,,ii  #aacth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #bbji  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,april #c1     
#bjad ,mr4 ,cardin 7for himself1 ,mr4   
,rubio1 ,mr4 ,kaine1 and ,mrs4 ,shaheen7
 introduced the following bill2 which   
was read twice and referred to the      
,committee on ,foreign ,relations  ,a   
,,bill  ,to require a report on         
accountability for war crimes and crimes
 against humanity in ,syria4  #a4 ,short
 title  ,this ,act may be cited as the  
,syrian ,war ,crimes ,accountability    
,act of #bjad4  #b4 ,findings ,congress 
makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,on  
,february #bb1 #bjad1 the ,united       
,nations ,security ,council unanimously 
adopted ,resolution #baci recognizing   
the escalating level of violence in     
,syria4  7#b7 ,credible sources estimate
 the death of more than #adj1jjj people 
in ,syria1 including #aj1jjj children4  
7#c7 ,on ,february #bg1 #bjad1 the      
,department of ,state issued its #bjac  
,human ,rights ,report on ,syria1 which 

described ,president ,bashar al ,assad's
 use of indiscriminate and deadly force 
in the conflict1 including the ,august  
#ba1 #bjac1 use of sarin gas and        
artillery to target ,east ,ghouta and   
,moadamiya al-,sham1 suburbs of         
,damascus1 which killed over #a1jjj     
people4  7#d7 ,the ,united ,nations     
,independent ,international ,commission 
of ,inquiry on the ,syrian ,arab        
,republic reports that pro-government   
forces have conducted attacks on ,syrian
 civilian populations1 and have utilized
 murder1 torture1 assault1 and rape as  
war tactics4 ,anti-government groups    
have also committed murder and torture1 
engaged in hostage-taking1 attacked     
protected objects1 and shelled civilian 
neighborhoods4  7#e7 ,internationally   
accepted rules of war require actors to 
distinguish between civilians and       
combatants and that all parties adhere  
to the principle of medical neutrality  
whereby both sides ensure unhindered    
access to medical care4  #c4 ,sense of  

,congress ,congress-- 7#a7 strongly     
condemns the ongoing violence1 use of   
chemical weapons1 targeting of civilian 
populations with barrel1 incendiary and 
cluster bombs1 and ,,scud missiles1 and 
systematic gross human rights violations
 carried out by ,government of ,syria   
and pro-government forces under the     
direction of ,president ,bashar         
al-,assad1 as well as abuses committed  
by violent extremist groups and other   
combatants involved in the civil war in 
,syria2  7#b7 expresses its support for 
the people of ,syria seeking democratic 
change2  7#c7 urges all parties to the  
conflict to immediately halt            
indiscriminate attacks on civilians2    
7#d7 calls on the ,president to support 
efforts in ,syria and on the part of the
 international community to ensure      
accountability for war crimes and crimes
 against humanity committed during the  
conflict2 and  7#e7 calls for a ,united 
,nations ,security ,council             
investigation into gross violations of  

human rights and war crimes committed   
during the ,syrian conflict4  #d4       
,report on accountability for war crimes
 and crimes against humanity in syria   
7a7 ,in general ,not later than #ij days
 after the date of the enactment of this
 ,act1 and again not later than #ahj    
days after the cessation of violence in 
,syria1 the ,secretary of ,state shall  
submit to the appropriate congressional 
committees a report on war crimes and   
crimes against humanity in ,syria4  7b7 
,elements ,the report required under    
paragraph 7#a7 shall include the        
following elements3 7#a7 ,a description 
of violations of internationally        
recognized human rights and crimes      
against humanity perpetrated during the 
civil war in ,syria1 including-- 7,a7 an
 account of the war crimes and crimes   
against humanity committed by the regime
 of ,president ,bashar al-,assad2  7,b7 
an account of the war crimes and crimes 
against humanity committed by violent   
extremist groups and other combatants in

 the conflict2 and  7,c7 a description  
of the conventional and unconventional  
weapons used for such crimes and1 where 
possible1 the origins of the weapons4   
7#b7 ,a description of efforts by the   
,department of ,state and the ,united   
,states ,agency for ,international      
,development to ensure accountability   
for violations of internationally       
recognized human rights and crimes      
against humanity perpetrated against the
 people of ,syria by the regime of      
,president ,bashar al-,assad1 violent   
extremist groups1 and other combatants  
involved in the conflict1 including--   
7,a7 a description of initiatives that  
the ,united ,states ,government has     
undertaken to train investigators in    
,syria on how to document1 investigate1 
and develop findings of war crimes1     
including the number of ,united ,states 
,government or contract personnel       
currently designated to work full-time  
on these issues and an identification of
 the authorities and appropriations     

being used to support training efforts2 
7,b7 a description of the strategy and  
implementation efforts to ensure        
accountability for crimes committed     
during the ,syrian conflict1 including  
efforts to promote the establishment of 
an ad hoc tribunal to prosecute the     
perpetrators of war crimes committed    
during the civil war in ,syria2 and     
7,c7 an assessment of the impact of     
those initiatives4  7c7 ,appropriate    
congressional committee defined ,in this
 section1 the term appropriate          
congressional committees means-- 7#a7   
the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations of
 the ,senate2 and  7#b7 the ,committee  
on ,foreign ,affairs of the ,house of   
,representatives4