Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA), a senior House Democrat and co-chair of the bipartisan Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in Congress, called for a change to United States policy on Syria, arguing that the current policy is not working to end the crisis there. Click here to view video.

“I rise to condemn in the strongest possible terms the ongoing, unrelenting attacks against civilians in Syria committed by the barbaric, lawless regime of Bashir al-Assad, with the support of its Russian backers,” Congressman McGovern said.

“As many as half a million people killed since the armed conflict began in March 2011, tens of thousands of them civilians. More than 11 million people displaced once and again, inside and outside of Syria’s borders – the largest single refugee crisis the world has seen since World War II. More than half of those displaced are children and youth.

“The U.S. government heralded the military defeat of ISIS in Syria in November. But the defeat of ISIS has not and will not end the Syrian conflict. And Russia has not succeeded in pressuring Assad to end the conflict -- nor in restraining Assad’s attacks on civilians as he ostensibly targets rebel forces. Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation in Syria deteriorates every single day.

“U.S. current policy is not working to end the crisis in Syria. It is time to change course – not by sending more Special Forces troops there without authorization, nor by promising to keep them there indefinitely to fight the next rise of ISIS.

POLICY SOLUTIONS:

Congressman McGovern called on President Trump, the administration, and Members of Congress to enact the following policies to help end the Syrian conflict and bring Assad to justice:

• The U.S. must reassert its diplomatic leadership and exert real pressure on Assad and Russia to end the war.
• The U.S. must establish a plan to transition Assad out of power.
• Congress must pass H. Res. 632, condemning the senseless attacks on hospitals and medical personnel in Syria.
• The U.S. must shame Russia for its failure to ensure humanitarian access.
• The U.S. must increase its contributions to humanitarian assistance for Syria, and make full use of the option of cross-border assistance.
• Americans must open our hearts to Syrian refugees and welcome them to this country.

“The Syrian conflict has gone on for too long. The horror of it all can be mind-numbing,” McGovern concluded. “But we must not lose our outrage. Now is the time to reenergize our efforts and find a way to end the suffering.”

Click here to view video of Congressman McGovern’s speech.

Full Text of Congressman McGovern’s Speech:

“I rise to condemn in the strongest possible terms the ongoing, unrelenting attacks against civilians in Syria committed by the barbaric, lawless regime of Bashir al-Assad, with the support of its Russian backers.

“We have all heard the statistics, over and over again, like a broken record:

“As many as half a million people killed since the armed conflict began in March 2011, tens of thousands of them civilians.

“Tens of thousands more detained, disappeared, and perhaps or even likely dead, directly at the hands of the regime.

“More than 11 million people displaced once and again, inside and outside of Syria’s borders – the largest single refugee crisis the world has seen since World War II. More than half of those displaced are children and youth.

“Last summer much was made of the ceasefire agreement the Trump administration reached with the Russian government to establish "de-escalation zones" to stabilize Syria -- while keeping the Assad regime in power.

“We were told the agreement would save lives. "All of the sudden you are going to have no bullets being fired in Syria," Trump said.

“That has turned out not to be true. The de-escalation zones are not de-escalating.

“As of late December, more than 400,000 people remained trapped – besieged – by regime forces in eastern Ghouta, one of the de-escalation zones, just half an hour’s drive from Damascus.

“As Jan Egeland, UN Special Advisor on Syria, said last December, “There is no de-escalation zone, there is only escalation in this de-escalation zone.”

“Idlib, another “de-escalation area,” suffered a dramatic increase in air attacks last September against armed groups not covered by the ceasefire agreement. In late December, airstrikes and shelling against a hospital, a medical warehouse and a vegetable market killed, injured and displaced scores of people.

“The U.S. government heralded the military defeat of ISIS in Syria in November.

“But the defeat of ISIS has not and will not end the Syrian conflict.

“And Russia has not succeeded in pressuring Assad to end the conflict -- nor in restraining Assad’s attacks on civilians as he ostensibly targets rebel forces.

“Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation in Syria deteriorates every single day.

“World Vision estimates that 5.6 million people are in need of acute humanitarian assistance.
The UN says a total of 13.1 million need some form of assistance. That’s 3 million more than at the end of 2016. The situation is worse today, after months of so-called “de-escalation,” than it was a year ago.

“Of those 13 million, 3 million are trapped in besieged and hard-to-reach areas. That’s four and half times the population of Boston or Washington DC.

“Humanitarian access to those areas is not guaranteed by the regime nor by its backers, in direct violation of international law and obligation.

“Some of the most heart-breaking news out of Syria has to do with the crisis in health care.

“The ‘weaponization’ of health care in Syria is not new, but the depravity of it still shocks me.
“According to a recent report by researchers at the American University of Beirut, Syria has become “the most dangerous place on earth for health-care providers.”

“According to the International Rescue Committee, in 2011 there was one doctor per 600 people in Syria. But now in East Ghouta, there is only one doctor per 3,600 people.

“Medical supplies are not allowed into besieged areas, and terribly ill patients are not allowed out. What military or political purpose is served by denying medical evacuation to women and children suffering from heart disease, cancer, kidney failure and blood diseases?

“U.S. current policy is not working to end the crisis in Syria. It is time to change course – not by sending more Special Forces troops there without authorization, nor by promising to keep them there indefinitely to fight the next rise of ISIS.

“We need to reassert American diplomatic leadership and exert real pressure on Assad and Russia to end the war.

“We need a plan to transition Assad out of power.

“We need to pass H. Res. 632, condemning the senseless attacks on hospitals and medical personnel in Syria.

“We need to shame Russia for its failure to ensure humanitarian access.

“We need to increase our contributions to humanitarian assistance for Syria, and make full use of the option of cross-border assistance.

“We need to open our hearts to Syrian refugees and welcome them to this country.

“And we need to do everything in our power to ensure accountability for Assad’s victims. That includes funding the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism to assist in the investigation and prosecution of war crimes.

“The Syrian conflict has gone on for too long. The horror of it all can be mind-numbing. But we must not lose our outrage. Now is the time to reenergize our efforts and find a way to end the suffering.”

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