A bill that would establish a Syrian War Crimes Tribunal was approved by the House Foreign Affairs Committee in a unanimous vote today. Authored by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), H.Con. Res. 51 would address atrocities committed in Syria by the Assad regime and Islamist guerillas. 

“I, as no doubt all of you, have been shocked by images of horrific human rights violations, including summary executions, torture, rape and chemical weapons attacks,” Smith told members of the committee, noting that since the Syrian civil war began, as many as 150,000 people have been killed and more than nine million people have been forced to leave their homes.  “Those who have perpetrated human rights violations among the Syrian government, the rebels and the foreign fighters on both sides of this conflict, must be shown that their actions will have serious, predictable and certain consequences.

“The suffering of the Syrian people must end, and today we have the opportunity to help achieve that. This is a means to that end, and again, those who are committing these horrific crimes need to know that they face certain punishment.” Click here to read Smith’s remarks.

Smith, who chairs the House’s subcommittee on global human rights, introduced H. Con. Res. 51 on Sept. 9, 2013. The resolution calls for the creation of a international tribunal “robust enough to right the most egregious wrongs yet nimble enough not to derail chances for peace due to rigidity.”

The Syria resolution has broad bi-partisan support, and received input from the State Department as well as a panel of experts at a hearing convened by Chairman Smith last October. It would build upon the best practices of similar tribunals, including the courts convened to address atrocities committed in the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone. The resolution aims to create an international tribunal that would be more flexible and efficient than the International Criminal Court to ensure accountability for human rights violations committed by all sides. 

Having passed the full Committee, the bill will now advance to the floor of the House. 

The hearing in October 2013, entitled “Establishing a Syrian War Crimes Tribunal,” included witnesses such as a former Chief Prosecutor and a former Chief Investigator of United Nations Special Court for Sierra Leone and other experts. Click here to read about the hearing or to read witnesses’ statements.

“Those who are even now perpetrating crimes against humanity must be shown that their crimes will not continue with impunity,” Smith said. “Syria has been called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.  One might reasonably also consider it the worst human rights crisis in the world today.  Therefore, the international community owes it to the people of Syria, and their neighbors, to do all we can to bring to a halt the actions creating these crises for Syria and the region.”

Smith said that some issues regarding Syria must be addressed for any Syria war crimes tribunal to be created and to operate successfully.  There must be sustained international will for it be meaningful, and an agreed-upon system of law must be both the basis for proceedings. A funding mechanism and a location for the proceedings must be determined.  Additionally, a timetable and time span of such a tribunal is necessary and should be settled before such an ad hoc tribunal can exist.