III 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 173 

Condemning atrocities committed by Bashar al-Assad of Syria and his regime, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 6, 2015 

Mr. REID (for himself, Mr. MCCONNELL, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. MENENDEZ, and 

Mr. CASEY) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and 

agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Condemning atrocities committed by Bashar al-Assad of 

Syria and his regime, and for other purposes. 

Whereas Bashar al-Assad, through his actions and decisions, 

has lost his legitimacy as a leader of the Syrian people; 

Whereas forces loyal to the Assad regime have committed war 

crimes and crimes against humanity, including starvation, systematic murder, torture, rape and sexual violence, enforced disappearance, and used weapons of mass 

destruction including chemical weapons; 

Whereas the actions of the Assad regime have egregiously 

violated international laws of war and shocked the global 

conscience; 

Whereas the United Nations has documented the Assad regime’s campaign to defeat opposition forces by starving 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•SRES 173 ATS 

rebels and civilians through calculated efforts to cut off 

food supplies in opposition-controlled areas such as eastern Aleppo and Homs; 

Whereas there is evidence that the Assad regime conducted 

systematic torture and killing of people who were detained by regime forces; 

Whereas rape and sexual violence against civilians by regime 

forces has been cited as a primary reason families flee 

Syria; 

Whereas it has been reported that more than 11,000 people 

have disappeared after being taken into custody by forces 

loyal to the Assad regime; 

Whereas the Assad regime continues to use helicopters to indiscriminately drop barrel bombs, even after the United 

Nations Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 

2139 on February 22, 2014, that ‘‘[d]emands that all 

parties immediately cease all attacks against civilians, as 

well as the indiscriminate employment of weapons in populated areas, including shelling and aerial bombardment, 

such as the use of barrel bombs . . .’’; 

Whereas Syria once possessed one of the most advanced 

chemical weapons programs in the Middle East; 

Whereas there were multiple documented cases of chemical 

attacks committed by the Assad regime, including the deployment of sarin gas in Aleppo in March and April 

2013, as well as the devastating sarin and conventional 

attack committed near Damascus in August 2013 that 

killed more than 1,400 innocent civilians, including 426 

children; 

Whereas sarin is banned under the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling, and 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•SRES 173 ATS 

Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction, done 

at Paris January 13, 1993, and entered into force April 

29, 1997 (commonly known as the ‘‘Chemical Weapons 

Convention’’); 

Whereas, in September 2013, the Assad regime agreed to 

eliminate its chemical weapons stockpile by handing over 

all of its chemical weapons to international control, providing inspectors immediate and unfettered access to all 

suspected sites, and allowing international forces to destroy the entire stockpile and production facilities; 

Whereas the September 2013 agreement mandated that Syria 

accede to the Chemical Weapons Convention; 

Whereas, after Syria’s accession to the Chemical Weapons 

Convention, there continue to be numerous documented 

reports that the Assad regime has repeatedly attacked civilians, including women and children, and armed opposition groups with chlorine gas, a substance that is banned 

for use as a weapon under the Chemical Weapons Convention; 

Whereas, on March 6, 2015, the United Nations Security 

Council passed Resolution 2209 by a vote of 14 in favor, 

zero against, and 1 abstention condemning in the strongest terms the use of chlorine as a weapon in Syria and 

vowing that any future use would result in the imposition 

of Chapter VII measures; 

Whereas, on March 6, 2015, the United States Permanent 

Representative to the United Nations Samantha Power 

stated, ‘‘Despite having acceded to the Chemical Weapons Convention, the Assad regime has again demonstrated its brutality by turning to chlorine as another 

barbaric weapon in its arsenal against the Syrian people. 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•SRES 173 ATS 

. . . Let’s ask ourselves who has helicopters in Syria? 

Certainly not the opposition. Only the Assad regime does 

and we have seen them use their helicopters in countless 

other attacks on innocent Syrians using barrel bombs.’’; 

Whereas it is clear that Bashar al-Assad has repeatedly lied 

to the international community about using chemical 

weapons, deploying barrel bombs, and targeting civilians, 

demonstrating again and again that he cannot be trusted; 

Whereas internationally recognized tribunals have been used 

in the past to hold leaders accountable for war crimes; 

Whereas the conflict in Syria has resulted in the loss of 

countless innocent lives, has displaced millions of people, 

and has destabilized the Middle East; and 

Whereas the organization known as the Islamic State, the al 

Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat Al Nusra, and other armed opposition groups have also carried out atrocities in Syria: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, 

2 SECTION 1. SENSE OF THE SENATE. 

3 The Senate— 

4 (1) condemns the actions of Bashar al-Assad 

5 and his regime for committing brutal acts of violence 

6 against the Syrian people, for committing systematic 

7 murder, torture, rape and enforced disappearance 

8 against the Syrian people, and for using weapons of 

9 mass destruction including chemical weapons against 

10 the Syrian people; 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•SRES 173 ATS 

1 (2) condemns the loss of innocent civilian life 

2 during the course of the civil war in Syria; 

3 (3) supports the diplomatic efforts of the inter4 national coalition to drive Bashar al-Assad from of5 fice and preserve the institutions of government re6 quired to restore stability to Syria; and 

7 (4) objects to any role for Bashar al-Assad in 

8 any final settlement to the civil war. 

9 SEC. 2. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

10 Nothing in this resolution shall be construed as an 

11 authorization for the use of military force. 

Æ 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS