IV 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 53 

Urging all parties to the conflict in Syria to work through the United 

Nations and with the international community to hold the Assad regime 

accountable and resolve the crisis in Syria through a negotiated political 

settlement. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 12, 2013 

Ms. LEE of California (for herself, Ms. PINGREE of Maine, Mr. HONDA, Mr. 

GRIJALVA, Mr. GRAYSON, and Mr. HUFFMAN) submitted the following 

concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 

Affairs 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Urging all parties to the conflict in Syria to work through 

the United Nations and with the international community to hold the Assad regime accountable and resolve 

the crisis in Syria through a negotiated political settlement. 

Whereas President Obama is to be commended for rightfully 

seeking the authorization from Congress on the use of 

military force in Syria; 

Whereas, on August 30, 2013, President Obama stated that 

the United States has ‘‘high confidence that the Syrian 

regime carried out a chemical weapons attack that killed 

well over 1,000 people, including hundreds of children’’; 


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•HCON 53 IH 

Whereas the United States and 188 other countries comprising 98 percent of the world’s population are parties 

to the Chemical Weapons Convention, which prohibits the 

development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, or use 

of chemical weapons; 

Whereas, on August 30, 2013, Secretary of State Kerry stated, ‘‘We believe the primary objective is to have a diplomatic process that can resolve this through negotiation 

because we know there is no ultimate military solution. 

It has to be political. It has to happen at the negotiating 

table. And we are deeply committed to getting there.’’; 

Whereas, on August 30, 2013, President Obama stated, 

‘‘There’s not going to be a solely military solution to the 

underlying conflict and tragedy that’s taking place in 

Syria.’’; 

Whereas, on September 10, 2013, President Obama stated, 

‘‘the Russian government has indicated a willingness to 

join with the international community in pushing Assad 

to give up his chemical weapons,’’ and that ‘‘this initiative has the potential to remove the threat of chemical 

weapons without the use of force, particularly because 

Russia is one of Assad’s strongest allies’’; 

Whereas a military strike could result in grave unintended 

consequences leading to further loss of life and bloodshed, 

including retaliation from the Assad regime, the escalation of the war in Syria and possibly the region, and 

possibly resulting in more threats to United States military and diplomatic facilities in the region or regional 

partners such as Israel, Turkey, or Jordan; 


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Whereas a military strike could lead to deeper and more direct United States intervention in the Syrian civil war resulting in unknown costs in both lives and resources; 

Whereas a military strike could accelerate the numbers of refugees flowing into neighboring countries and lead to more 

Syrians being internally displaced; 

Whereas, on September 1, 2013, the number of Syrian refugees passed the threshold of 2,000,000 according to the 

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and a 

further 4,250,000 people are displaced inside Syria, according to data as of August 27, 2013, from the United 

Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs; 

Whereas Secretary of State Kerry reaffirmed during his confirmation hearings in January 2013, ‘‘A U.N. resolution 

is a necessary ingredient to provide the legal basis for 

military action in an emergency.’’; 

Whereas, at present, there is no United Nations Security 

Council authorization and international legal justification 

for a United States attack on Syria and the utilization 

of military force could both set a dangerous international 

precedent and significantly weaken the United Nations as 

an institution; 

Whereas the United Nations was established for the purpose 

of preventing war and resolving conflicts through peaceful means, including ‘‘by negotiation, enquiry, mediation, 

conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, resort to regional arrangements, or other peaceful means.’’; 

Whereas, at present, United Nations inspectors investigating 

the use of chemical weapons in Syria have not completed 

their work and released their report; 


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•HCON 53 IH 

Whereas, according to a Pew Poll taken between August 29 

and September 1, 2013, 6 in 10 Americans (61 percent) 

state that United States airstrikes in Syria are likely to 

lead to a long-term United States military commitment 

there, and 3 in 4 Americans (74 percent) state that 

United States airstrikes in Syria are likely to create a 

backlash against the United States and its allies in the 

region; 

Whereas the conflict in Syria will only be resolved through a 

negotiated political settlement, and Congress calls on all 

parties to the conflict in Syria to work through the 

United Nations and with the international community; 

and 

Whereas, under the principle of extra-territorial jurisdiction, 

the United States and other nations should accept a 

shared responsibility to investigate and prosecute crimes 

against humanity and other crimes under international 

law committed in Syria, before national courts in fair 

trials and without recourse to the death penalty: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That the United States should work with the 

3 United Nations and with the international community to 

4 exhaust all appropriate diplomatic and non-military op5 tions to facilitate a negotiated political settlement in Syria 

6 and hold the Assad regime and all responsible parties ac7 countable for human rights violations, including the use 

8 of chemical weapons, through efforts such as— 


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1 (1) requiring the Government of Syria to allow 

2 unfettered access to humanitarian organizations and 

3 agencies so the civilian population receives needed 

4 assistance, without discrimination; 

5 (2) engaging in forceful diplomacy involving the 

6 international community and the United Nations to 

7 advance a negotiated settlement, including mobi8 lizing all internal and external parties to participate 

9 urgently and constructively in the Geneva process 

10 and other negotiations and regional arrangements 

11 with the League of Arab States and the Organiza12 tion for Islamic Cooperation; 

13 (3) seeking to strengthen and coordinate multi14 lateral sanctions targeted against the assets of 

15 President Bashar al-Assad and others who may be 

16 involved in ordering or perpetrating crimes under 

17 international law; 

18 (4) investigating and prosecuting crimes against 

19 humanity and other crimes under international law, 

20 including appropriately timed International Criminal 

21 Court referral of the situation in Syria to ensure ac22 countability for the use of chemical weapons and 

23 crimes against humanity; 

24 (5) working with member states of the Chem25 ical Weapons Convention to collectively determine an 


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1 appropriate response to prevent the deployment and 

2 use of weapons of mass destruction, including urging 

3 the Government of Syria to become a signatory to 

4 the Chemical Weapons Convention and formulating 

5 a plan to place Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile 

6 under international control and supervision; 

7 (6) working with the international community 

8 to establish a Syrian war crimes tribunal; and 

9 (7) enabling United States courts to investigate 

10 and prosecute crimes against humanity and other 

11 crimes under international law committed in Syria, 

12 under the principle of extra-territorial jurisdiction, 

13 and to encourage other nations to do the same. 

Æ 


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