Syria security forces, and the President of the Syrian Arab Republic accountable for crimes against humanity and gross violations of human rights; and
(6) expresses solidarity and support for the people of Syria as they seek to exercise universal rights and pursue peaceful democratic change.
Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I rise to submit a resolution condemning the Government of Syria for crimes against humanity. I am pleased to be joined by Senators Graham, Klobuchar, Kirk, Cardin, Coats, Collins, and McCain in submitting this resolution.
I am very proud we have strong bipartisan support and I thank, in particular, Senator Graham for his leadership, along with Senator McCain, who repeatedly and consistently in this area of human rights and liberties have stood for basic American principles of democracy and freedom. I had the great opportunity to visit a number of the Middle Eastern countries with them, and my strong support for this kind of resolution rises from the firsthand views we were able to have of the results of freedom fighters in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt and the impact on the future of their country and being on the right side of history, as the United States was there. Those people showed their gratitude and welcomed us to their countries.
I am grateful to Senators McCain and Graham for giving me that opportunity, along with Senators Sessions and Hoeven, who accompanied us, for their leadership.
Syrian crimes against humanity include acts such as murder, torture and unlawful punishment and imprisonment when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack on civilian populations.
Since peaceful protests began last year, the Syrian regime has brutalized and savaged its own people, leaving thousands dead as it commits horrific crimes against humanity, including the abduction and torture of children.
This resolution tells the Syrian people they are not alone, that the American people are with them as they fight for freedom and basic democratic rights; the people of the world are watching.
On November 23, 2011, the U.N.-appointed Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic expressed grave concern that ``crimes against humanity of murder, torture, rape or other forms of sexual violence . . . imprisonment or other severe deprivation of liberty, enforced disappearances of persons and other inhumane acts . . . have occurred in different locations in Syria since March 2011.''
The Commission also found that ``the Syrian Arab Republic bears responsibility for these crimes and violations.''
Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs Jeffrey Feltman testified before the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate that
``large numbers of Syrians are living every day under siege, deprived of basic necessities including food, clean water and medical supplies, and women and children are wounded and dying for lack of treatment.''
General Mattis, commander of the U.S. Central Command, for whom I have the strongest and deepest respect, explained before the Senate Armed Services Committee ``the Syrian military continues to ruthlessly use lethal force with impunity against the Syrian people.''
In this body, we have not remained silent in the face of this humanitarian disaster, approving on February 17, 2012, S. Res. 379, condemning violence by the Government of Syria against the Syrian people. We have also approved S. Res. 391, which I cosponsored, condemning violence by the Government of Syria against journalists and expressing the sense of the Senate on freedom of the press in Syria.
The world should be inspired by the continuing courage and determination of Syrian protesters standing and speaking, despite the Syrian military gunning down and bombing their homes, businesses, and neighborhoods.
I know our Nation is at war and rightly wary of intervention abroad. But military intervention is not our only option, not the only means to summon support or step forward in solidarity with the freedom fighters in Syria, nor is military intervention alone sufficient to call forth the world's conscience. Even without military action, we need not abdicate the democratic rights and principles that underlie and underpin our own Nation's constitutional ethos.
One powerful and profound step this body can take is to bear witness to the atrocities occurring in Syria. More than 9,000 people have died in Syria since these protests began. As Elie Wiesel has said, ``For the dead and the living, we must bear witness.''
The Syrian thugs who detain and torture children must know the United States bears witness to their crimes. We should say to President Assad that the world is watching and witnessing as he uses snipers to target civilians, indiscriminately shelling homes and businesses, and torturing protesters who dare to speak of change.
This resolution calls on President Obama to bear witness by using his existing authority. America can and must bear witness by taking and preserving evidence of actions and incidents in Syria that constitute crimes against humanity. America must bear witness by asking the President's newly created Atrocities Prevention Board to consider crimes against humanity occurring in Syria.
These atrocities epitomize the crimes this prevention board must address. I commend President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton for their work at the U.N. and with our allies to assist the Syrian people. We should make our own findings about what has occurred in Syria concerning the crimes against humanity. We cannot avoid this obligation simply because the result may present difficult choices.
As Martin Luther King would often remind us, ``The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.''
If we bear witness today, justice will come closer for the Syrian people. President Assad and the Government of Syria, its leaders and senior officials who are responsible for crimes against humanity, will be brought to account and justice for their crimes.
I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution.
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