III 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 384 

Expressing the sense of the Senate concerning the humanitarian crisis in 

Syria and neighboring countries, resulting humanitarian and development 

challenges, and the urgent need for a political solution to the crisis. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 13, 2014 

Mr. KAINE (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. DURBIN, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. 

MURPHY, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. CARDIN, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. MENENDEZ, 

Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. CASEY, Mr. 

BLUMENTHAL, Mr. WARNER, Mr. KIRK, Mr. KING, Mr. MARKEY, and 

Mr. CRUZ) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the Senate concerning the humanitarian crisis in Syria and neighboring countries, resulting 

humanitarian and development challenges, and the urgent need for a political solution to the crisis. 

Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 2139, 

adopted on February 22, 2014, expresses grave alarm at 

the significant and rapid deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Syria, in particular the dire situation 

of hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in besieged 

areas, most of whom are besieged by the Syrian armed 

forces and some by opposition groups, as well as the dire 

situation of over 3,000,000 people in hard-to-reach areas, 

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•SRES 384 IS 

and deplores the difficulties in providing, and the failure 

to provide, access for the humanitarian assistance to all 

civilians in need inside Syria; 

Whereas widespread and systematic attacks on civilians, 

schools, hospitals, and other civilian infrastructure, in 

violation of international humanitarian law, continue in 

Syria, and parties to the conflict are blocking humanitarian aid delivery, including food and medical care from 

many civilian areas; 

Whereas the World Health Organization estimates that 70 

percent of Syria’s health professionals, up to 80,000 people, have fled the country, cases of typhoid, tuberculosis, 

polio and other diseases are rampant and increasing, and 

medical personnel inside Syria are deliberately targeted 

by parties to the conflict; 

Whereas the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has registered more than 2,500,000 Syrian refugees, nearly 80 percent of whom are women and 

children, and by the end of this year, the United Nations 

estimates the number of refugees will increase to 

4,000,000; 

Whereas nearly 500,000 refugees from the Syrian conflict are 

children under the age of five, and more than 11,000 

children have been killed and thousands more have suffered severe injuries, including burns, shrapnel wounds, 

the severing of limbs, and spinal cord injuries; 

Whereas over 5,000,000 children affected by the conflict desperately need food, clean water, shelter, medical care and 

psychosocial support; 

Whereas, since 2011, nearly 3,000,000 Syrian children have 

been forced to quit their education as fighting has demstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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stroyed classrooms, left children too terrified to go to 

school, and forced families to flee the country; 

Whereas the refugee crisis threatens the stability of the Middle East, putting immense burdens on Syria’s neighbors, 

most notably Lebanon and Jordan, as well as Turkey and 

Iraq; and 

Whereas the United States Government has played a leading 

role in addressing the Syrian crisis, providing 

$1,700,000,000 in humanitarian assistance to those suffering inside Syria, as well as to refugees and host communities in the neighboring countries: Now, therefore, be 

it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) strongly condemns the unlawful use of vio3 lence against civilians by all parties to the conflict 

4 in Syria, particularly the ongoing violence and wide5 spread human rights violations perpetrated against 

6 the people of Syria by the Government of Syria; 

7 (2) urges all parties to the conflict to imme8 diately halt indiscriminate attacks on civilians and 

9 civilian infrastructure; 

10 (3) affirms the neutrality of medical profes11 sionals providing humanitarian assistance and health 

12 care on a non-political basis, and condemns attacks 

13 against such personnel or interference in the provi14 sion of medical care; 

15 (4) urges all parties in Syria to allow for and 

16 facilitate immediate, unfettered access to humanimstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 tarian aid throughout the Syrian Arab Republic, re2 specting the safety, security, independence, and im3 partiality of humanitarian workers and ensuring 

4 freedom of movement to deliver aid; 

5 (5) supports the immediate and full implemen6 tation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 

7 2139 (2014), which calls for unimpeded access of 

8 humanitarian assistance to all Syrians to address 

9 the rapid deterioration of the humanitarian situation 

10 in Syria, in particular the dire situation of hundreds 

11 of thousands of civilians trapped in besieged areas, 

12 most of whom are besieged by the Syrian armed 

13 forces and some by opposition groups, as well as the 

14 dire situation of over 3,000,000 people in hard-to15 reach areas; 

16 (6) calls on the international community to as17 sist the people of Syria, especially internally dis18 placed persons and refugees, in meeting basic needs, 

19 including access to food, health care, shelter, and 

20 clean drinking water; 

21 (7) calls on the international community to sup22 port civilians and innocent victims of the conflict in 

23 Syria, particularly women and children who are dis24 placed and vulnerable to physical and psychological 

25 exploitation; 

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1 (8) calls on the international community to im2 plement steps that prevent gender-based violence, 

3 and assure the protection of women and girls 

4 against sexual exploitation, human trafficking, and 

5 rape; 

6 (9) calls on the international community to con7 tinue to support neighboring countries and host 

8 communities who are generously supporting refugees 

9 fleeing the conflict in Syria; 

10 (10) calls on the international community to in11 crease investment for education in host communities 

12 to expand learning opportunities for refugee children 

13 and to support programs that help children gain ac14 cess to quality education, protect them from violence 

15 and abuse, and provide counseling and psychosocial 

16 support; 

17 (11) calls on countries that are hosting refugees 

18 in the region to support refugee self-reliance and 

19 dignity by expanding employment opportunities for 

20 refugees; 

21 (12) calls on international donors and aid agen22 cies to integrate humanitarian relief and longer term 

23 development programs through a comprehensive re24 gional strategy to address the protracted crisis in 

25 Syria; and 

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1 (13) calls on the President to develop and sub2 mit to the appropriate committees of Congress with3 in 90 days from adoption of this resolution a strat4 egy for United States engagement in addressing the 

5 Syrian humanitarian crisis, to include assistance and 

6 development, and protecting human rights inside 

7 Syria and in the region. 

Æ 

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