H. Res. 531

In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

July 17, 2000.

Whereas on July 18, 1994, 86 innocent human beings were

killed and 300 were wounded when the AMIA Jewish

Community Center was bombed in Buenos Aires, Argentina;

Whereas the United States welcomes Argentine President

Fernando de la Rua’s political will to pursue the investigation of the bombing of the AMIA Jewish Community

Center to its ultimate conclusion;

Whereas circumstantial evidence attributes the attack to the

terrorist group Hezbollah, based in Lebanon and sponsored by Iran;

Whereas evidence indicates that this bombing could not have

been carried out without local assistance from elements

of the Argentine security forces, some of which are reported to be sympathetic to anti-Semitic positions and to

have participated in the desecration of Jewish cemeteries

in recent years;

Whereas additional evidence indicates that the tri-border area

where Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil meet, and which

is known to be rife with terrorist activity as well as drug

and arms smuggling, was used to channel resources for

the purpose of carrying out the bombing attack;
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Whereas the 6 years since the bombing have been marked by

efforts to minimize the involvement of these Argentine security elements;

Whereas Argentine officials have acknowledged that there

was negligence in the initial phases of the investigation

and that the institutional and political conditions must be

created to advance the investigation of this terrorist attack;

Whereas failure to duly punish the culprits of this act serves

merely to reward these terrorists and help spread the

scourge of terrorism throughout the Western Hemisphere;

Whereas the democratic leaders of the Western Hemisphere

issued mandates at the 1994 and 1998 Summits of the

Americas that they condemn terrorism in all its forms

and that they will, using all legal means, combat terrorist

acts anywhere in the Americas with unity and vigor;

Whereas the Government of Argentina supports the 1996

Declaration of Lima To Prevent, Combat and Eliminate

Terrorism, which refers to terrorism as a serious form of

organized and systematic violence that is intended to generate chaos and fear among the population, results in

death and destruction, and is a reprehensible criminal activity, as well as the 1998 Commitment of Mar del Plata

which calls terrorist acts serious common crimes that

erode peaceful and civilized coexistence, affect the rule of

law and the exercise of democracy, and endanger the stability of democratically elected constitutional governments

and the socioeconomic development of our countries;

Whereas the Government of Argentina was successful in enacting a law on cooperation from defendants in terrorist
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matters, a law that will be helpful in pursuing full prosecution in this and other terrorist cases; and

Whereas it is the long-standing policy of the United States

to stand firm against terrorist attacks wherever and

whenever they occur and to work with its allies to ensure

that justice is done: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

(1) reiterates its condemnation of the attack on the

AMIA Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in July 1994, and honors the victims of this

heinous act;

(2) strongly urges the Government of Argentina to

fulfill its international obligations and its promise to the

Argentine people by pursuing the local and international

connections to this act of terrorism, wherever they may

lead, and to duly punish all those who were involved;

(3) calls on the President to continue to raise this

issue in bilateral discussions with Argentine officials and

to underscore the United States concern regarding the

6-year delay in the resolution of this case;

(4) recommends that the United States Representative to the Organization of American States seek support

from the countries comprising the Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism to assist, if required by the

Government of Argentina, in the investigation of this

terrorist attack;
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(5) encourages the President to direct United

States law enforcement agencies to provide support and

cooperation to the Government of Argentina, if requested, for purposes of the investigation into this bombing and terrorist activities in the tri-border area; and

(6) desires a lasting, warm relationship between the

United States and Argentina built on mutual abhorrence

of terrorism and commitments to peace, stability, and

democracy in the Western Hemisphere.

Attest:

Clerk.