IV 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 440 
Calling for urgent international action on behalf of Iraqi and Syrian civilians 
facing a dire humanitarian crisis and severe persecution because of 
their faith or ethnicity in the Nineveh Plain region of Iraq and Khabor, 
Kobane, and Aleppo regions of Syria. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 24, 2015 
Mr. TROTT (for himself, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. FORTENBERRY, Mr. DOLD, Mr. 
BENISHEK, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. VARGAS, and Mr. DENHAM) sub-
mitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Calling for urgent international action on behalf of Iraqi 
and Syrian civilians facing a dire humanitarian crisis 
and severe persecution because of their faith or ethnicity 
in the Nineveh Plain region of Iraq and Khabor, Kobane, 
and Aleppo regions of Syria. 
Whereas the United Nations High Commissioner for Refu-
gees stated in its Global Trends report that in 2014, the 
total population of concern in Iraq and Syria numbered 
nearly 12,000,000 people, including refugees and inter-
nally displaced persons, many of whom face grave depri-
vation and imminent threats to life, health, and safety; 
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•HRES 440 IH 
Whereas recent extremist attacks on civilians in Hassake, 
Syria, and the Nineveh Plains have exacerbated the seri-
ous dislocations and pressures facing individuals within 
this population of concern, and have had a particularly 
severe effect on ethnic and religious minority commu-
nities such as Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac Christians, Ar-
menians, Yezidis, Shabak and other minorities in the re-
gion, where civilians require immediate and urgent access 
to potable water, health care, fuel, electricity, and basic 
security; 
Whereas the United Nations Security Council stated on July 
22, 2014, ‘‘The members of the Security Council further 
recall that widespread or systematic attacks directed 
against any civilian populations because of their ethnic 
background, religious beliefs or faith may constitute a 
crime against humanity, for which those responsible must 
be held accountable’’, and denounced the persecution of 
Iraqi Christians and other minorities, including Yezidis 
and Mandeans; 
Whereas many of the Christian communities of the Khabor 
region of Syria fled Simele, Iraq, in 1933 as a result of 
a massacre of over 3,000 Assyrians, and were resettled 
along the Khabor River in Syria, and have once again 
been forced to flee due to violent persecution; 
Whereas, on July 14, 2014, the United Nations Security 
Council adopted Resolution 2165, which provides guid-
ance for urgent action in Iraq, as it addresses similarly 
grave humanitarian needs in neighboring Syria; 
Whereas the Syriac Military Council along with the Kurds 
have provided security for the Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac 
Christians in the greater Hassake region of Syria and re-
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•HRES 440 IH 
quire immediate assistance to continue combating the Is-
lamic State of Iraq and the Levant; 
Whereas villages in the Khabor region have been planted with 
IEDs to discourage repatriation by ethnic minorities who 
previously resided therein; 
Whereas grotesque acts of violence have been committed 
against the ancient Yezidi population, including killings, 
torture, and selling women and girls into sexual slavery; 
and 
Whereas the grave humanitarian crisis facing ethno-religious 
minorities in Iraq and Syria will have serious con-
sequences for the broader stability of those countries and 
other nations in the region: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) deplores and condemns the religious bigotry, 
intimidation, and violent attacks directed against in-
nocent civilians, as well as the vandalism and de-
struction of property and ancient sites, by armed ex-
tremists in Iraq and Syria; 
(2) calls on the relevant parties to protect all 
citizens in the region, and recognizes the responsi-
bility of the relevant governments to uphold the con-
stitutional rights of their own citizens; 
(3) calls on the President, Secretary of State, 
and United States Permanent Representative to the 
United Nations, working through the United Na-
tions Security Council and its member states as ap-
propriate to accelerate the implementation of an im-
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mediate, coordinated, and sustained response to pro-
vide humanitarian assistance, protect civilians, build 
resilience, and help reestablish livelihoods for dis-
placed and persecuted persons in their communities 
of origin; 
(4) calls on the United States Permanent Rep-
resentative to the United Nations to work with the 
relevant United Nations agencies, including the 
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, on 
a sustained basis to document human rights abuses 
against Iraqi and Syrian refugees and develop an 
immediate plan to facilitate safe humanitarian ac-
cess to potable water, health care, fuel, electricity, 
and basic security for the most vulnerable refugee 
populations; 
(5) calls on the relevant United Nations agen-
cies to collaborate and coordinate with international 
humanitarian organizations working in Iraq and 
Syria— 
(A) to develop an effective resettlement 
strategy for displaced and persecuted popu-
lations in beleaguered areas, including the an-
cestral villages in the Nineveh Plain, that incor-
porates micro-enterprise activities and business 
startup loans for the displaced, builds resilience, 
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and facilitates a transition from emergency re-
lief to longer-term economic development in 
communities of origin; and 
(B) to develop transparent, accountable 
mechanisms to ensure that assistance reaches 
vulnerable ethnic and religious minorities and is 
not diverted; and 
(6) calls on the Secretary of State and the Sec-
retary of Defense— 
(A) to support the training and equipping 
of vetted local Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac Chris-
tians security forces in Iraq and Syria; and 
(B) to work to ensure that minority com-
munities in Iraq and Syria are fully integrated 
into any future security forces in Iraq and 
Syria. 
Æ 
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