IV 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 101 
Calling upon the President to order an immediate moratorium on the rendition 
of persons to Syria and all countries that routinely use torture as 
reported by the Department of State’s 2004 Country Reports on Human 
Rights Practices, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 16, 2005 
Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota (for herself and Mr. BLUMENAUER) submitted 
the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on International Relations 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Calling upon the President to order an immediate morato-
rium on the rendition of persons to Syria and all coun-
tries that routinely use torture as reported by the De-
partment of State’s 2004 Country Reports on Human 
Rights Practices, and for other purposes. 
Whereas expelling, returning, or extraditing a person to a 
country where there are substantial grounds for believing 
that the person would be subjected to torture is a viola-
tion of the Convention against Torture and Other Forms 
of Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punish-
ment, a treaty that the United States ratified in 1994; 
Whereas in the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring 
Act of 1998 Congress stated it shall be the policy of the
•HCON 101 IH 
United States not to expel, extradite, or otherwise effect 
the involuntary return of any person to a country in 
which there are substantial grounds for believing the per-
son would be in danger of being subjected to torture, re-
gardless of whether the person is physically present in 
the United States; 
Whereas Human Rights Watch states that the United States 
policy of ‘‘denouncing torture in Syria, and then handing 
over prisoners to Syrian torturers sends the ultimate 
mixed message’’; 
Whereas Human Rights Watch urges the United States to 
promptly investigate, publicly report its findings, and 
hold accountable those responsible for unlawful actions 
which resulted in Mr. Maher Arar, a citizen of Canada, 
being detained in New York by United States officials in 
2002, subsequently transferred to Syrian officials where 
he was held in a Syrian prison, tortured and abused for 
11 months until his release in 2003, and allowed to re-
turn to Canada; and 
Whereas Human Rights Watch has called on the United 
States to end the transfer of detainees to Syria and all 
countries that routinely engage in torture: Now, there-
fore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That Congress— 
(1) calls upon the President to order an imme-
diate moratorium on the rendition of persons to 
Syria and all countries that routinely use torture as 
reported by the Department of State’s 2004 Country 
Reports on Human Rights Practices; and
•HCON 101 IH 
(2) requests the President, the Secretary of 
State, the Secretary of Defense, and the Director of 
Central Intelligence to undertake a comprehensive 
review of the United States practice with regard to 
renditions that will include— 
(A) examining the nature of the assurances 
the United States receives from Syria and all 
other countries prior to transfer; 
(B) steps taken to ensure persons are not 
tortured or abused after rendition to Syria and 
all countries that routinely use torture as re-
ported by the Department of State’s 2004 
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices; 
(C) an account of the actual fate of those 
who have been turned over to Syria and all 
countries that routinely use torture as reported 
by the Department of State’s 2004 Country Re-
ports on Human Rights Practices; 
(D) assurances, before lifting the morato-
rium on the rendition of persons, that the prac-
tices and actions of the United States are con-
sistent with its laws and international law, and 
that procedures are in place to protect trans-
ferred detainees from being subjected to torture
•HCON 101 IH 
or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treat-
ment; and 
(E) a report of findings of the comprehen-
sive review to the Committee on International 
Relations of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, 
and all other relevant House and Senate com-
mittees. 
Æ