IV
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. CON. RES. 181
Expressing the sense of the Congress with respect to war crimes against
United States military personnel and their families, and in particular
to the war crimes committed in El Salvador against United States
Army pilots David H. Pickett and Earnest Dawson, Jr.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 8, 1999
Mr. BRYANT submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred
to the Committee on International Relations
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Congress with respect to war
crimes against United States military personnel and their
families, and in particular to the war crimes committed
in El Salvador against United States Army pilots David
H. Pickett and Earnest Dawson, Jr.
Whereas in 1991, David H. Pickett was a lieutenant colonel
and Earnest Dawson, Jr., was a private first class in the
United States Army;
Whereas on January 2, 1991, David H. Pickett and Earnest
Dawson, Jr., along with Chief Warrant Officer Daniel
Scott, were on official business when their helicopter was
shot down over El Salvador by Marxist guerrillas of the
Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN);
•HCON 181 IH
Whereas in the helicopter crash Daniel Scott died and David
H. Pickett and Earnest Dawson, Jr., were wounded;
Whereas David H. Pickett and Earnest Dawson, Jr., were
captured and promptly murdered by FMLN guerrillas,
including Ferman Hernandez and Serveriano Fuentes;
Whereas after the murders of David H. Pickett and Earnest
Dawson, Jr., were investigated by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, the Department of Justice sought and ob-
tained a warrant for the arrest of Ferman Hernandez
from the United States District Court in Washington,
DC;
Whereas the Department of State directed that Ferman Her-
nandez be detained if he entered the territory of the
United States;
Whereas the United Nations brokered a peace agreement that
ended the civil war in El Salvador in January 1992 and
resulted in the Government of El Salvador signing a com-
prehensive peace accord with the FMLN;
Whereas the FMLN surrendered Ferman Hernandez and
Serveriano Fuentes to the Government of El Salvador on
March 17, 1992;
Whereas Ferman Hernandez and Serveriano Fuentes con-
fessed to the murders of David H. Pickett and Earnest
Dawson, Jr., and were detained by Salvadoran authori-
ties;
Whereas a commission of the United Nations found, on April
1, 1993, that David H. Pickett and Earnest Dawson, Jr.,
while wounded and defenseless, had been executed by
Ferman Hernandez, who was acting on the orders of
Serveriano Fuentes;
•HCON 181 IH
Whereas the commission found that the actions of Ferman
Hernandez and Serveriano Fuentes were in violation of
international humanitarian law;
Whereas the Government of El Salvador enacted a general
amnesty law in May 1993, and released Ferman Her-
nandez and Serveriano Fuentes in accordance with that
law;
Whereas the failure and refusal of the Government of El Sal-
vador to bring Ferman Hernandez and Serveriano
Fuentes to trial violates the Geneva Convention and
other international agreements to which the Government
of El Salvador is a signatory;
Whereas the United States has made diplomatic efforts to-
ward the Government of El Salvador, but has failed to
persuade the Government of El Salvador to comply with
the Geneva Convention and other international human
rights agreements by bringing Ferman Hernandez and
Serveriano Fuentes to trial;
Whereas the United States has also failed to obtain from the
Government of El Salvador the extradition of Ferman
Hernandez and Serveriano Fuentes to the United States;
Whereas the Constitution of El Salvador prohibits the extra-
dition of Ferman Hernandez and Serveriano Fuentes to
the United States for trial;
Whereas there has been preliminary legislative action in El
Salvador to amend the Constitution to permit extradition
under certain circumstances, but further legislative action
is necessary to ratify the amendment, and the amend-
ment in its present form is not retroactive and therefore
would not apply to Ferman Hernandez and Serveriano
Fuentes;
•HCON 181 IH
Whereas the inability of the United States to meaningfully
address the murder of two members of the United States
Armed Forces in this instance raises concerns about the
effectiveness of legal protections for the men and women
of the United States Armed Forces who serve in foreign
lands and for their families;
Whereas the United States has more than 350,000 military
personnel deployed in over 120 foreign countries;
Whereas tragic and wrongful acts against United States mili-
tary personnel may occur in the future, and the United
States should not again be unable to obtain redress, as
in the case of the deaths of David H. Pickett and Ear-
nest Dawson, Jr.; and
Whereas the 104th Congress enacted the War Crimes Act of
1996, which provided by law for criminal penalties for
certain war crimes and for certain grave breaches of the
Geneva Convention, and the 105th Congress strength-
ened and improved those provisions: Now, therefore, be
it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring),
SECTION 1. EXPRESSION OF CONGRESS WITH RESPECT TO
THE DEATHS OF DAVID H. PICKETT AND EAR-
NEST DAWSON, JR.
The Congress expresses—
(1) sincere appreciation for the military service
of Lieutenant Colonel David H. Pickett, Private
First Class Earnest Dawson, Jr., and Chief Warrant
Officer Daniel Scott;
•HCON 181 IH
(2) deepest sympathy to the families of David
H. Pickett and Earnest Dawson, Jr., for their tragic
and wrongful deaths; and
(3) profound regret that the available remedies
have failed to bring Ferman Hernandez and
Serveriano Fuentes to justice and thereby bring clo-
sure to this tragedy.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS WITH RESPECT TO WAR
CRIMES.
It is the sense of the Congress that—
(1) the United States should improve the legal
protections for its military personnel who serve in
foreign lands and the families of such military per-
sonnel;
(2) the Government of El Salvador should
amend its Constitution to permit the extradition of
Ferman Hernandez and Serveriano Fuentes to the
United States for trial; and
(3) the President of the United States should—
(A) make vigorous and continuing efforts
to obtain the extradition of Ferman Hernandez
and Serveriano Fuentes to the United States;
(B) initiate changes to the Geneva Conven-
tion and other relevant international agree-
ments that would prevent amnesty from being
•HCON 181 IH
used to deny redress for grave breaches of the
Geneva Convention;
(C) initiate other changes to the Geneva
Convention and other relevant international
agreements as appropriate to ensure and im-
prove the legal protections for United States
military personnel who serve in foreign lands
and the families of such military personnel;
(D) examine all status-of-forces agree-
ments and similar agreements and obtain revi-
sions as appropriate to ensure that the legal
protections for United States military personnel
will not suffer another failure, as in the case of
David H. Pickett and Earnest Dawson, Jr.;
(E) encourage other countries to enact
laws substantially similar to the War Crimes
Act of 1996; and
(F) report to the Congress at least annu-
ally regarding the actions taken and progress
made by the President in connection with the
matters set forth in this resolution.
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