IV 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 53 
Urging all parties to the conflict in Syria to work through the United 
Nations and with the international community to hold the Assad regime 
accountable and resolve the crisis in Syria through a negotiated political 
settlement. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 12, 2013 
Ms. LEE of California (for herself, Ms. PINGREE of Maine, Mr. HONDA, Mr. 
GRIJALVA, Mr. GRAYSON, and Mr. HUFFMAN) submitted the following 
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Affairs 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Urging all parties to the conflict in Syria to work through 
the United Nations and with the international commu-
nity to hold the Assad regime accountable and resolve 
the crisis in Syria through a negotiated political settle-
ment. 
Whereas President Obama is to be commended for rightfully 
seeking the authorization from Congress on the use of 
military force in Syria; 
Whereas, on August 30, 2013, President Obama stated that 
the United States has ‘‘high confidence that the Syrian 
regime carried out a chemical weapons attack that killed 
well over 1,000 people, including hundreds of children’’; 
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•HCON 53 IH 
Whereas the United States and 188 other countries com-
prising 98 percent of the world’s population are parties 
to the Chemical Weapons Convention, which prohibits the 
development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, or use 
of chemical weapons; 
Whereas, on August 30, 2013, Secretary of State Kerry stat-
ed, ‘‘We believe the primary objective is to have a diplo-
matic process that can resolve this through negotiation 
because we know there is no ultimate military solution. 
It has to be political. It has to happen at the negotiating 
table. And we are deeply committed to getting there.’’; 
Whereas, on August 30, 2013, President Obama stated, 
‘‘There’s not going to be a solely military solution to the 
underlying conflict and tragedy that’s taking place in 
Syria.’’; 
Whereas, on September 10, 2013, President Obama stated, 
‘‘the Russian government has indicated a willingness to 
join with the international community in pushing Assad 
to give up his chemical weapons,’’ and that ‘‘this initia-
tive has the potential to remove the threat of chemical 
weapons without the use of force, particularly because 
Russia is one of Assad’s strongest allies’’; 
Whereas a military strike could result in grave unintended 
consequences leading to further loss of life and bloodshed, 
including retaliation from the Assad regime, the esca-
lation of the war in Syria and possibly the region, and 
possibly resulting in more threats to United States mili-
tary and diplomatic facilities in the region or regional 
partners such as Israel, Turkey, or Jordan; 
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•HCON 53 IH 
Whereas a military strike could lead to deeper and more di-
rect United States intervention in the Syrian civil war re-
sulting in unknown costs in both lives and resources; 
Whereas a military strike could accelerate the numbers of ref-
ugees flowing into neighboring countries and lead to more 
Syrians being internally displaced; 
Whereas, on September 1, 2013, the number of Syrian refu-
gees passed the threshold of 2,000,000 according to the 
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and a 
further 4,250,000 people are displaced inside Syria, ac-
cording to data as of August 27, 2013, from the United 
Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Af-
fairs; 
Whereas Secretary of State Kerry reaffirmed during his con-
firmation hearings in January 2013, ‘‘A U.N. resolution 
is a necessary ingredient to provide the legal basis for 
military action in an emergency.’’; 
Whereas, at present, there is no United Nations Security 
Council authorization and international legal justification 
for a United States attack on Syria and the utilization 
of military force could both set a dangerous international 
precedent and significantly weaken the United Nations as 
an institution; 
Whereas the United Nations was established for the purpose 
of preventing war and resolving conflicts through peace-
ful means, including ‘‘by negotiation, enquiry, mediation, 
conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, resort to re-
gional arrangements, or other peaceful means.’’; 
Whereas, at present, United Nations inspectors investigating 
the use of chemical weapons in Syria have not completed 
their work and released their report; 
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•HCON 53 IH 
Whereas, according to a Pew Poll taken between August 29 
and September 1, 2013, 6 in 10 Americans (61 percent) 
state that United States airstrikes in Syria are likely to 
lead to a long-term United States military commitment 
there, and 3 in 4 Americans (74 percent) state that 
United States airstrikes in Syria are likely to create a 
backlash against the United States and its allies in the 
region; 
Whereas the conflict in Syria will only be resolved through a 
negotiated political settlement, and Congress calls on all 
parties to the conflict in Syria to work through the 
United Nations and with the international community; 
and 
Whereas, under the principle of extra-territorial jurisdiction, 
the United States and other nations should accept a 
shared responsibility to investigate and prosecute crimes 
against humanity and other crimes under international 
law committed in Syria, before national courts in fair 
trials and without recourse to the death penalty: Now, 
therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That the United States should work with the 
United Nations and with the international community to 
exhaust all appropriate diplomatic and non-military op-
tions to facilitate a negotiated political settlement in Syria 
and hold the Assad regime and all responsible parties ac-
countable for human rights violations, including the use 
of chemical weapons, through efforts such as— 
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•HCON 53 IH 
(1) requiring the Government of Syria to allow 
unfettered access to humanitarian organizations and 
agencies so the civilian population receives needed 
assistance, without discrimination; 
(2) engaging in forceful diplomacy involving the 
international community and the United Nations to 
advance a negotiated settlement, including mobi-
lizing all internal and external parties to participate 
urgently and constructively in the Geneva process 
and other negotiations and regional arrangements 
with the League of Arab States and the Organiza-
tion for Islamic Cooperation; 
(3) seeking to strengthen and coordinate multi-
lateral sanctions targeted against the assets of 
President Bashar al-Assad and others who may be 
involved in ordering or perpetrating crimes under 
international law; 
(4) investigating and prosecuting crimes against 
humanity and other crimes under international law, 
including appropriately timed International Criminal 
Court referral of the situation in Syria to ensure ac-
countability for the use of chemical weapons and 
crimes against humanity; 
(5) working with member states of the Chem-
ical Weapons Convention to collectively determine an 
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•HCON 53 IH 
appropriate response to prevent the deployment and 
use of weapons of mass destruction, including urging 
the Government of Syria to become a signatory to 
the Chemical Weapons Convention and formulating 
a plan to place Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile 
under international control and supervision; 
(6) working with the international community 
to establish a Syrian war crimes tribunal; and 
(7) enabling United States courts to investigate 
and prosecute crimes against humanity and other 
crimes under international law committed in Syria, 
under the principle of extra-territorial jurisdiction, 
and to encourage other nations to do the same. 
Æ 
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