Senator Coons was part of a bipartisan coalition of senators today who condemned human rights abuses in Syria in the violent crackdown being waged by President Bashar Al Assad.
“I am pleased to join my colleagues in condemning the unconscionable actions perpetrated against the Syrian people by the Assad regime,” Senator Coons said in a statement announcing the resolution. “As President Assad continues a brutal crackdown against demonstrators in the streets, the United States and international community stand with the Syrian people and supports their calls for democracy. The violence must come to an end, and President Assad and other Syrian government officials must be held accountable for the deplorable abuse of human rights.”
The bipartisan resolution calls for the expansion of targeted U.S. sanctions against Syrian officials responsible for human rights abuses, including against President Assad personally, and for the Obama Administration to work at the United Nations Security Council to hold Syrian human rights abusers accountable. The resolution also expresses unambiguous support for the aspirations of the Syrian people, as they continue peaceful protests in the streets of cities and towns across their country despite a dramatically heightened campaign of barbaric violence against them by the Syrian regime, and urges President Obama to speak out directly and personally about the situation in Syria.
The resolution, introduced by Senator Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) and Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), and was also cosponsored by Senators John McCain (R-AZ), Jon Kyl (R-AZ), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), John Cornyn (R-TX), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Bob Casey (D-PA), John Barrasso (R-WY), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Mark Kirk (R-IL), John Hoeven (R-ND), and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH).