IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1061 
Condemning war crimes committed in Idlib, Syria, by the regime of Bashar 
Al-Assad and its backers and calling for a political solution to the 
Syrian civil war. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 22, 2020 
Mr. CHABOT submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Condemning war crimes committed in Idlib, Syria, by the 
regime of Bashar Al-Assad and its backers and calling 
for a political solution to the Syrian civil war. 
Whereas the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011 when Syrians 
peacefully protested against the regime of Bashar Al- 
Assad to request basic freedoms; 
Whereas the regime of Bashar Al-Assad responded to these 
protests with violence, imprisonment, torture, barrel 
bombs, and forced displacement; 
Whereas the civil war and the brutality of the Assad regime 
has caused nearly 600,000 Syrians to die, 5,000,000 Syr-
ians to flee the country, and 6,000,000 to be internally 
displaced; 
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Whereas Turkey and Russia concluded the September 2018 
Sochi agreement, which included the continuation of a 
previously negotiated Idlib de-escalation area, which 
would ensure a ceasefire in Idlib; 
Whereas Syrian forces, with the assistance of Russia and 
Iran, launched an offensive in early 2019 to retake the 
city of Idlib and surrounding areas, violating the Sochi 
agreement and causing the worst humanitarian condi-
tions since the beginning of the conflict; 
Whereas civilians, hospitals, and schools have been targeted 
by the Syrian regime, Russia, and Iran; 
Whereas the situation has escalated, resulting in an addi-
tional 1,000,000 internally displaced persons seeking 
shelter along the Turkish border during the December 
2019 to March 2020 period; 
Whereas more than 80 percent of the newly displaced are 
women and children; 
Whereas Turkey intervened in Idlib to prevent the Assad re-
gime from forcing these displaced persons into Turkey 
and destroyed many military assets of the Assad regime 
including aircraft, ground vehicles, and artillery pieces, as 
well as air defense systems; 
Whereas, on March 3, 2020, in remarks to media while vis-
iting Turkey, Ambassador James F. Jeffrey, Special Rep-
resentative for Syria Engagement and Special Envoy to 
the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, said, ‘‘We will make 
sure that the equipment is ready. As a NATO partner we 
share information intelligence . . . and we are going to 
ensure that they have what they need there.’’; 
Whereas, on March 5, 2020, Turkey and Russia signed a 
protocol introducing a ceasefire which includes a security 
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corridor and joint Russian-Turkish patrols along the M4 
Highway starting on March 15, 2020; 
Whereas that protocol also emphasized that the targeting of 
civilians and civilian infrastructure cannot be justified, 
and stressed the importance of protecting civilians, pre-
venting the displacement of the Syrian people, facilitating 
the safe and voluntary return of refugees and internally 
displaced persons, and ensuring humanitarian assistance 
to all Syrians in need; 
Whereas, on June 5, 2020, Ambassador Jeffery stated in a 
public briefing, ‘‘So the Turks are much more involved. 
The ceasefire is holding. Even the Russians that I’ve 
talked to basically agree that they’re seeing fewer attacks 
from the terrorist groups—there are several of them: 
Hurras al-Din, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham—and the Turks 
are working pretty aggressively against them. They’re 
taking losses and they’re inflicting losses to try to keep 
these people under control, which has been part of this 
last ceasefire and the early one from September 2018. So 
that’s a good sign. It deprives the regime of an excuse 
to launch another offensive.’’; 
Whereas, on July 7, 2020, the United Nations Commission 
of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic released a report 
documenting war crimes by the Russian Federation, the 
Assad regime, and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, between No-
vember 2019 and June 2020; 
Whereas the Commission Chair, Paulo Pinheiro, said upon 
release of the report, ‘‘It is completely abhorrent that, 
after more than 9 years, civilians continue to be indis-
criminately attacked, or even targeted, while going about 
their daily lives’’, continuing, ‘‘Children were shelled at 
school, parents were shelled at the market, patients were 
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shelled at the hospital . . . and entire families were 
bombarded even while fleeing’’, and going on to say, 
‘‘What is clear from the military campaign is that pro- 
government forces and UN-designated terrorists fla-
grantly violated the laws of war and the rights of Syrian 
civilians’’; 
Whereas the United States and Europe stand in strong oppo-
sition to the targeting of civilians and civilian infrastruc-
ture as well as medical institutions; 
Whereas, in July 2020, the Russian Federation and the Peo-
ple’s Republic of China vetoed a resolution supported by 
the United States and all other members of the United 
Nations Security Council to renew the authorization of 
humanitarian access at two border crossings between 
Turkey and Syria, and forced the Security Council to di-
minish access to only one such crossing; 
Whereas the Syrian refugee crisis has placed tremendous 
strain on Syria’s neighbors, as well as on many countries 
in Europe; 
Whereas it is in the interests of the United States and Eu-
rope to support unfettered humanitarian access to Idlib 
and to support humanitarian efforts within Syria; and 
Whereas it is in the United States interest that the ceasefire 
hold, and the United States continue its efforts to work 
with NATO allies to ensure that it is extended: Now, 
therefore, be it 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that— 
(1) it condemns the Assad regime, the Russian 
Federation, and associated forces for repeatedly vio-
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lating ceasefire agreements and for attacking med-
ical personnel and institutions, targeting civilians, or 
committing other war crimes and gross violations of 
human rights; 
(2) the United States and the international 
community should seek ways to support the 
ceasefire; 
(3) members of the United Nations Security 
Council should ensure unfettered cross-border hu-
manitarian access to vulnerable populations in Syria; 
(4) the United States should seek international 
support, especially among its NATO allies, for Tur-
key’s efforts to ensure civilian security and to com-
bat the operations of extremist groups in northwest 
Syria to ensure the sustainability of the ceasefire; 
(5) the United States should continue to pro-
vide leadership in ensuring effective humanitarian 
assistance to Syrian refugees and internally dis-
placed people as well as in facilitating the safe, dig-
nified, and voluntary return of refugees; and 
(6) Syria should seek a political solution in ac-
cord with United Nations Security Council Resolu-
tion 2254, which promotes a road map for the peace 
process in Syria. 
Æ 
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