The U.S. House of Representatives advanced a bill this week that would increase international pressure on Syrian President Assad and his backers.
Specifically, the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act (H.R. 31) would impose new sanctions on human rights abusers and encourage negotiations to end the nearly eight-year crisis. The bill – co-sponsored by Reps. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Eliot Engel (D-NY) — is named in honor of a former Syrian military photographer who documented Assad’s brutality and revealed it to members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
“Nothing can undo the horrors they have had to endure for nearly eight years. Nothing can bring back those who have been lost,” Engel said. “But the world owes it to the living and the dead to try to bring this crisis to an end. And the role America must play is to push for a political solution that allows the Syrian people to choose their own future. That’s what American leadership looks like. That’s what sets us apart from other great powers on the world stage. We simply cannot look the other way and allow Assad, Russia, and Iran to steamroll over Syria. My bill would give the Administration greater leverage to raise the cost for Assad and crack down on his lifelines.”
McCaul added that a strategy that encourages negotiations and pursues a political solution is required.
“This legislation provides the Administration much-needed leverage to impose sanctions against Assad and his backers, punish war criminals and cut off funding that fuels the regime’s war tactics,” McCaul said. “We must act immediately to hold Assad and his supporters accountable to deter this perpetual cycle of brutality against the innocent people of Syria. I look forward [to] getting this vital legislation over to the White House.”