IV 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 344
Expressing the sense of the Congress that American prisoners of war (POWs) 
during the 1991 Gulf War and their immediate family members should 
be adequately compensated, without delay, for their suffering and injury, 
as decided by the United States District Court for the District of Colum-
bia. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 21, 2003
Mr. MEEKS of New York (for himself and Mr. CONYERS) submitted the fol-
lowing concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
International Relations 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of the Congress that American pris-
oners of war (POWs) during the 1991 Gulf War and 
their immediate family members should be adequately 
compensated, without delay, for their suffering and in-
jury, as decided by the United States District Court 
for the District of Columbia.
Whereas the treatment of American prisoners of war (POWs) 
during 1991 Gulf War by the Republic of Iraq and its 
intelligence service, at the direction of Iraqi president 
Saddam Hussein, constituted ‘‘torture,’’ as required to 
support exercise of subject matter jurisdiction under the 
Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) over claims by 
the POWs and their immediate family members for com-
•HCON 344 IH 
pensatory and punitive damages for injuries allegedly suf-
fered as result of such treatment; 
Whereas the POWs constantly feared torture and death as a 
direct result of severe physical and mental abuse; they 
were systematically starved, denied sleep, and exposed to 
freezing cold; they were denied medical care and their ex-
isting injuries were intentionally aggravated; they were 
shocked with electrical devices and confined in dark, 
filthy conditions exposing them to contagion and infec-
tion; they suffered serious physical injuries, including 
broken bones, perforated eardrums, nerve damage infec-
tions, nausea, severe weight loss, massive bruises, and 
other injuries; and they were denied requests to notify 
family members that they were alive, were forced to par-
ticipate in propaganda tapes, were denied the right to be 
inspected by the Red Cross, and were used as props in 
public announcements that POWs would be used as 
human shields; 
Whereas these acts of torture intentionally inflicted severe 
and lasting emotional distress; 
Whereas these acts of torture were carried out by officials, 
employees, or agents of the Republic of Iraq, acting with-
in scope of their office or employment; 
Whereas the refusal of the Republic of Iraq and its intel-
ligence service to comply with Iraq’s legal obligation 
under the Geneva Convention to permit the POWs to 
write to their families to inform them of their capture 
and state of their health constituted intentional infliction 
of emotional stress on the family members of the POWs, 
also cognizable in an action under the FSIA;
•HCON 344 IH 
Whereas the United States District Court for the District of 
Columbia found, in an action brought under the torture 
exception of the FSIA against the Republic of Iraq, its 
president, and its intelligence service, that the POWs 
subjected to torture during 1991 Gulf War were entitled 
to compensatory damages; 
Whereas the court also found that the POWs were entitled 
to compensatory damages for pain and suffering, during 
the period following captivity, as the POWs attempted to 
return to normal life, in amounts in multiple millions of 
dollars; 
Whereas the court found that the wives of the POWs were 
entitled to compensatory damages for mental anguish 
and solatium during the periods in which their husbands 
were in captivity, and for mental anguish and emotional 
distress following the release of POWs, and the court 
found that the children, parents, and siblings of the 
POWs were entitled to compensatory damages for mental 
anguish and solatium; 
Whereas the court also found that an award of punitive dam-
ages to the POWs was warranted because of the exceed-
ingly heinous nature of the acts of torture against the 
POWs, and the severe and continuing harm to the POWs 
caused by the reprehensible acts inflicted on them, and 
because— 
(1) the use of torture against the handcuffed and 
blindfolded POWs resulted in unrestrained savagery, 
causing them to suffer intense, justified fear that the 
Iraqi threats of death and dismemberment would be car-
ried out; 
(2) there must be a premium on protecting POWs 
who are uniquely vulnerable to acts of torture;
•HCON 344 IH 
(3) deterring torture of POWs should be of the high-
est priority; and 
(4) punitive damages create incentives for the agen-
cies and instrumentalities of terrorist countries to comply 
with their obligations not to torture POWs: Now, there-
fore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That—
(1) American prisoners of war (POWs) during 
the 1991 Gulf War were brutally tortured by the Re-
public of Iraq and its intelligence service, at the di-
rection of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, and 
thereby suffered severe physical trauma and emo-
tional abuse; 
(2) United States civilians stationed in the Per-
sian Gulf region before and during Operation Desert 
Storm were taken hostage by the Republic of Iraq 
and its intelligence service, at the direction of Iraqi 
President Saddam Hussein, and used as so-called 
‘‘human shields’’, experiencing brutal threats to 
their personal safety and emotional being; 
(3) no one would subject himself or herself for 
any price to the terror, torment, and pain experi-
enced by the POWs during the 1991 Gulf War and 
their immediate family members;
•HCON 344 IH 
(4) there is no monetary award that could ade-
quately compensate these individuals for their suf-
fering and the resulting permanent injury; 
(5) the Congress has previously recognized and 
authorized the right of United States citizens, in-
cluding the POWs and ‘‘human shields’’, to hold ter-
rorist states such as Iraq liable for injuries to 
United States citizens; 
(6) United States district courts have been au-
thorized to adjudicate such cases; 
(7) notwithstanding section 1503 of the Emer-
gency Wartime Supplemental Appropriations Act of 
2003, the President should take action, through the 
liquidation of blocked Iraqi assets or through other 
appropriate sources, to ensure that POWs during 
the 1991 Gulf War and their immediate family 
members receive, without delay, their just compensa-
tion as awarded by the United States District Court 
for the District of Columbia; and 
(8) the Congress will continue to oversee the 
application of section 1503 of the Emergency War-
time Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2003 in 
order to ensure that it is not misinterpreted, includ-
ing by divesting United States courts of jurisdiction,
•HCON 344 IH 
with respect to the POWs and other victims of Iraqi 
terrorism.
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