IV 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 520 
Calling for an end to attacks on Syrian civilians and expanded humanitarian 
access. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 14, 2014 
Mr. ROYCE (for himself and Mr. ENGEL) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Calling for an end to attacks on Syrian civilians and 
expanded humanitarian access. 
Whereas March 2014 marks the third year of the crisis in 
Syria, which has resulted in the world’s largest ongoing 
humanitarian disaster, and the urgent need for a resolu-
tion to the conflict; 
Whereas Bashar al-Assad and supporting militias, including 
Hezbollah, continue to carry out sectarian mass atroc-
ities, which have included mass targeted killings, mass 
graves, the extermination of entire families, including 
their children, incidents of ethnic cleansing, sexual vio-
lence, widespread torture, aerial bombardment of residen-
tial areas, and otherwise forced displacement of certain 
Syrian civilians especially from areas in western Syria 
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•HRES 520 IH 
where Assad is attempting to increase the dominance of 
his own loyalists; 
Whereas the United States Government should not continue 
to officially recognize a regime that is guilty of such vi-
cious abuses of basic human rights on such a vast scale; 
Whereas the United States Department of State took appro-
priate action on March 5, 2014, in restricting the move-
ments of Assad’s loyal representative to the United Na-
tions, Bashar al-Jaafari, to within a 25-mile radius of 
New York City; 
Whereas approximately 140,000 people have been killed, in-
cluding more than 11,000 children, many more have been 
seriously wounded, and civilian casualties continue to 
mount as widespread and systematic attacks on schools, 
hospitals, and other civilian facilities persist in violation 
of international norms and principles; 
Whereas the United Nations has registered more than 
2,500,000 Syrian refugees who have fled to neighboring 
countries, while regional governments and the United Na-
tions estimate that the total number of refugees already 
has reached more than 3,000,000; 
Whereas the United Nations expects the total refugee count 
to reach over 4,000,000 Syrians by the end of 2014; 
Whereas approximately half of Syrian refugees are children, 
including nearly 500,000 under the age of 5, and thou-
sands have been separated from their parents and are es-
pecially vulnerable to abuse and exploitation; 
Whereas the United Nations estimates that over 9,000,000 
civilians are in need of humanitarian assistance within 
Syria, more than 40 percent of the country’s total popu-
lation, including 6,500,000 internally displaced persons; 
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•HRES 520 IH 
Whereas Bashar al-Assad’s forces, supporting militias, and 
other parties to the conflict are systematically blocking 
humanitarian aid delivery, including food and medical 
care, from many civilian areas in violation of inter-
national norms and principles; 
Whereas the United Nations estimates that 3,000,000 Syr-
ians are trapped in hard-to-reach or besieged areas, with 
an estimated 250,000 cut off from assistance for over a 
year; 
Whereas the crisis has worsened already difficult conditions 
for Syrian women and girls, who are especially vulnerable 
to economic hardship and gender-based violence, includ-
ing early marriage, forced marriage, trafficking, sexual 
violence, or the fear of sexual violence; 
Whereas over 5,000,000 children affected by the conflict des-
perately need food, clean water, shelter, and medical care; 
Whereas millions of Syrian children have been forced out of 
school, and an entire generation of young Syrians are 
being shaped by violence, displacement, and persistent 
lack of opportunity and are therefore at high risk of ex-
ploitation, life-long underdevelopment, and radicalization; 
Whereas the World Health Organization estimates that 70 
percent of Syria’s medical professionals, up to 80,000 
people, have fled the country, while remaining profes-
sionals are deliberately targeted by parties to the conflict; 
Whereas regional states, including Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, 
Egypt and Iraq, are hosting well over 2,000,000 refugees; 
Whereas despite the attention and resources refugee camps 
receive, most refugees from Syria, 83 percent regionally, 
do not live in formal refugee camps but rather among 
host communities where resources and services, including 
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