IV

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 137

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives concerning the urgent

need for an international criminal tribunal to try members of the Iraqi

regime for crimes against humanity.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 31, 1997

Mr. GILMAN (for himself and Mr. PORTER) submitted the following concurrent

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives concerning the urgent need for an international criminal

tribunal to try members of the Iraqi regime for crimes

against humanity.

Whereas the regime of Saddam Hussein has perpetrated a

litany of human rights abuses against the citizens of Iraq

and other peoples of the region, including summary and

arbitrary executions, torture, cruel and inhumane treatment, arbitrary arrest and imprisonment, disappearances

and the repression of freedom of speech, thought, expression, assembly and association;

Whereas Saddam Hussein and his associates have systematically attempted to destroy the Kurdish population in Iraq

through the use of chemical weapons against civilian
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HCON 137 IH

Kurds, the Anfal campaigns of 1987–1988 that resulted

in the disappearance of more than 182,000 persons and

the destruction of more than 4,000 villages, the placement of more than ten million landmines in Iraqi

Kurdistan, and the continued ethnic cleansing of the city

of Kirkuk;

Whereas the Iraqi Government, under Saddam Hussein’s

leadership, has repressed the Sunni tribes in western

Iraq, destroyed Assyro-Chaldean churches and villages,

deported and executed Turkomen, massacred Shi-ites,

and destroyed the ancient Marsh Arab civilization

through a massive act of ecocide;

Whereas the status of more than six hundred Kuwaitis who

were taken prisoner during the Gulf War remain unknown and the whereabouts of these persons are unaccounted for by the Iraqi Government, Kuwait continues

to be plagued by unexploded landmines six years after

the end of the Gulf War, and the destruction of Kuwait

by departing Iraqi troops has yet to be redressed by the

Iraqi Government;

Whereas the Republic of Iraq is a signatory to the Universal

Declaration on Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on

the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide

and other human rights instruments, and the Geneva

Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War of August 12, 1949, and is obligated to comply with these

international agreements;

Whereas Saddam Hussein and his regime have created an environment of terror and fear within Iraq and throughout

the region through a concerted policy of violations of

international customary and conventional law; and
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HCON 137 IH

Whereas the Congress is deeply disturbed by the continuing

gross violations of human rights by the Iraqi Government

under the direction and control of Saddam Hussein: Now,

therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That it is the sense of the House of Rep3 resentatives that—

4 (1) the Congress—

5 (A) deplores the Iraqi Government’s pat6 tern of gross violation of human rights which

7 has resulted in a pervasive system of repression,

8 sustained by the widespread use of terror and

9 intimidation;

10 (B) condemns the Iraqi Government’s re11 peated use of force and weapons of mass de12 struction against its own citizens, as well as

13 neighboring states;

14 (C) denounces the refusal of the Iraqi Gov15 ernment to comply with international human

16 rights instruments to which it is a party and

17 cooperate with international monitoring bodies

18 and compliance mechanisms, including account19 ing of missing Kuwaiti prisoners; and

20 (2) the President and the Secretary of State

21 should—
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HCON 137 IH

1 (A) endorse the formation of an inter2 national criminal tribunal for the purpose of

3 prosecuting Saddam Hussein and all other Iraqi

4 officials who are responsible for crimes against

5 humanity, including unlawful use of force,

6 crimes against the peace, crimes committed in

7 contravention of the Geneva Convention on

8 POW’s and the crime of genocide; and

9 (B) work actively and urgently within the

10 international community for the adoption of a

11 United Nations Security Council resolution es12 tablishing an International Criminal Court for

13 Iraq.

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