WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States Senate this evening passed a resolution cosponsored by U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) that calls on President Obama to develop and submit to Congress a more robust U.S. strategy for addressing the Syrian humanitarian crisis.

“As a member of the Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, I have traveled to the Middle East and seen firsthand the terrible toll the civil war in Syria is having all across the region, particularly when it comes to the millions of innocent men, women, and children who have been forced to flee their homes to escape the brutality of the Assad regime,” Senator King said. “While U.S. financial assistance has played an important and vital role in supporting them, I am convinced this humanitarian crisis demands a new strategy from the Administration, and I am pleased the Senate passed our resolution calling on the President to pursue a new path.”

Senator King, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, introduced the Syrian Humanitarian Resolution of 2014 (S. Res. 384) along with a bipartisan group of his colleagues last month on the heels of three devastating reports (UNICEF, Save the Children, World Vision) that highlight how more than 5.5 million Syrian children have been affected by the three-year-long Syrian crisis.

The resolution condemns the unlawful use of violence against civilians in Syria, urges all parties in the country to allow for immediate, unfettered access to humanitarian aid, supports the immediate and full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2139, and calls on the international community to continue assisting innocent victims of the crisis, both internally displaced within Syria, and in neighboring countries. The resolution calls for the President to submit the new humanitarian strategy to relevant Senate committees within 90 days.

Other cosponsors include Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.)Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Ted Cruz (R-Tex).

Many humanitarian and human rights organizations have expressed support for this resolution, including: Alliance for Peacebuilding, Amnesty International, The Center for Victims of Torture, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Interaction, International Rescue Committee, Open Society Policy Center, Pax Christi International, Physicians for Human Rights, Refugees International, Syrian American Medical Society, The Syrian Nonviolence Movement, United to End Genocide, Syrian Relief and Development, and World Vision.

A copy of the resolution is available HERE.

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