[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 650 Reported in Senate (RS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 609
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 650
Recognizing May 28 as ``World Hunger Day'', that the 90th anniversary
of the Ukrainian Famine of 1932-1933, known as the Holodomor, should
serve as a reminder of repressive Soviet policies against the people of
Ukraine, and that Vladimir Putin's illegal war against Ukraine has
diminished Ukraine's agricultural output and threatens to exacerbate
the problems of global hunger on World Hunger Day.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 26, 2022
Mr. Kaine (for himself, Mr. Portman, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Van Hollen, and
Mr. Murphy) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to
the Committee on Foreign Relations
December 7, 2022
Reported by Mr. Menendez, with an amendment, an amendment to the
preamble, and an amendment to the title
[Strike out all after the resolving clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
[Strike the preamble and insert the part printed in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing May 28 as ``World Hunger Day'', that the 90th anniversary
of the Ukrainian Famine of 1932-1933, known as the Holodomor, should
serve as a reminder of repressive Soviet policies against the people of
Ukraine, and that Vladimir Putin's illegal war against Ukraine has
diminished Ukraine's agricultural output and threatens to exacerbate
the problems of global hunger on World Hunger Day.
Whereas Ukraine is a major global exporter of agricultural products critical to
global food supplies, including wheat, corn, barley, and sunflower;
Whereas Ukrainian wheat output has decreased by 34 percent, and corn, barley,
and other grain output has decreased by more than 50 percent in the past
year as a result of Russia's war against Ukraine;
Whereas Russia's illegal occupation of the Crimean peninsula and Ukrainian Black
Sea ports of Mariupol and Kherson, its assault on Odessa, its use of
naval mines in the Black Sea and land mines in Ukraine's agricultural
areas, and the destruction of Ukrainian export terminals and
transportation infrastructure have severely constrained Ukraine's
ability to export grain;
Whereas the number of people around the world facing acute food insecurity
greatly increased from 135,000,000 in 2019, to 193,000,000 in 2021,
nearly 40,000,000 people experienced emergency levels of acute food
insecurity (just one step away from famine) in 2021, and the number of
people experiencing such food insecurity is projected to increase in
2022;
Whereas the effects of Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine are expected to
increase global grain prices and disproportionately impact low- and
middle-income countries in the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia,
and sub-Saharan Africa who are dependent on imported Ukrainian wheat;
Whereas the totality of these actions by Russia represents an intentional and
concerted effort to attack the Ukrainian agricultural sector resembling
the Ukrainian Famine of 1932-1933, which was caused by the former Soviet
Union;
Whereas, Senate Resolution 435, which was passed by the Senate on October 3,
2018, commemorated the 85th anniversary of the Holodomor and recognized
the Soviet Union's role in perpetrating this genocide against the
Ukrainian people;
Whereas 2022-2023 marks the 90th anniversary of the Ukrainian Famine of 1932-
1933, which is also known as the Holodomor;
Whereas, in 1932 and 1933, millions of Ukrainian people perished at the will of
the totalitarian Stalinist government of the former Soviet Union, which
perpetrated a premeditated famine in Ukraine in an effort to break the
nation's resistance to collectivization and communist occupation;
Whereas the Government of the Soviet Union deliberately confiscated grain
harvests and starved millions of Ukrainian men, women, and children by a
policy of forced collectivization that sought to destroy the nationally
conscious movement for independence;
Whereas Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin ordered the borders of Ukraine sealed to
prevent anyone from escaping the manmade starvation and to prevent the
delivery of any international food aid that would provide relief to the
starving;
Whereas numerous scholars worldwide have worked to uncover the scale of the
famine, including Canadian wheat expert Andrew Cairns who visited
Ukraine in 1932, and was told that there was no grain ``because the
government had collected so much grain and exported it to England and
Italy'', while Joseph Stalin simultaneously denied food aid to the
people of Ukraine;
Whereas nearly a quarter of Ukraine's rural population perished or were forced
into exile due to the induced starvation and the entire nation suffered
from the consequences of the prolonged famine;
Whereas noted correspondents of the time were refuted for their courage in
depicting and reporting on the forced famine in Ukraine, including
Gareth Jones, William Henry Chamberlin, and Malcolm Muggeridge, who
wrote ``[The peasants] will tell you that many have already died of
famine, and that many are dying every day; that thousands have been shot
by the Government and hundreds of thousands exiled . . .'';
Whereas title V of the Departments of Commerce, Justice, State, the Judiciary,
and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 1986 (Public Law 99-180; 99
Stat. 1157), which was enacted on December 13, 1985, established the
Commission on the Ukraine Famine to ``conduct a study of the Ukrainian
Famine of 1932-1933 in order to expand the world's knowledge of the
famine and provide the American public with a better understanding of
the Soviet system by revealing the Soviet role'' in it;
Whereas, with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, archival documents became
available that confirmed the deliberate and premeditated deadly nature
of the famine and that exposed the atrocities committed by the Soviet
government against the Ukrainian people;
Whereas Raphael Lemkin, who devoted his life to the development of legal
concepts and norms for containing mass atrocities and whose tireless
advocacy swayed the United Nations in 1948 to adopt the Convention on
the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, authored an
essay in 1953 entitled ``Soviet Genocide in the Ukraine'', which
highlighted the ``classic example of Soviet genocide'' characterizing it
``not simply a case of mass murder. It is a case of genocide, of
destruction, not of individuals only, but of a culture and a nation'';
Whereas Ukraine's law Number 376-V, ``Law of Ukraine on the Starvation in
Ukraine of 1932-1933'', which was enacted on November 28, 2006, gave
official recognition to the Holodomor as an act of genocide against the
Ukrainian people;
Whereas, on October 13, 2006, President George W. Bush signed into law Public
Law 109-340, which authorized the Government of Ukraine ``to establish a
memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia to honor the
victims of the Ukrainian famine-genocide of 1932-1933'', and the
Holodomor Memorial was officially dedicated in November 2015;
Whereas the Government of Ukraine and the Ukrainian communities in the United
States and worldwide continue their efforts to secure greater
international awareness and understanding of the 1932-1933 tragedy; and
Whereas victims of the Holodomor of 1932-1933 will be commemorated by Ukrainian
communities around the globe and in Ukraine through November 2022: Now,
therefore, be it
Whereas Russia's illegal, premeditated, unprovoked, and brutal war against
Ukraine--
(1) violates international law;
(2) undermines the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity;
and
(3) includes extensive, systematic, and flagrant atrocities against the
people of Ukraine;
Whereas Vladimir Putin's repeated public rejections of a separate Ukrainian
identity have made the war an existential fight for the Ukrainian
Government and people;
Whereas Moscow has weaponized food by engaging in an intentional and concerted
attack on the Ukrainian agricultural sector, resulting in elevated
global grain prices that disproportionately impact low- and middle-
income countries in the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, and sub-
Saharan Africa, who are dependent on imported Ukrainian wheat;
Whereas Moscow's weaponization of hunger has further exacerbated an
unprecedented global food crisis that has greatly increased the number
of people around the world facing acute food insecurity from 135,000,000
during 2019, to 345,000,000 during 2022, with nearly 49,000,000 people
experienced emergency levels of acute food insecurity (nearly famine
level) during 2022;
Whereas Putin's attitude towards, and actions in, Ukraine evoke comparisons with
the totalitarian government of the former Soviet Union, which was
responsible for the Ukrainian Famine of 1932-1933;
Whereas Ukraine is a major global exporter of agricultural products that are
critical to global food supplies, including wheat, corn, barley, and
sunflower;
Whereas Ukrainian wheat output has decreased by 34 percent, and corn, barley,
and other grain output has decreased by more than 50 percent in the past
year as a result of Russia's war against Ukraine;
Whereas Russia's illegal occupation of the Crimean peninsula and Ukrainian Black
Sea ports of Mariupol and Kherson, its assault on Odessa, its use of
naval mines in the Black Sea and land mines in Ukraine's agricultural
areas, and the destruction of Ukrainian export terminals and
transportation infrastructure have severely constrained Ukraine's
ability to export grain;
Whereas, Senate Resolution 435, which was passed by the Senate on October 3,
2018, commemorated the 85th anniversary of the Holodomor and recognized
the Soviet Union's role in perpetrating this genocide against the
Ukrainian people;
Whereas 2022-2023 marks the 90th anniversary of the Ukrainian Famine of 1932-
1933, which is also known as the Holodomor;
Whereas in 1932 and 1933, millions of Ukrainian people perished at the will of
the totalitarian Stalinist Government of the Soviet Union, which
perpetrated a premeditated famine in Ukraine in an effort to break the
nation's resistance to collectivization and communist occupation;
Whereas the Government of the Soviet Union deliberately confiscated grain
harvests and starved millions of Ukrainian men, women, and children by a
policy of forced collectivization that sought to destroy the nationally
conscious movement for independence;
Whereas Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin ordered the borders of Ukraine sealed to
prevent anyone from escaping the manmade starvation, and to prevent the
delivery of any international food aid that would provide relief to the
starving;
Whereas numerous scholars worldwide have worked to uncover the scale of the
famine, including Canadian wheat expert Andrew Cairns who visited
Ukraine in 1932, and was told that there was no grain ``because the
government had collected so much grain and exported it to England and
Italy'', while Joseph Stalin simultaneously denied food aid to the
people of Ukraine;
Whereas nearly a quarter of Ukraine's rural population perished or were forced
into exile due to the induced starvation and the entire nation suffered
from the consequences of the prolonged famine;
Whereas noted correspondents of the time were refuted for their courage in
depicting and reporting on the forced famine in Ukraine, including
Gareth Jones, William Henry Chamberlin, and Malcolm Muggeridge, who
wrote ``[The peasants] will tell you that many have already died of
famine, and that many are dying every day; that thousands have been shot
by the Government and hundreds of thousands exiled. . .'';
Whereas title V of the Departments of Commerce, Justice, State, the Judiciary,
and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 1986 (Public Law 99-180; 99
Stat. 1157), which was enacted on December 13, 1985, established the
Commission on the Ukraine Famine to ``conduct a study of the Ukrainian
Famine of 1932-1933 in order to expand the world's knowledge of the
famine and provide the American public with a better understanding of
the Soviet system by revealing the Soviet role'' in it;
Whereas, with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, archival documents became
available that confirmed the deliberate and premeditated deadly nature
of the famine and that exposed the atrocities committed by the Soviet
government against the Ukrainian people;
Whereas Raphael Lemkin, who devoted his life to the development of legal
concepts and norms for containing mass atrocities and whose tireless
advocacy swayed the United Nations in 1948 to adopt the Convention on
the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, authored an
essay in 1953 entitled ``Soviet Genocide in the Ukraine'', which
highlighted the ``classic example of Soviet genocide'' characterizing it
``not simply a case of mass murder. It is a case of genocide, of
destruction, not of individuals only, but of a culture and a nation'';
Whereas Ukraine's law Number 376-V, ``Law of Ukraine on the Starvation in
Ukraine of 1932-1933'', which was enacted on November 28, 2006, gave
official recognition to the Holodomor as an act of genocide against the
Ukrainian people;
Whereas on October 13, 2006, President George W. Bush signed into law Public Law
109-340, which authorized the Government of Ukraine ``to establish a
memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia to honor the
victims of the Ukrainian famine-genocide of 1932-1933'', and the
Holodomor Memorial was officially dedicated in November 2015;
Whereas the Government of Ukraine and the Ukrainian communities in the United
States and worldwide continue their efforts to secure greater
international awareness and understanding of the 1932-1933 tragedy; and
Whereas victims of the Holodomor of 1932-1933 were commemorated by Ukrainian
communities around the globe and in Ukraine throughout November 2022:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
<DELETED> (1) condemns Vladimir Putin's illegal war in
Ukraine, and his weaponization of hunger, which has increased
global food prices and food insecurity in the world;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) calls upon Vladimir Putin and the Russian
Armed Forces to immediately cease their blockade of Ukraine's
Black Sea ports to allow all Ukrainian food exports to
resume;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) calls attention to the impending global food
crisis by observing May 28, 2022, as ``World Hunger
Day'';</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) solemnly remembers the 90th anniversary of the
Holodomor of 1932-1933, and extends its deepest sympathies to
the victims, survivors, and families of this tragedy;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (5) condemns the systematic violations of human
rights, including the freedom of self-determination and freedom
of speech of the Ukrainian people by the Government of the
Soviet Union;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (6) recognizes the findings of the Commission on
the Ukraine Famine, as submitted to Congress on April 22, 1988,
including that ``Joseph Stalin and those around him committed
genocide against the Ukrainians in 1932-1933'';</DELETED>
<DELETED> (7) encourages dissemination of information
regarding the Holodomor of 1932-1933 in order to expand the
world's knowledge of this manmade tragedy; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (8) supports the continuing efforts of the people
of Ukraine to defend themselves against Russian aggression, to
work toward ensuring democratic principles, a free economy, and
full respect for human rights in order to enable Ukraine to
achieve its full potential in accord with the desires of the
Ukrainian people and to deepen the partnership between Ukraine,
the United States, and all democratic nations.</DELETED>
That the Senate--
(1) condemns Vladimir Putin's illegal war in Ukraine, his
repeated public rejections of the existence of a Ukrainian
people and a sovereign Ukrainian state, and his weaponization
of hunger, which has increased global food prices and food
insecurity in the world;
(2) calls upon Vladimir Putin and the Russian Armed
Forces--
(A) to immediately cease their attacks on Ukrainian
civilians;
(B) to withdraw all troops from Ukraine; and
(C) to fully respect Ukraine's sovereignty,
independence, and territorial integrity;
(3) calls attention to the impending global food crisis by
observing May 28 as ``World Hunger Day'';
(4) solemnly remembers the 90th anniversary of the
Holodomor of 1932-1933, and extends its deepest sympathies to
the victims, survivors, and families of this tragedy;
(5) condemns the systematic violations of human rights,
including the freedom of self-determination and freedom of
speech of the Ukrainian people by the Government of the Soviet
Union;
(6) recognizes the findings of the Commission on the
Ukraine Famine, as submitted to Congress on April 22, 1988,
including that ``Joseph Stalin and those around him committed
genocide against the Ukrainians in 1932-1933'';
(7) encourages dissemination of information regarding the
Holodomor of 1932-1933 in order to expand the world's knowledge
of this manmade tragedy; and
(8) supports the continuing efforts of the people of
Ukraine to defend themselves against Russian aggression, to
work toward ensuring democratic principles, a free economy, and
full respect for human rights in order to enable Ukraine to
achieve its full potential in accord with the desires of the
Ukrainian people and to deepen the partnership between Ukraine,
the United States, and all democratic nations.
Amend the title so as to read: ``A resolution expressing
the sense of the Senate that the 90th anniversary of the
Ukrainian Famine of 1932-1933, known as the Holodomor, should
serve as a reminder of repressive Soviet policies against the
people of Ukraine, and that Vladimir Putin's brutal and
unprovoked war against Ukraine once again threatens the
existence of the Ukrainian people, while exacerbating the
problems of global hunger.''.
Calendar No. 609
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 650
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing May 28 as ``World Hunger Day'', that the 90th anniversary
of the Ukrainian Famine of 1932-1933, known as the Holodomor, should
serve as a reminder of repressive Soviet policies against the people of
Ukraine, and that Vladimir Putin's illegal war against Ukraine has
diminished Ukraine's agricultural output and threatens to exacerbate
the problems of global hunger on World Hunger Day.
_______________________________________________________________________
December 7, 2022
Reported with an amendment, an amendment to the preamble, and an
amendment to the title