III
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 275
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
JUNE 26, 2000
Received and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Congress with regard to Iraq’s
failure to release prisoners of war from Kuwait and
nine other nations in violation of international agree-
ments.
Whereas in 1990 and 1991, thousands of Kuwaitis were ran-
domly arrested on the streets of Kuwait during the Iraqi
occupation;
Whereas in February 1993, the Government of Kuwait com-
piled evidence documenting the existence of 605 prisoners
of war and submitted its files to the International Com-
HCON 275 RFS
mittee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which passed those files
on to Iraq, the United Nations, and the Arab League;
Whereas numerous testimonials exist from family members
who witnessed the arrest and forcible removal of their
relatives by Iraqi armed forces during the occupation;
Whereas eyewitness reports from released prisoners of war in-
dicate that many of those who are still missing were seen
and contacted in Iraqi prisons;
Whereas official Iraqi documents left behind in Kuwait
chronicle in detail the arrest, imprisonment, and transfer
of significant numbers of Kuwaitis, including those who
are still missing;
Whereas in 1991, the United Nations Security Council over-
whelmingly passed Security Council Resolutions 686 and
687 that were part of the broad cease-fire agreement ac-
cepted by the Iraqi regime;
Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 686
calls upon Iraq to arrange for immediate access to and
release of all prisoners of war under the auspices of the
ICRC and to return the remains of the deceased per-
sonnel of the forces of Kuwait and the Member States co-
operating with Kuwait;
Whereas United Nations Security Resolution 687 calls upon
Iraq to cooperate with the ICRC in the repatriation of all
Kuwaiti and third-country nationals, to provide the ICRC
with access to the prisoners wherever they are located or
detained, and to facilitate the ICRC search for those un-
accounted for;
Whereas the Government of Kuwait, in accordance with
United Nations Security Council Resolution 686, imme-
HCON 275 RFS
diately released all Iraqi prisoners of war as required by
the terms of the Geneva Convention;
Whereas immediately following the cease-fire in March 1991,
Iraq repatriated 5,722 Kuwaiti prisoners of war under
the aegis of the ICRC and freed 500 Kuwaitis held by
rebels in southern Iraq;
Whereas Iraq has hindered and blocked efforts of the Tri-
partite 
Commission, 
the 
eight-country 
commission
chaired by the ICRC and responsible for locating and se-
curing the release of the remaining prisoners of war;
Whereas Iraq has denied the ICRC access to Iraqi prisons in
violation of Article 126 of the Third Geneva Convention,
to which Iraq is a signatory;
Whereas Iraq—under the direction and control of Saddam
Hussein—has failed to locate and secure the return of all
prisoners of war being held in Iraq, including prisoners
from Kuwait and nine other nations; and
Whereas significant questions remain regarding the status of
United States Navy Lieutenant Commander Michael
Speicher, who was shot down over Iraq on January 16,
1991, during Operation Desert Storm and was declared
dead by the United States Navy without the conduct of
an adequate search and rescue operation, however subse-
quent information obtained after the Persian Gulf Con-
flict by United States officials has raised the possibility
that Lieutenant Commander Speicher survived and was
captured by Iraqi forces: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That—
(1) the Congress—
HCON 275 RFS
(A) acknowledges that there remain 605
prisoners of war imprisoned in Iraq, although
Kuwait was liberated from Iraq’s brutal inva-
sion and occupation on February 26, 1991;
(B) condemns and denounces the Iraqi
Government’s refusal to comply with inter-
national human rights instruments to which it
is a party;
(C) urges Iraq immediately to disclose the
names and whereabouts of those who are still
alive among the Kuwaiti prisoners of war and
other nations to bring relief to their families;
(D) insists that Iraq immediately allow hu-
manitarian organizations such as the Inter-
national Committee of the Red Cross to visit
the living prisoners and to recover the remains
of those who have died while in captivity; and
(E) urges Iraq to immediately release all
information regarding the fate of United States
Navy Lieutenant Commander Michael Speicher
and to release Lieutenant Commander Speicher,
or deliver his remains, to the International
Committee of the Red Cross for return to the
United States; and