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[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 53 Introduced in House (IH)]

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'';
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;
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;
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
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That the United States should work with the United Nations and with the 
international community to exhaust all appropriate diplomatic and non-
military options to facilitate a negotiated political settlement in 
Syria and hold the Assad regime and all responsible parties accountable 
for human rights violations, including the use of chemical weapons, 
through efforts such as--
            (1) requiring the Government of Syria to allow unfettered 
        access to humanitarian organizations and agencies so the 
        civilian population receives needed assistance, without 
        discrimination;
            (2) engaging in forceful diplomacy involving the 
        international community and the United Nations to advance a 
        negotiated settlement, including mobilizing all internal and 
        external parties to participate urgently and constructively in 
        the Geneva process and other negotiations and regional 
        arrangements with the League of Arab States and the 
        Organization for Islamic Cooperation;
            (3) seeking to strengthen and coordinate multilateral 
        sanctions targeted against the assets of President Bashar al-
        Assad and others who may be involved in ordering or 
        perpetrating crimes under international law;
            (4) investigating and prosecuting crimes against humanity 
        and other crimes under international law, including 
        appropriately timed International Criminal Court referral of 
        the situation in Syria to ensure accountability for the use of 
        chemical weapons and crimes against humanity;
            (5) working with member states of the Chemical Weapons 
        Convention to collectively determine an appropriate response to 
        prevent the deployment and use of weapons of mass destruction, 
        including urging the Government of Syria to become a signatory 
        to the Chemical Weapons Convention and formulating a plan to 
        place Syria's chemical weapons stockpile under international 
        control and supervision;
            (6) working with the international community to establish a 
        Syrian war crimes tribunal; and
            (7) enabling United States courts to investigate and 
        prosecute crimes against humanity and other crimes under 
        international law committed in Syria, under the principle of 
        extra-territorial jurisdiction, and to encourage other nations 
        to do the same.
                                 <all>
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