,,iii  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #dfe  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,january  
#h1 #bjbj,mr4 ,markey 7for himself1 ,ms4
 ,duckworth1 ,mr4 ,merkley1 ,ms4        
,warren1 ,mr4 ,leahy1 ,mr4 ,wyden1 ,mr4 
,van ,hollen1 and ,ms4 ,harris7         
submitted the following resolution2     
which was referred to the ,committee on 
,foreign ,relations  ,,resolution       
,condemning threats by ,president       
,donald ,j4 ,trump to violate the law of
 armed conflict with respect to ,iran4  
,whereas ,president ,donald ,j4 ,trump  
threatened to destroy sites important to
 ''' the ,iranian culture and threatened
 future retaliation in a                
disproportionate manner on ,january #d  
and ,january #e1 #bjbj1 respectively2   
,whereas ,article #ec of ,protocol ,i to
 the ,geneva ,conventions prohibits any 
act of hostility against cultural       
objects1 including making such objects  
the target of reprisals2 ,whereas       
destruction of cultural sites violates  

the #aied ,hague ,convention for the    
,protection of ,cultural ,property in   
the ,event of ,armed ,conflict1 which   
the ,united ,states ratified during the 
administration of ,president ,george ,w4
 ,bush2 ,whereas the ,department of     
,defense ,law of ,war ,manual states    
that cultural property1 the areas       
immediately surrounding it1 and         
appliances in use for its protection    
should be safeguarded and respected2    
,whereas the ,united ,states ,government
 has condemned the ,taliban1 the        
,islamic ,state1 al ,qaeda and its      
affiliates1 and the ,government of the  
,people's ,republic of ,china1 among    
others1 for the destruction of cultural 
heritage2 ,whereas the ,trump           
,administration supported the adoption  
of ,united ,nations ,security ,council  
,resolution #bcdg 7#bjag7 condemning the
 unlawful destruction of cultural       
heritage1 including the destruction of  
religious sites and artefacts2 ,whereas1
 on ,march #bd1 #bjag1 the ,united      

,states ,deputy ,permanent              
,representative to the ,united ,nations 
stated1 ,the ,united ,states seeks to   
hold accountable ''' the perpetrators of
 deliberate cultural heritage           
destruction42 ,whereas the destruction  
of cultural sites in ,iran could include
 damage to one or more of the #bb       
cultural sites in ,iran inscribed on the
 ,world ,heritage ,list of the ,united  
,nations ,educational1 ,scientific1 and 
,cultural ,organization2 ,whereas1 on   
,january #f1 #bjbj1 ,secretary of       
,defense ,mark ,t4 ,esper expressed that
 the ,united ,states would not target   
,iranian cultural sites1 as the ,united 
,states follows the laws of armed       
conflict2 ,whereas military actions     
conducted in a disproportionate manner  
violate international law1 including    
,protocol ,i to the ,geneva             
,conventions1 as well as the ,united    
,states ,department of ,defense         
guidelines whether in reference to the  
conduct of armed conflict or the resort 

to war2 ,whereas the ,department of     
,defense ,law of ,war ,manual states    
that the principle of proportionality in
 the conduct of war generally refers to 
the obligation to take feasible         
precautions in planning and conducting  
attacks and to refrain from attacks in  
which the expected loss of civilian     
life1 injury to civilians1 and damage to
 civilian objects incidental to the     
attack would be excessive42 ,whereas the
 ,department of ,defense ,law of ,war   
,manual states1 ,proportionality is also
 a requirement for reprisals1 which must
 respond in a proportionate manner to   
the preceding illegal act by the party  
against which they are taken2 ,whereas  
military action that disregards         
proportionality would further exacerbate
 the suffering of the ,iranian people1  
who have endured--  7#a7 their own      
government's systematic and longstanding
 human rights violations1 restrictions  
on political freedoms1 and brutal       
suppression of their democratic         

aspirations2 and  7#b7 the arbitrary    
reimposition of ,united ,states         
sanctions that have negatively affected 
livelihoods of ordinary ,iranians and   
restricted economic activity2 and       
,whereas the destruction of cultural    
sites and the disproportionate use of   
military force are among the actions    
that could needlessly escalate the      
crisis with ,iran3 ,now1 therefore1 be  
it  ,that the ,senate-- 7#a7 affirms    
that efforts to defend ,united ,states  
security and interests must take into   
account potential harm to civilians and 
other protected persons and objects in  
foreign countries1 consistent with      
international legal principles and our  
common humanity2  7#b7 affirms that the 
destruction of cultural heritage is     
morally wrong1 is a violation of        
international law1 and that even threats
 of such destruction undermine years of 
public diplomacy demonstrating that the 
,american people do not seek conflict   
with any cultural or religious group2   

7#c7 affirms that no violation of the   
law of armed conflict or human rights   
violation by ,iran or its proxies       
permits or justifies similar violations 
by any other state2  7#d7 urges         
,president ,donald ,j4 ,trump to use his
 bully pulpit to promote de-escalation  
of tensions with ,iran rather than to   
threaten acts of war and violations of  
international law2  7#e7 strongly       
condemns the ,president's threats to    
destroy sites important to ,iranian     
culture and to retaliate against ,iran  
in a disproportionate manner2 and  7#f7 
demands that the ,president avoid       
needless escalation with ,iran and      
refrain from violating the law of armed 
conflict4