[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3064 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 3064
To oppose violations of religious freedom in Ukraine by Russia and
armed groups commanded by Russia.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 17, 2019
Mr. Wicker introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To oppose violations of religious freedom in Ukraine by Russia and
armed groups commanded by Russia.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Ukraine Religious Freedom Support
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Russia invaded the Crimea region of Ukraine in February
2014, continues to occupy and control that region, and has
exercised control over part of the Donbas region of eastern
Ukraine since April 2014 through non-state armed groups and
illegal entities it has established, instigated, commanded, and
supported, including with military and intelligence personnel
on the ground from Russia, such as the self-proclaimed Donetsk
People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic.
(2) International humanitarian law, including the Geneva
Conventions, to which Russia is a signatory, requires Russia to
respect and protect the religious freedom of the inhabitants of
the territory it occupies and controls, or controls through
organized non-state armed groups it commands, and holds Russia
responsible for violations of religious freedom in this
territory.
(3) According to the Department of State's International
Religious Freedom Reports, and other reporting, violations of
religious freedom in the Crimea region of Ukraine since Russia
invaded and occupied the territory have included abduction,
detention and imprisonment, torture, forced psychiatric
hospitalizations, fines, restrictions on missionary activities,
confiscations of property, including churches and meeting
halls, expulsions and obstructions to reentry, denying
registration of religious groups, vandalism, fines, and banning
peaceful religious groups, and targeted groups have included
Muslim Crimean Tatars, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, formerly
the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan Patriarchate, the
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Protestant Christians, and
Jehovah's Witnesses.
(4) According to the Department of State's International
Religious Freedom Reports, violations of religious freedom in
the part of the Donbas region of Ukraine controlled by armed
groups commanded by Russia have included detention and
imprisonment, torture, confiscation of property, including
churches and meeting halls, physical assaults and threats of
violence, vandalism, fines, restrictions on missionary
activities, religious services, ceremonies, gatherings, and
literature, and banning of peaceful religious groups, and
targeted groups have included the Orthodox Church of Ukraine,
formerly the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyiv Patriarchate, the
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Protestant Christians, and
Jehovah's Witnesses.
(5) The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22
U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) requires the President to--
(A) designate a foreign country as a country of
particular concern for religious freedom when its
government has engaged in or tolerated particularly
severe violations of religious freedom in that country
over the previous 12 months;
(B) to take 15 actions, or commensurate actions in
substitution, following the designation of a country as
a country of particular concern for religious freedom;
and
(C) designate a foreign country on a ``Special
Watch List'' when its government has engaged in or
tolerated severe violations of religious freedom in
that country over the previous 12 months.
(6) On November 28, 2018, the Secretary of State designated
Russia on the ``Special Watch List''.
(7) The National Security Strategy of the United States
issued in 2017, 2015, 2006, 2002, 2000, 1999, 1998, and 1997
committed the United States to promoting international
religious freedom to advance the security, economic, and other
national interests of the United States.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States to consider--
(1) any alien who, while serving as an official of the
Government of Russia, was responsible for or directly or
indirectly carried out particularly severe violations of
religious freedom in the territory of Ukraine that Russia
occupies and controls, or controls through non-state armed
groups it commands; and
(2) the spouse and children, if any, of such alien,
to have committed particularly severe violations of religious freedom
for purposes of applying section 212(a)(2)(G) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)(G)) with respect to any such alien
and spouse and children of such alien.
SEC. 4. DESIGNATION OF RUSSIA AS A COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN FOR
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.
For purposes of making a determination of whether to designate
Russia as a country of particular concern for religious freedom under
section 402 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22
U.S.C. 6442), the President shall consider any particularly severe
violation of religious freedom in the territory of Ukraine that Russia
occupies and exercises controls, or controls through non-state armed
groups it commands, during the period of time that is the basis for the
determination and designation, to be a particularly severe violation of
religious freedom that the Government of Russia has engaged in or
tolerated.
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