IV 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 590 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding calling on 
the President to direct the United States Representative to the United 
Nations to use the voice, vote, and influence of the United States to 
immediately promote the establishment of an appropriate regional or 
international justice mechanism through the United Nations and United 
Nations General Assembly to investigate and prosecute possible war 
crimes, crimes against humanity, and violations of internationally recog-
nized human rights stemming from the conflict in Syria, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 13, 2023 
Ms. TLAIB (for herself and Ms. OMAR) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regard-
ing calling on the President to direct the United States 
Representative to the United Nations to use the voice, 
vote, and influence of the United States to immediately 
promote the establishment of an appropriate regional 
or international justice mechanism through the United 
Nations and United Nations General Assembly to inves-
tigate and prosecute possible war crimes, crimes against 
humanity, and violations of internationally recognized 
human rights stemming from the conflict in Syria, and 
for other purposes. 
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•HRES 590 IH 
Whereas the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopt-
ed by the United Nations General Assembly on December 
10th, 1948, with the support of 48 countries including 
Syria, enshrines the fundamental and inviolable rights 
and freedoms of all human beings; 
Whereas the Syrian Arab Republic is a State Party to the 
following core international human rights instruments: 
(1) The International Convention on the Elimination 
of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. 
(2) The International Covenant on Civil and Polit-
ical Rights. 
(3) The International Covenant on Economic, Social 
and Cultural Rights. 
(4) The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms 
of Discrimination against Women. 
(5) The Convention against Torture and Other 
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. 
(6) The Convention on the Rights of the Child. 
(7) The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the 
Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in 
armed conflict. 
(8) The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the 
Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitu-
tion, and child pornography. 
(9) The International Convention on the Protection 
of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of 
Their Families. 
(10) The Convention on the Rights of Persons with 
Disabilities. 
(11) The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the 
Rights of Persons with Disabilities; 
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•HRES 590 IH 
Whereas significant volumes of publicly accessible information 
exist indicating that the Government of the Syrian Arab 
Republic, led by the dictator Bashar al-Assad, has vio-
lated significant portions of the aforementioned agree-
ments, as well as the Geneva Conventions, during the 
conflict in Syria that began in 2011 and continues to this 
day; 
Whereas the international community has previously estab-
lished ad hoc tribunals and special courts and other jus-
tice mechanisms through the United Nations to bring 
justice in specific countries where there have been war 
crimes; and 
Whereas various tribunals, including the International Crimi-
nal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the International 
Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and the Special Court for 
Sierra Leone, have successfully investigated and pros-
ecuted war crimes, and there are many positive lessons 
to be learned from these 3 ad hoc tribunals: Now, there-
fore, be it 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that— 
(1) the United States should publicly declare 
that it is a requirement of basic justice that viola-
tions of internationally recognized human rights, 
international law, war crimes, and crimes against 
humanity should be investigated and prosecuted; 
(2) the President should direct the United 
States Representative to the United Nations to use 
the voice, vote, and influence of the United States to 
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•HRES 590 IH 
immediately promote the establishment of an inter-
national justice mechanism for war crimes, crimes 
against humanity, and other violations of inter-
nationally recognized human rights, and to prosecute 
the alleged perpetrators of such serious crimes com-
mitted during the period of conflict in the Syrian 
Arab Republic; 
(3) in working with other countries to establish 
this regional or international justice mechanism, the 
United States should assist all its partners in this 
effort to develop judicial procedures that enable the 
fair and open prosecution of those persons accused 
of perpetrating such serious crimes; 
(4) the United States should encourage, sup-
port, and collect any and all information that can be 
supplied to an appropriate regional or international 
justice mechanism regarding possible war crimes, 
crimes against humanity, and violations of inter-
nationally recognized human rights for use as evi-
dence to support the indictment and trial of any per-
sons responsible; and 
(5) the United States should urge all other in-
terested states to apprehend and deliver into the 
custody of an appropriate regional or justice mecha-
nism for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and 
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•HRES 590 IH 
violations of internationally recognized human rights 
persons indicted for international crimes and urge 
all interested states to provide any and all data and 
information pertaining to such crimes to that justice 
mechanism. 
Æ 
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