A U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee recently determined that phenylephrine, an ingredient commonly used to treat sinus and nasal congestion, is ineffective in treating these symptoms. This was apparent from research for years, yet large...
El senador estadounidense Marco Rubio (R-FL) habló con César Grajales de La Poderosa 670 AM en El Panorama Político, sobre la crisis fronteriza, sobre cómo los hispanoamericanos se ven afectados con la realidad del país, sobre los cargos contra el senador Bob Menéndez...
Pregnant students are sometimes discriminated against by their schools, either intentionally or unintentionally and there is a concerning lack of awareness about the resources and rights available to them. Due to a lack of services and discrimination, these women may...
Currently, intelligence community civilians are subject to certain tax penalties for job-related relocation requirements, but active-duty military servicemembers are not subjected to the same penalties. These tax benefits, including the ability to deduct moving...
Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Marco Rubio (R-FL) delivered opening remarks and questioned witnesses at a hearing on countering China’s influence in the United States. Watch Rubio’s opening remarks here as well as Part I and Part II of...
Approximately 302,000 Americans live with spinal cord injuries. To help these people achieve a better quality of life, there is a need to increase education and invest in research. U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) successfully led a bipartisan...
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Bob Corker (R-TN), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), and Todd Young (R-IN) today introduced the Syrian War Crimes Accountability Act, which would instruct the U.S. secretary of state to report on war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Syria, and authorize assistance for investigations and other credible transitional justice efforts, including a potential hybrid tribunal, to hold Assad and his regime accountable for their heinous acts.
The Syrian civil war has lasted for six years and hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been killed, many at the hands of dictator Bashar al-Assad and his regime. Millions more have fled the country as refugees.
“For more than six years, Bashar al-Assad has been committing horrific war crimes against the Syrian people, including women and children. This bill is a first step towards ensuring accountability for the human rights violations inflicted against innocent civilians in Syria,” said Rubio, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on human rights. “We must bring to justice those responsible for the Syrian regime’s barbaric attacks and repeated use of chemical weapons.
“The United States must lead the international community in holding Assad accountable for his war crimes and his brutal victimization of the Syrian people over the last six years,” said Cardin, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “This bill will bolster America’s commitment to ensuring that justice is ultimately served for the impunity with which Assad and his regime have committed crimes against humanity, most recently evidenced by this week’s barbaric use of chemical weapons against innocent men, women and children.”
“Time and again Bashar al-Assad has demonstrated that he is a brutal dictator with no regard for human life,” said Shaheen, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the subcommittee on human rights. “This bill is an important step to ensure that Assad and his allies are held accountable for their acts of barbarism. Over the last six years, Assad has committed crimes against humanity, torturing and killing women, children, and families. The people of Syria deserve justice.”
“Bashar al-Assad continues to demonstrate that he is a brutal dictator who belongs behind bars,” said Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “The U.S. should contribute to a legitimate process that will pursue accountability for Assad and all those guilty of war crimes in Syria.”
“Bashar al-Assad is a ruthless dictator who has no regard for human life, and no remorse for the horrific attacks he continues to perpetrate against his own citizens. Given the gravity of the deteriorating situation in Syria, the United States needs to play a leading role in a coordinated international response that comes with a clearly articulated strategy that our partners in the Middle East and around the world can support,” said Menendez, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “This bipartisan legislation is another step forward to produce that well-crafted strategy that serves American national security interests and responds to a threat against our common humanity and the international order.”
“Assad’s chemical attacks this week are just the latest atrocity he has perpetrated against the Syrian people, and this bill will help ensure that the Assad regime is held accountable for its crimes against humanity,” said Young, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “Justice and American national security interests demand that we not sit idly by when innocent men, women, and children are gassed, tortured, and massacred.”
A section-by-section summary of the bill follows:
Sec. 2. Findings
This section includes a number of Congressional findings regarding:
Sec. 3. Sense of Congress
This section condemns the ongoing violence and human rights violations carried out by the Syrian government, pro-government forces and violent extremist groups. In addition, this section urges all parties to immediately put an end to all forms of violence and cease all violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights. The section also calls on the President to support efforts to ensure accountability for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide committed during the conflict.
Sec. 4. Definitions
This section defines terms used in the bill, including: genocide, war crime, hybrid tribunal, and transitional justice.
Sec. 5. Report on Accountability for War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity, and Genocide in Syria
This section requires the Secretary of State to submit a report on war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Syria to the appropriate congressional committees.
Subsection 5(b) mandates the following to be included in the report:
Sec. 6. Transitional Justice Study
This section directs the Secretary of State after consultation with other appropriate federal agencies to complete a study of the feasibility and desirability of potential transitional justice mechanism for Syria (including a hybrid tribunal). In addition, the report should include recommendations on which transitional justice mechanism the United States Government should support, why, and how.
Sec. 7. Technical Assistance Authorized
This section authorizes support for entities performing various functions (such as identifying suspected perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide; collecting, documenting, and protecting evidence of their crimes; conducting criminal investigations; and protecting witnesses) and requires biannual briefings on such support. The section also authorizes assistance—after consultation with Congress and based on the study required under Section 6– to support the creation and operation of transitional justice mechanisms, including a potential hybrid tribunal.
Sec. 8. State Department Rewards for Justice Program
This section specifically directs the State Department’s Rewards for Justice Program to target suspected perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Syria.
Sec. 9. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic
This section directs the State Department and the US Mission to the UN to advocate for the annual renewal by the UN Human Rights Commission of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria.