SENATE RESOLUTION 384--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE CONCERNING THE HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN SYRIA AND NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES, RESULTING HUMANITARIAN AND DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES, AND THE URGENT...; Congressional Record Vol. 160, No. 42

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SENATE RESOLUTION 384--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE CONCERNING

THE HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN SYRIA AND NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES, RESULTING

HUMANITARIAN AND DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES, AND THE URGENT NEED FOR A

POLITICAL SOLUTION TO THE CRISIS

Mr. KAINE (for himself, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Durbin, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr.

Murphy, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Cardin, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Menendez, Mrs.

Gillibrand, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Casey, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr.

Warner, Mr. Kirk, Mr. King, Mr. Markey, and Mr. Cruz) submitted the

following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign

Relations:

\[S. Res. 384\](https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/senate-resolution/384)

Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 2139,

adopted on February 22, 2014, expresses grave alarm at the

significant and rapid deterioration of the humanitarian

situation in Syria, in particular the dire situation of

hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in besieged areas,

most of whom are besieged by the Syrian armed forces and some

by opposition groups, as well as the dire situation of over

3,000,000 people in hard-to-reach areas, and deplores the

difficulties in providing, and the failure to provide, access

for the humanitarian assistance to all civilians in need

inside Syria;

Whereas widespread and systematic attacks on civilians,

schools, hospitals, and other civilian infrastructure, in

violation of international humanitarian law, continue in

Syria, and parties to the conflict are blocking humanitarian

aid delivery, including food and medical care from many

civilian areas;

Whereas the World Health Organization estimates that 70

percent of Syria's health professionals, up to 80,000 people,

have fled the country, cases of typhoid, tuberculosis, polio

and other diseases are rampant and increasing, and medical

personnel inside Syria are deliberately targeted by parties

to the conflict;

Whereas the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

(UNHCR) has registered

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more than 2,500,000 Syrian refugees, nearly 80 percent of

whom are women and children, and by the end of this year, the

United Nations estimates the number of refugees will increase

to 4,000,000;

Whereas nearly 500,000 refugees from the Syrian conflict

are children under the age of five, and more than 11,000

children have been killed and thousands more have suffered

severe injuries, including burns, shrapnel wounds, the

severing of limbs, and spinal cord injuries;

Whereas over 5,000,000 children affected by the conflict

desperately need food, clean water, shelter, medical care and

psychosocial support;

Whereas, since 2011, nearly 3,000,000 Syrian children have

been forced to quit their education as fighting has destroyed

classrooms, left children too terrified to go to school, and

forced families to flee the country;

Whereas the refugee crisis threatens the stability of the

Middle East, putting immense burdens on Syria's neighbors,

most notably Lebanon and Jordan, as well as Turkey and Iraq;

and

Whereas the United States Government has played a leading

role in addressing the Syria crisis, providing $1,700,000,000

in humanitarian assistance to those suffering inside Syria,

as well as to refugees and host communities in the

neighboring countries: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Senate--

(1) strongly condemns the unlawful use of violence against

civilians by all parties to the conflict in Syria,

particularly the ongoing violence and widespread human rights

violations perpetrated against the people of Syria by the

Government of Syria;

(2) urges all parties to the conflict to immediately halt

indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian

infrastructure;

(3) affirms the neutrality of medical professionals

providing humanitarian assistance and health care on a non-

political basis, and condemns attacks against such personnel

or interference in the provision of medical care;

(4) urges all parties in Syria to allow for and facilitate

immediate, unfettered access to humanitarian aid throughout

the Syrian Arab Republic, respecting the safety, security,

independence, and impartiality of humanitarian workers and

ensuring freedom of movement to deliver aid;

(5) supports the immediate and full implementation of

United Nations Security Council Resolution 2139 (2014), which

calls for unimpeded access of humanitarian assistance to all

Syrians to addresses the rapid deterioration of the

humanitarian situation in Syria, in particular the dire

situation of hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in

besieged areas, most of whom are besieged by the Syrian armed

forces and some by opposition groups, as well as the dire

situation of over 3,000,000 people in hard-to-reach areas;

(6) calls on the international community to assist the

people of Syria, especially internally displaced persons and

refugees, in meeting basic needs, including access to food,

health care, shelter, and clean drinking water;

(7) calls on the international community to support

civilians and innocent victims of the conflict in Syria,

particularly women and children who are displaced and

vulnerable to physical and psychological exploitation;

(8) calls on the international community to implement steps

that prevent gender-based violence, and assure the protection

of women and girls against sexual exploitation, human

trafficking, and rape;

(9) calls on the international community to continue to

support neighboring countries and host communities who are

generously supporting refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria;

(10) calls on the international community to increase

investment for education in host communities to expand

learning opportunities for refugee children and to support

programs that help children gain access to quality education,

protect them from violence and abuse, and provide counseling

and psychosocial support;

(11) calls on countries that are hosting refugees in the

region to support refugee self-reliance and dignity by

expanding employment opportunities for refugees;

(12) calls on international donors and aid agencies to

integrate humanitarian relief and longer term development

programs through a comprehensive regional strategy to address

the protracted crisis in Syria; and

(13) calls on the President to develop and submit to the

appropriate committees of Congress within 90 days from

adoption of this resolution a strategy for United States

engagement in addressing the Syrian humanitarian crisis, to

include assistance and development, and protecting human

rights inside Syria and in the region.

Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, today, along with Senator Rubio, I am

submitting a bipartisan resolution to coincide with the third

anniversary of the Syria crisis.

We are witnessing one of history's greatest humanitarian catastrophes

unfolding before our eyes. The numbers are staggering. Nearly 3 million

Syrians have fled to neighboring countries. Syrians are about to pass

Afghans as the world's biggest refugee population.

The UN released a report this week stating Syria has become the

world's most dangerous place for children. This is truly heartbreaking.

More than 5.5 million children are in need of desperate humanitarian

assistance and three million are out of school. 40,000 babies have been

born as refugees.

Conditions inside are even Syria worse. There are nearly 7 million

internally displaced persons and over 9 million in need of humanitarian

assistance. Nearly 250,000 remained besieged, mostly at the hands of

the Assad regime, and are suffering from disease and starvation.

The Syria Humanitarian Resolution of 2014 strongly condemns the

unlawful use of violence against civilians by all parties to the

conflict in Syria, particularly the ongoing violence and widespread

human rights violations perpetrated against the people of Syria by the

Government of Syria.

The resolution urges all parties to the conflict to immediately halt

indiscriminate attacks on civilians and to allow for immediate,

unfettered access to humanitarian aid throughout the Syrian Arab

Republic, respecting the safety, security, independence, and

impartiality of humanitarian workers and ensuring freedom of movement

to deliver aid. We call on the international community to assist the

people of Syria, especially internally displaced persons and refugees,

in meeting basic needs, including access to food, health care, shelter,

and clean drinking water. Finally we call for the full implementation

of UN Security Council 2139 and call on the President to submit to the

appropriate committees of Congress within 90 days a strategy for United

States engagement in addressing the Syrian humanitarian crisis, to

include assistance and development, and protection of human rights

inside Syria and in the region.

The solution to the Syrian conflict will be complicated. But the

people of Syria should not continue to suffer in the interim. I refuse

to accept that there is nothing more we can do to end the suffering.

Humanitarian relief and access are fundamental principles all parties

should adhere to. History will harshly judge those who do not.

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