A resolution requesting information on Turkey's human rights practices in Syria pursuant to section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.

III 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. RES. 409 Requesting information on Turkey’s human rights practices in Syria pursuant to section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 6, 2019 Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself and Mr. MURPHY) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations RESOLUTION Requesting information on Turkey’s human rights practices in Syria pursuant to section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. Resolved, 1 SECTION 1. REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ON TURKEY’S 2 HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES IN SYRIA. 3 (a) STATEMENT REQUIRED.—Not later than 30 days 4 after the date of the adoption of this resolution, the Sec- 5 retary of State shall, pursuant to section 502B(c) of the 6 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304(c)), 7 transmit to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 8 Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 9 House of Representatives a statement, prepared with the 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 Nov 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR409.IS SR409 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •SRES 409 IS assistance of the Assistant Secretary of State for Democ- 1 racy, Human Rights, and Labor and the Office of the 2 Legal Adviser, with respect to Turkey. 3 (b) ELEMENTS.—The statement submitted under 4 subsection (a) shall include the following elements: 5 (1) All available credible information concerning 6 alleged violations of internationally recognized 7 human rights by the Government of Turkey, its 8 armed forces, and associated groups and persons, in- 9 cluding the denial of the right to life in the context 10 of their activities in Syria caused by indiscriminate 11 or disproportionate operations, the infliction of civil- 12 ian casualties, and the displacement of civilian popu- 13 lations. 14 (2) A description of the steps the United States 15 Government has taken— 16 (A) to promote respect for and observance 17 of human rights as part of Turkey’s activities 18 in Syria and discourage any practices that are 19 inimical to internationally recognized human 20 rights; and 21 (B) to publicly or privately call attention 22 to, and disassociate the United States and any 23 security assistance provided for Turkey from, 24 such practices. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 Nov 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR409.IS SR409 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •SRES 409 IS (3) An assessment, notwithstanding any such 1 practices, whether extraordinary circumstances exist 2 that necessitate a continuation of security assistance 3 for Turkey and, if so, a description of the cir- 4 cumstances and the extent to which the assistance 5 should be continued (subject to such conditions as 6 Congress may impose under section 502B of the 7 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304)). 8 (4) Other information, including— 9 (A) an assessment from the Secretary of 10 State of the likelihood that United States secu- 11 rity assistance, as defined in section 502B(d) of 12 the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 13 2304(d)), has been and will be used in Syria; 14 (B) a description of the extent to which 15 the activities of the Government of Turkey, its 16 armed forces, and associated groups or persons 17 have— 18 (i) caused, assisted, or resulted in the 19 release of ISIS fighters, supporters, and 20 other extremists from detention; or 21 (ii) promoted conditions that support, 22 assist or have resulted or could result in a 23 strengthening of the military capabilities of 24 such fighters and extremists within Syria, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 Nov 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR409.IS SR409 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •SRES 409 IS including the practical control over terri- 1 tory; 2 (C) a description of the extent to which 3 such strengthening of such capabilities of ISIS 4 and other extremist groups and persons could 5 increase the threat to the United States, United 6 States citizens, and United States interests, 7 both in the United States and abroad; 8 (D) a description of efforts by the Sec- 9 retary of State and other United States officials 10 to persuade the Government of Turkey to cease 11 its activities in Syria and commitments to sup- 12 port United States and multilateral efforts to 13 comprehensively defeat ISIS within Syria; 14 (E) a determination whether Turkey’s pur- 15 chase and acceptance of delivery of the S–400 16 missile system from the Russian Federation 17 constitutes a ‘‘significant transaction’’ pursuant 18 to section 231 of the Countering America’s Ad- 19 versaries Through Sanctions Act (22 U.S.C. 20 9525); 21 (F) a description of any actions by the 22 Government of Turkey to forcibly repatriate 23 Syrian refugees; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 Nov 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR409.IS SR409 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •SRES 409 IS (G) an assessment of whether the Govern- 1 ment of Turkey is blocking humanitarian aid 2 from reaching communities in need of assist- 3 ance in northeast Syria. 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 Nov 06, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR409.IS SR409 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS