III 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 370 

Calling for democratic change in Syria. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 9, 2012 

Mr. CASEY (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. 

ISAKSON, Mr. DURBIN, and Mr. KYL) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Calling for democratic change in Syria. 

Whereas the Syrian Arab Republic is a signatory to the 

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 

(ICCPR), adopted at New York December 16, 1966, the 

United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other 

Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, 

done at New York December 10, 1984, and the Universal 

Declaration of Human Rights, adopted at Paris, December 10, 1948. 

Whereas, in March 2011, peaceful demonstrations in Syria 

began against the authoritarian rule of Bashar al-Assad; 

Whereas, in response to the demonstrations, the Government 

of Syria launched a brutal crackdown, which has resulted 

in gross human rights violations, use of force against civilians, torture, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary execuVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:39 Feb 10, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR370.IS SR370

smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•SRES 370 IS 

tions, sexual violence, and interference with access to 

medical treatment; 

Whereas the United Nations estimated that, as of January 

25, 2012, more than 5,400 people in Syria had been 

killed since the violence began in March 2011; 

Whereas, on August 18, 2011, President Barack Obama 

called upon President Bashar al-Assad to step down from 

power; 

Whereas the Department of State has repeatedly condemned 

the Government of Syria’s crackdown on its people, including on January 30, 2012, when Secretary of State 

Hillary Clinton stated ‘‘The status quo is unsustainable. 

. . . The longer the Assad regime continues its attacks 

on the Syrian people and stands in the way of a peaceful 

transition, the greater the concern that instability will escalate and spill over throughout the region.’’; 

Whereas President Obama, on April 29, 2011, designated 3 

individuals subject to sanctions for humans rights abuses 

in Syria: 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 18, 2011, President Obama issued an executive order sanctioning senior officials of the Syrian Arab 

Republic and their supporters, specifically designating 

seven people: President Bashar al-Assad, Vice President 

Farouk al-Shara, Prime Minister Adel Safar, Minister of 

the Interior Mohammad Ibrahim al-Shaar, Minister of 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•SRES 370 IS 

Defense Ali Habib Mahmoud, Head of Syrian Military 

Intelligence Abdul Fatah Qudsiya, and Director of Political Security Directorate Mohammed Dib Zaitoun; 

Whereas President Obama, on August 17, 2011, issued Executive Order 13582, blocking property of the Government 

of Syria and prohibiting certain transactions with respect 

to Syria; 

Whereas, on December 1, 2011, the Department of the 

Treasury designated two individuals, Aus Aslan and Muhammad Makhluf, under Executive Order 13573 and two 

entities, the Military Housing Establishment and the 

Real Estate Bank of Syria, under Executive Order 

13582; 

Whereas, on May 6, 2011, the European Union’s 27 countries imposed sanctions on the Government of Syria for 

the human rights abuses, including asset freezes and visa 

bans on members of the Government of Syria and an 

arms embargo on the country; 

Whereas, on November 12, 2011, the League of Arab States 

voted to suspend Syria’s membership in the organization; 

Whereas, on December 2, 2011, the United Nations Human 

Rights Council passed Resolution S-18/1, which recalls 

General Assembly resolution A/RES/66/176 of December 

19, 2011, as well as Human Rights Council resolutions 

S-16/1, S-17/1 and S-18/1, and further deplores the 

human rights situation in Syria, commends the League 

of Arab States, and supports implementation of its Plan 

of Action; 

Whereas the League of Arab States approved and implemented a plan of action to send a team of international 

monitors to Syria, which began December 26, 2011; 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•SRES 370 IS 

Whereas, on January 28, 2012, the League of Arab States 

decided to suspend its international monitoring mission 

due to escalating violence within Syria; 

Whereas, on February 4, 2012, the Russian Federation and 

People’s Republic of China vetoed a United Nations Security Council Resolution in support of the League of 

Arab States’ Plan of Action; 

Whereas the Governments of the Russian Federation and the 

Islamic Republic of Iran remain major suppliers of military equipment to the Government of Syria notwithstanding that government’s violent repression of demonstrators; and 

Whereas 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: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) strongly condemns the ongoing, widespread, 

3 and systemic violations of human rights conducted 

4 by authorities in Syria, including the use of force 

5 against civilians, torture, extrajudicial killings, arbi6 trary executions, sexual violence, and interference 

7 with access to medical treatment; 

8 (2) maintains that Bashar al-Assad has lost all 

9 claims to legitimacy due to the perpetuation of mass 

10 atrocities against the people of Syria and continued 

11 violations of human rights; 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•SRES 370 IS 

1 (3) calls upon Bashar al-Assad to step down 

2 from power; 

3 (4) strongly condemns the Governments of the 

4 Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Iran 

5 for providing military and security equipment to the 

6 Government of Syria, which has been used to repress 

7 peaceful demonstrations and commit mass atrocities 

8 against unarmed civilian populations in Syria; 

9 (5) commends the League of Arab States’ ef10 forts to bring about a peaceful resolution in Syria; 

11 (6) regrets that the League of Arab States ob12 server mission was not able to monitor the full im13 plementation of the League of Arab States’ Action 

14 Plan of November 2, 2011, due to the escalating vio15 lence in Syria; 

16 (7) commends President Obama for authorizing 

17 targeted sanctions on human rights abusers in Syria 

18 and for extending these sanctions to 12 individuals; 

19 (8) encourages the President to continue desig20 nating for sanctions all individuals responsible for 

21 human rights violations in Syria; 

22 (9) urges the President to support an effective 

23 transition to democracy in Syria by identifying and 

24 providing substantial material and technical support, 

25 upon request, to Syrian organizations that are repVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:39 Feb 10, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR370.IS SR370

smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•SRES 370 IS 

1 resentative of the people of Syria, make demon2 strable commitments to protect human rights and 

3 religious freedom, reject terrorism, cooperate with 

4 international counterterrorism and nonproliferation 

5 efforts, and abstain from destabilizing neighboring 

6 countries; 

7 (10) urges the President to develop a plan to 

8 identify weapons stockpiles and prevent the pro9 liferation of conventional, biological, chemical, and 

10 other types of weapons in Syria; 

11 (11) urges the Department of State to establish 

12 a ‘‘Friends of the Syrian People’’ Contact Group of 

13 countries committed to democratic change in Syria, 

14 including Turkey, members of the League of Arab 

15 States, and members of the European Union; 

16 (12) urges the Department of State to develop 

17 a strategy to encourage defections from the military 

18 of the Government of Syria; 

19 (13) urges the President to diplomatically en20 gage with the Republic of Turkey and members of 

21 the League of Arab States and the European Union 

22 to discuss options to protect the people of Syria, in23 cluding the provision of robust humanitarian assist24 ance, the viability of establishing a safe haven along 

25 the borders of Syria, and the use of all means availVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:39 Feb 10, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR370.IS SR370

smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•SRES 370 IS 

1 able to monitor and publicly report on abuses inside 

2 the country; and 

3 (14) urges the international community to mo4 bilize in support of a post-Assad democratic and in5 clusive Government of Syria that holds accountable 

6 those responsible for crimes against humanity and 

7 gross violations of human rights. 

Æ 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS