[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1038 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1038
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives condemning the
Russian Federation, President Vladimir Putin, members of the Russian
Security Council, the Russian Armed Forces, and Russian military
commanders for committing atrocities, including alleged war crimes,
against the people of Ukraine and others.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 6, 2022
Mrs. Spartz (for herself, Mrs. Bice of Oklahoma, Mr. Moolenaar, Mr.
Fitzpatrick, Mr. Hudson, Mr. Johnson of Ohio, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Diaz-
Balart, and Mr. Webster of Florida) submitted the following resolution;
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives condemning the
Russian Federation, President Vladimir Putin, members of the Russian
Security Council, the Russian Armed Forces, and Russian military
commanders for committing atrocities, including alleged war crimes,
against the people of Ukraine and others.
Whereas the United States of America is a beacon for the values of freedom,
democracy, and human rights across the globe;
Whereas there are several universal declarations and treaties promoting human
rights, laws of war, and upholding the dignity of individuals;
Whereas the United Nations Charter Preamble states that member nations
``reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights [and] in the dignity and
worth of the human person'';
Whereas the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Preamble states that ``Member
States have pledged themselves to achieve, in cooperation with the
United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of
human rights and fundamental freedoms'';
Whereas the Russian Federation joined as an original member of the United
Nations as the former Union of Soviet Socialists Republics on October
24, 1945, and as such has a duty to abide by the conditions of the
United Nations Charter and pledges reflected in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights;
Whereas the International Criminal Court (ICC) is an international tribunal that
seeks to uphold the rule of law, especially in areas where no rule of
law exists, by investigating and trying individuals charged ``with the
gravest crimes of concern to the international community: genocide, war
crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression'';
Whereas grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions constitute war crimes,
including ``wil[l]ful killing, torture or inhuman treatment, including
biological experiments, wil[l]fully causing great suffering or serious
injury to body or health . . . and extensive destruction and
appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and
carried out unlawfully and wantonly'';
Whereas other serious violations of the laws and customs applicable in
international armed conflict can constitute war crimes, which can
include intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population
as such or against individual civilians not taking direct part in
hostilities and intentionally directing attacks against civilian
objects, that is, objects which are not military objectives;
Whereas President Vladimir Putin, members of the Russian Security Council, and
President Putin's military commanders have severely undermined the
international rule of law through their various actions;
Whereas, prior to the most recent invasion of Ukraine in February 2022,
President Vladimir Putin and the Russian Federation has a long history
of committing acts of aggression, human rights violations, and acts that
constitute war crimes within the Russian Federation and around the
globe, including in Chechnya, Georgia, Ukraine, and Syria;
Whereas, beginning in 1999, the Russian Federation engaged in the indiscriminate
use of force against the people of Chechnya, including the use of
cluster munitions against civilians, resulting in 50,000 Chechens,
mostly civilians, dead or missing;
Whereas, during the Russian Federation's invasion of Georgia in 2008, Russian
Armed Forces engaged with cluster munitions in indiscriminate and
disproportionate attacks that resulted in the death of civilians;
Whereas, since 2014, President Vladimir Putin has violated the sovereignty of
Ukraine and used military force to seize control and unlawfully occupy
Crimea, and installed Russian separatist-backed forces in eastern
Ukraine, resulting in the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians
since 2014;
Whereas the Russian military was deemed responsible for shooting down Malaysia
Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, which resulted
in the death of 298 civilians;
Whereas rebel forces supported by the Russian Federation were deemed responsible
for a missile attack on January 24, 2015, in Mariupol, Ukraine that
indiscriminately killed and injured civilians, resulting in the death of
at least 30 and injuring many more;
Whereas, in 2016 and 2017, Russian aircraft deployed ``bunker-busting'' and
incendiary bombs capable of destroying military installations on
civilian structures in Aleppo, Syria, resulting in the death of hundreds
of civilians;
Whereas President Vladimir Putin is complicit in war crimes and human rights
violations in Syria through his continuing political, financial, and
military support for President Bashar al-Assad;
Whereas intelligence assessments have concluded Vladimir Putin and his regime
have destroyed the rule of law in Russia and engaged in countless
atrocities, including ordering the poisoning of Alexei Navalny, the
poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal, and the false imprisonment and
torture ultimately leading to the death of Sergei Magnitsky;
Whereas President Vladimir Putin, in February 2022, initiated a premeditated,
unprovoked, unjustified, and unlawful war against the sovereign nation
of Ukraine;
Whereas, since February 24, 2022, President Vladimir Putin and Russian
Federation forces reportedly killed more than 500 civilians, to include
children, while invading Ukrainian urban centers, causing chaos and fear
among Ukrainian citizens;
Whereas, on February 28, 2022, the Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States,
Oksana Markarova, claimed President Vladimir Putin ordered the
deployment of thermobaric weapons and cluster munitions to be used in
the northeastern towns of Okhtyrka and Karkhiv, in populated, urban
areas;
Whereas Ukraine has twice submitted to the jurisdiction of the ICC for the
purposes of investigating alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity
committed within its territory related to the Russian occupation of
Ukraine;
Whereas Lithuania and Canada, members to the authorizing treaty of the ICC, have
called on the ICC to open an investigation into alleged war crimes and
crimes against humanity committed by Russia;
Whereas, on February 28, 2022, the Prosecutor of the ICC, Karim A.A. Khan QC
stated that the ICC would open a third investigation against Russia for
alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the
Russian invasion into Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022;
Whereas Ukraine has also filed a claim in the International Court of Justice
(ICJ) instituting proceedings against the Russian Federation related to
genocide under the Genocide Convention; and
Whereas the United States Government should use its voice, vote, and influence
to pursue war crimes and crimes against humanity allegations against
Vladimir Putin and his military commanders in international institutions
of which it is a member and encourage other allies and partners to
express the same: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved,
SECTION 1. SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
The House of Representatives--
(1) strongly condemns the ongoing violence, including war
crimes, crimes against humanity, and systematic human rights
abuses being carried out by the Russian Armed Forces and their
proxies and President Putin's military commanders, at the
direction of President Vladimir Putin;
(2) encourages member states to petition the ICC or other
appropriate international tribunal to take any appropriate
steps to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity
committed by the Russian Armed Forces and their proxies and
President Putin's military commanders, at the direction of
President Vladimir Putin;
(3) supports any investigation into war crimes, crimes
against humanity, and systematic human rights abuses levied by
President Vladimir Putin, the Russian Security Council, the
Russian Armed Forces and their proxies, and President Putin's
military commanders;
(4) encourages the United States Government and partner
nations to use their voice, vote, and influence in
international institutions in which they are members to hold
President Vladimir Putin, the Russian Security Council, the
Russian Armed Forces and their proxies, and President Putin's
military commanders accountable for their sponsorship of
ongoing violence, including war crimes, crimes against
humanity, and systematic human rights abuses; and
(5) stands with the people of Ukraine who have been
affected by the brutality of the Putin regime.
SEC. 2. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this resolution may be construed as--
(1) a declaration of war or an authorization for the use of
military force against the Russian Federation; or
(2) authorization for the introduction of the United States
Armed Forces into Ukraine.
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