III 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 180 

Expressing support for peaceful demonstrations and universal freedoms in 

Syria and condemning the human rights violations by the Assad regime. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 11, 2011 

Mr. LIEBERMAN (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. KIRK, Mr. CASEY, 

Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. COONS, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. KYL, Mr. 

ISAKSON, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. BARRASSO, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. AYOTTE, 

Mr. DURBIN, and Mr. HOEVEN) submitted the following resolution; which 

was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing support for peaceful demonstrations and universal 

freedoms in Syria and condemning the human rights 

violations by the Assad regime. 

Whereas, in March 2011, large-scale peaceful demonstrations 

began to take place in Syria; 

Whereas the Government of Syria, led by President Bashar 

al-Assad, responded to protests by launching a violent 

crackdown, committing human rights abuses, and violating its international obligations, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) 

and the United Nations Convention against Torture and 

Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; 


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•SRES 180 IS 

Whereas demonstrations have now spread to more than a 

dozen towns and cities across all parts of Syria; 

Whereas demonstrators initially demanded political reform, 

but under violent attack by the Government of Syria, 

have increasingly demanded a change in the Syrian regime; 

Whereas Insan, a respected international nongovernmental 

organization, has documented more than 600 deaths 

since demonstrations began in Syria, and reported that 

‘‘arbitrary detained and enforceable disappearance in the 

country easily exceeds 8,000 people’’; 

Whereas the Government of Syria has deployed tanks and 

snipers against civilian population centers, including the 

cities of Daraa and Baniyas, and the Damascus suburbs 

of Douma, Harasta, Saqba, and Zabadani; 

Whereas the Government of Syria has cut off civilian population centers from access to food, water, electricity, mobile and land lines, Internet, and medical services; 

Whereas several respected international human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch and the Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies, have documented 

a nationwide campaign of arbitrary arrests and enforced 

disappearances of activists, protesters, and their family 

members, by the Government of Syria; 

Whereas the International Crisis Group, an independent 

international nongovernmental organization, reported on 

May 3, 2011, that there is ‘‘ongoing, credible evidence’’ 

in Syria of ‘‘abundant instances of excessive and indiscriminate state violence . . . including arbitrary arrests, 

torture and firing into peaceful crowds’’; 


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Whereas the International Crisis Group has also reported a 

‘‘determined and cynical attempt to exploit and exacerbate’’ sectarian tensions by the Government of Syria; 

Whereas, despite sectarian provocations by the Government 

of Syria, demonstrations have maintained a message of 

national unity and solidarity; 

Whereas, on April 15, 2011, the United Nations Special 

Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, Christof Heyns, 

stated that live ammunition has been used by the Syrian 

regime against demonstrators ‘‘in clear violation of international law’’; 

Whereas international organizations, including Amnesty 

International and Human Rights Watch, have documented evidence that peaceful protestors detained by 

Government of Syria security forces are being subjected 

to torture, including with electro-shock devices, cables, 

sticks, and whips, and are being held in overcrowded 

cells, deprived of sleep, food, and water for days at a 

time; 

Whereas international non-governmental organizations, including the International Committee on the Red Cross 

and Human Rights Watch, have reported that Government of Syria security forces have prevented injured protesters from accessing hospitals and have denied medical 

personnel and humanitarian relief organizations access to 

those in need of medical attention; 

Whereas the Government of Iran is providing material support to assist the Government of Syria in its efforts to 

suppress peaceful protestors, including the transfer of 

equipment to help security forces crack down on protests 


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•SRES 180 IS 

and curtail and monitor protesters’ use of the Internet, 

cell phones, and text-messaging; 

Whereas the White House Press Secretary has repeatedly 

condemned the Government of Syria’s brutal crackdown, 

including on May 6, 2011, when he stated, ‘‘The Syrian 

government continues to follow the lead of its Iranian ally 

in resorting to brute force and flagrant violations of 

human rights in suppressing peaceful protests.’’; 

Whereas the Department of State has repeatedly condemned 

the Government of Syria’s brutal crackdown, including on 

May 6, 2011, when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 

condemned ‘‘in the strongest possible terms’’ the Government of Syria’s continued use of force and intimidation 

against peaceful protestors and pledged to ‘‘hold to account senior Syrian officials and others responsible for 

the reprehensible human rights abuses’’; 

Whereas, on April 29, 2011, President Obama issued an Executive Order authorizing targeted sanctions against individuals and organizations responsible for the human 

rights abuses in Syria; 

Whereas President Obama on April 29, 2011, designated 3 

individuals pursuant to the Executive Order issued that 

same day: Mahir al-Assad, the brother of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and brigade commander in the Syrian Army’s 4th Armored Division; Atif Najib, the former 

head of the Political Security Directorate for Daraa 

Province and a cousin of Bashar al-Assad; and Ali 

Mamluk, director of Syria’s General Intelligence Directorate; 

Whereas, on May 6, 2011, envoys of the European Union’s 

27 nations agreed to impose sanctions on the GovernVerDate Mar 15 2010 20:47 May 11, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR180.IS SR180

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ment of Syria for the human rights abuses it is perpetrating, including asset freezes and visa bans on 13 members of the Government of Syria and an arms embargo 

on the country; 

Whereas, on April 29, 2011, the United Nations Human 

Rights Council passed Resolution S-16/1, which condemns the Syrian regime for its human rights abuses and 

establishes a mandate for an international inquiry led by 

the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for 

Human Rights to investigate all alleged violations of 

international human rights law in Syria ‘‘with a view to 

avoiding impunity and ensuring full accountability’’; 

Whereas the Government of Syria, prior to March 2011, had 

a well-documented track record of human rights abuses 

against its own citizens and violations of international 

agreements and international law; 

Whereas, in February 1982, the Syrian army, under the orders of then-Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, killed at 

least 10,000 civilians in the city of Hama in an effort to 

quell an uprising there; 

Whereas, according to the Department of State’s most recent 

Human Rights Country Report, published on April 8, 

2011, the Government of Syria commits unlawful killings 

against civilians; has severely and systematically restricted basic freedoms of speech, press, assembly, association, and religion; is responsible for ongoing politically 

motivated arrests, detentions, and disappearances; lacks 

an independent judiciary system; and maintains prisons 

where torture and physical abuse are widespread and 

where detainees lack access to food, proper clothing, and 

medical treatment; 


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Whereas the Department of State has designated Syria since 

1979 as a ‘‘state sponsor of terrorism’’ and according to 

the Department of State’s most recent ‘‘Country Reports 

on Terrorism,’’ published in August 2010, the Government of Syria provides ‘‘political and material support to 

Hizballah in Lebanon and allowed Iran to resupply this 

organization with weapons’’; 

Whereas the Government of Syria’s transfer of weapons to 

Hizballah in Lebanon is in violation of United Nations 

Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006), which established an arms embargo requiring all states to prevent 

the supply of arms and weapons to militias and terrorists 

in Lebanon; 

Whereas the Government of Syria has violated the territorial 

integrity and sovereignty of Lebanon in contravention of 

United Nations Security Council resolutions, including 

Resolution 425 (1978), Resolution 520 (1982), and Resolution 1701 (2006); 

Whereas Syria, as a party to the Treaty of the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, is legally bound to declare all 

its nuclear activity to the International Atomic Energy 

Agency (IAEA) and to place such activity under the monitoring of the IAEA; 

Whereas the IAEA issued a report on February 25, 2011, 

criticizing Syria’s implementation of the NPT Safeguards 

Agreement, concluding that ‘‘Syria has not cooperated 

with the Agency since June 2008’’ in connection with the 

Agency’s investigation of the Dair Alzour site and 3 

other locations’’ and warning that ‘‘the Agency has not 

been able to make progress towards resolving the outstanding issues related to those sites’’; 


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Whereas it has been widely reported that the Government of 

Syria was developing a covert nuclear program, in violation of its international obligations under the NPT, until 

that site was bombed by Israel in September 2007; and 

Whereas, on December 12, 2003, Congress passed the Syria 

Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act 

of 2003 (Public Law 108–175) in order to, among other 

purposes, hold the Government of Syria accountable for 

its actions and as expression of support consistent with 

these aims: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) expresses solidarity and support for the peo3 ple of Syria as they seek to exercise universal rights 

4 and pursue peaceful democratic change; 

5 (2) strongly condemns and deplores the human 

6 rights abuses of the Government of Syria, including 

7 the use of arbitrary and lethal violence and deploy8 ment of military forces against peaceful demonstra9 tors; 

10 (3) strongly condemns and deplores the Govern11 ment of Syria’s extrajudicial killings, enforced dis12 appearances, torture, and arbitrary and mass arrests 

13 against civilians in Syria; 

14 (4) strongly condemns and deplores the delib15 erate cut-off of water, electricity, food, telecommuni16 cations, and other basic services to civilian popu17 lation centers in Syria; 


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1 (5) strongly condemns the Government of Iran 

2 for assisting the Government of Syria in its cam3 paign of violence and repression against the people 

4 of Syria; 

5 (6) warns that international crimes are being 

6 committed by the Government of Syria against its 

7 people, for which the responsible officials must be 

8 held accountable; 

9 (7) finds that the Government of Syria, led by 

10 Bashar al-Assad, through its campaign of violence 

11 and gross human rights abuses, has lost legitimacy 

12 and expresses support for the people of Syria to de13 termine their future for themselves; 

14 (8) commends President Obama for authorizing 

15 targeted sanctions on human rights abusers in 

16 Syria, including United States visa bans and asset 

17 freezes, and using that authority to designate 3 indi18 viduals; 

19 (9) urges the President to act swiftly to expand 

20 the list of sanctioned persons to include all individ21 uals responsible for gross human rights abuses in 

22 Syria, including Bashar al-Assad; 

23 (10) urges the President to speak out directly, 

24 and personally, to the people of Syria about the situ25 ation in their country; 


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1 (11) urges the President to work, in conjunc2 tion with international partners, to ensure access of 

3 humanitarian relief organizations, medical workers, 

4 and international media to affected areas of Syria, 

5 and to impose consequences on the Government of 

6 Syria and its leaders if access by these organizations 

7 continues to be impeded; 

8 (12) urges the President to work, in conjunc9 tion with international partners, to ensure access by 

10 the people of Syria to accurate news and informa11 tion, as well as information and social networking 

12 technologies; 

13 (13) urges the President to continue to work 

14 with the European Union, the Government of Tur15 key, the Arab League, the Gulf Cooperation Council, 

16 and other allies and partners to bring an end to 

17 human rights abuses in Syria, hold the perpetrators 

18 accountable, and support the aspirations of the peo19 ple of Syria; 

20 (14) encourages United States officials, includ21 ing through the United States Embassy in Damas22 cus, to engage with civil society in Syria, including 

23 human rights and democracy activists, political dis24 sidents, and opposition leaders; 


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1 (15) urges the President to work with our allies 

2 and partners at the United Nations Security Council 

3 to condemn and hold accountable human rights 

4 abusers in Syria and to support the human rights of 

5 the people of Syria; and 

6 (16) urges the United Nations Human Rights 

7 Council— 

8 (A) to swiftly implement United Nations 

9 Human Rights Council Resolution S-16/1 and 

10 to ensure that the international investigation 

11 into violations by the Government of Syria of 

12 international human rights law called for in the 

13 resolution is undertaken immediately; and 

14 (B) reinforce the crucial need for the 

15 United Nations General Assembly to reject Syr16 ia’s candidacy for membership on the Human 

17 Rights Council and terminate the consideration 

18 of Syria’s candidacy. 

Æ 


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