Recognizes the necessity to pursue justice and national reconciliation in Iraq through the establishment of a special court or other appropriate tribunal or commission which should adjudicate the cases of those accused of bearing greatest responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including prosecuting Saddam Hussein and other Iraqi officials, military leaders, and other citizens who may have committed crimes in contravention of the Hague and Geneva Conventions on the laws of war. Considers the International Criminal Court not to be the appropriate forum for the prosecution of such crimes since that court only has jurisdiction to hear cases relating to crimes committed after July 1, 2002.
Calls upon the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State to notify Congress of the steps the United States and allied coalition nations are taking to seek justice for the violations of international law against the Iraqi people and others.
[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 143 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 143
Relating to the prosecution of Saddam Hussein and other Iraqi
officials, military leaders, and citizens who may be responsible for
crimes against humanity, attempted genocide, and war crimes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 9, 2003
Mr. Bradley of New Hampshire submitted the following concurrent
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International
Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Relating to the prosecution of Saddam Hussein and other Iraqi
officials, military leaders, and citizens who may be responsible for
crimes against humanity, attempted genocide, and war crimes.
Whereas the Congress recognizes the necessity of ensuring a rapid and orderly
transition from conflict to peace and from tyranny to freedom and of
establishing and maintaining international peace and security in the
country of Iraq and the Persian Gulf region;
Whereas the Armed Forces of the United States and Great Britain, with the
assistance of allied coalition nations, have engaged in military
operations against the leadership of Iraq to disarm that regime of
weapons of mass destruction;
Whereas the Republic of Iraq is a party to the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of
the Crime of Genocide and other human rights instruments, and the Geneva
Conventions of 1949, and is obligated to comply with these international
agreements;
Whereas the regime of Saddam Hussein has perpetrated a litany of human rights
abuses against the citizens of Iraq and other peoples of the region,
including summary and arbitrary executions, torture, cruel and inhumane
treatment, arbitrary arrest and imprisonment, disappearances, and the
repression of freedom of speech, thought, expression, assembly, and
association;
Whereas Saddam Hussein and his regime have systematically attempted to destroy
the Kurdish population in Iraq through the use of chemical weapons
against civilian Kurds, the Anfal campaigns of 1987-1988 that resulted
in the disappearance of more than 182,000 persons and the destruction of
more than 4,000 villages, the placement of more than 10 million
landmines in Iraqi Kurdistan, and the continued ethnic cleansing of the
city of Kirkuk;
Whereas the Iraqi Government, under Saddam Hussein's leadership, has repressed
the Sunni tribes in western Iraq, destroyed Assyro-Chaldean churches and
villages, deported and executed Turkomen, massacred Shiites, and
destroyed the ancient Marsh Arab civilization through a massive act of
environmental destruction;
Whereas the Armed Forces of the United States and Great Britain have gathered
evidence of, been witness to, and endured, clear and irrefutable
violations of the laws of war perpetrated by the Saddam Hussein regime
and loyalists of that regime; and
Whereas upon the complete and unconditional surrender of the Iraqi Government,
those officers and members of the Saddam Hussein regime who have been
responsible for or have taken a consenting part in those atrocities,
massacres, and executions should be subject to prosecution by a special
court, and suspects of crimes committed against citizens in countries
that were victims of Iraqi aggression can participate in the judgment
and punishment of those individuals: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That the Congress--
(1) recognizes the necessity to pursue justice and national
reconciliation in order to achieve stability, peace, and
security in the region;
(2) believes a special court, established in Iraq, should
adjudicate the cases of those accused of bearing greatest
responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity;
(3) calls on other states in the region to support the
efforts of a special court in combating impunity and addressing
accountability for the atrocities that have been committed in
Iraq;
(4) considers the International Criminal Court not to be a
suitable forum for the prosecution of such crimes because that
court only has jurisdiction to hear cases relating to crimes
committed after July 1, 2002;
(5) calls upon the President, in consultation with the
Secretaries of Defense and State and the Attorney General, to
create a special court or other appropriate tribunal or
commission for the purpose of prosecuting Saddam Hussein and
other Iraqi officials, military leaders, and citizens who may
be responsible for crimes against humanity, including unlawful
use of force against civilians, internal minorities, and of
crimes committed in contravention of the Hague and Geneva
Conventions on the laws of war;
(6) calls upon the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary
of State to notify the Congress of the steps the United States
and allied coalition nations are taking to seek justice for the
violations of international law against--
(A) the Iraqi people;
(B) the people of the countries that were victims
of the aggression of the regime of Saddam Hussein;
(C) the military forces who liberated the Iraqi
people in order to disarm the regime; and
(D) the military and civilian personnel of
countries that were victims of Iraqi military action
taken during the reign of Saddam Hussein; and
(7) recommends that the President consult with, and receive
the assistance of, any foreign government or multilateral
agreement to the extent the President considers necessary to
accomplish the purposes of achieving justice for those crimes.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on International Relations.
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