Washington, D.C., Wednesday, May 19, 2016–The House Foreign Affairs Committee today unanimously adopted H. Res. 650, “Providing for the safety and security of the Iranian dissidents living in Camp Liberty/Hurriya in Iraq and awaiting resettlement by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and permitting use of their own assets to assist in their resettlement.” The bipartisan resolution had some 60 cosponsors, including several committee and subcommittee chairs and ranking members.
During the markup, a variety of committee leaders and key representatives spoke in favor of the resolution, including:
- Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA),
- Ranking Member Eliot Engel (D-NY),
- Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee Chair Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL),
- Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats Subcommittee Chair Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA),
- Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade Subcommittee Chair Judge Ted Poe (R-TX), and
- Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee Ranking Member Brad Sherman (D-CA),
- House Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence Ranking Member Brian Higgins (D-NY)
- Steve Chabot (R-OH)
- Joe Wilson (R-SC).
The resolution includes a pragmatic idea for improving the security of Camp Liberty residents, which was also proposed by senior Senators, led by Senator John McCain (R-AZ). Specifically, the resolution “calls on the Government of the United States to work with the Government of Iraq to bring Camp Liberty/Hurriya to the same level of protection as that of the adjacent Baghdad International Airport to deter future attacks on the camp and ensure safety and security of the residents.”
In addition, the resolution calls on the Government of the United States to work with the Government of Iraq to ensure that personnel responsible for providing the security of Camp Liberty “are not now, and have not been previously affiliated, directly or indirectly, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force or other organizations responsible for past attacks.” It further “urges the Government of Iraq to ensure access to food, clean water, medical assistance, electricity, equipment, and such supplies that are necessary to sustain the residents.”
The resolution also “calls on the Government of the United States to work with the Government of Iraq to make all reasonable efforts to facilitate the residents’ access and ability to sell their property and assets remaining at Camp Ashraf and Camp Liberty for the purpose of funding their costs of living and resettlement out of Iraq.”
It addition, it “commends the Government of Albania and the Albanian people for their generous resettlement of the residents of Camp Liberty.”
During the markup, Rep. Engel told the committee, “The residents of Camp Liberty deserve to live in dignity and without fear of violence. Last October’s rocket attacks on the unarmed residents of Camp Liberty by a Shia militia with ties to Iran killed 24 people. It’s the height of cowardice. We are still waiting for the perpetrators of this attack to be brought to justice.”
Also, Chairman Royce said the fact that all 44 members of the House Foreign Affairs committee supported the resolution sends a strong message and that his goal is to move the resolution to the house floor for vote expeditiously.
For more information about Camp Liberty, visit http://www.ncrius.org/camp-liberty.html