[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 158 Reported in Senate (RS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 99
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 158
Condemning the deportation of children from Ukraine to the Russian
Federation and the forcible transfer of children within territories of
Ukraine that are temporarily occupied by Russian forces.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 17, 2023
Mr. Peters (for himself, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Cassidy, Mr. Grassley, Mr.
Barrasso, Mr. Cardin, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Scott of Florida, Mr. Thune,
Ms. Stabenow, and Mr. Coons) submitted the following resolution; which
was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
June 13, 2023
Reported by Mr. Menendez, without amendment and an amendment to the
preamble
[Strike the preamble and insert the part printed in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Condemning the deportation of children from Ukraine to the Russian
Federation and the forcible transfer of children within territories of
Ukraine that are temporarily occupied by Russian forces.
Whereas, on January 12, 1951, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of
the Crime of Genocide (commonly known as the ``Genocide Convention''),
of which the Russian Federation is a signatory, came into effect;
Whereas, on February 24, 2022, the Russian Federation launched an illegal and
unprovoked further invasion of Ukraine;
Whereas, on March 22, 2022, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry announced that the
Russian military had forcefully and illegally kidnapped 2,389 Ukrainian
children from temporarily occupied areas of Ukraine;
Whereas forcibly transferring children of one group to another group is a
violation of Article II(e) of the Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, adopted and opened for signature in
1948 and entered into force in 1951 (commonly known as the ``Genocide
Convention'');
Whereas the unlawful deportation or transfer of people constitutes a breach of
Article 147 of the Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of
Civilian Persons in Time of War, done at Geneva August 12, 1949
(commonly referred to as the ``Fourth Geneva Convention'');
Whereas, Maria Lvova-Belova, Children's Rights Commissioner for the President of
Russia, admitted to kidnapping Ukrainian children and facilitating
forced adoptions to Russian families;
Whereas Ukrainian authorities have stated that a number of the kidnapped
Ukrainian children have families who remain in Ukraine, but have been
separated due to the Russian invasion;
Whereas, on May 30, 2022, the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir
Putin, signed a decree simplifying the procedure of obtaining Russian
citizenship for Ukrainian orphans and children without parental care,
thereby expediting the process of illegal adoption of deported Ukrainian
children by Russian families;
Whereas, on June 2, 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that
200,000 children are among the Ukrainians who have been forcefully
resettled in Russia;
Whereas, on June 16, 2022, Russian authorities announced that children born in
occupied Ukrainian territories after the February 24, 2022, invasion
will be deemed Russian citizens;
Whereas, on July 11, 2022, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres
ordered an investigation into the deaths and injuries of Ukrainian
children;
Whereas, on July 13, 2022, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken issued a
statement calling upon Russia to ``immediately halt its systemic
filtration operations in Ukraine'', which have caused the disappearance,
detention, or forcible deportation of between 900,000 and 1,600,000
Ukrainians (approximately 260,000 of whom are children);
Whereas, on December 5, 2022, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human
Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, announced that at least 2,800,000 Ukrainians
have been deported to Russia;
Whereas, on March 17, 2023, the International Criminal Court issued warrants of
arrest, relating to the war crimes described in subsections (a)(vii) and
(b)(viii) of section 2 of article 8 of the Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Court, for--
(1) Vladimir Putin, for--
G (A) the unlawful deportation of population (children); and
G (B) the unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied
areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation; and
(2) Maria Lvova-Belova, Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights
in Russia, for--
G (A) the unlawful deportation of population (children); and
G (B) the unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied
areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation; and
Whereas, as of March 27, 2023, the official platform ``Children of War'', which
was created by the Ministry of Reintegration and the National
Information Bureau on behalf of the Office of the President of Ukraine
reported that--
(1) at least 465 Ukrainian children have been killed and 942 Ukrainian
children have been wounded since Russia's renewed invasion of Ukraine
began; and
(2) there has been 16,207 verified cases of Ukrainian children being
deported to Russia out of a possible 744,000 cases: Now, therefore, be it
Whereas, on January 12, 1951, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of
the Crime of Genocide (commonly known as the ``Genocide Convention''),
of which the Russian Federation is a signatory, came into effect;
Whereas, on February 24, 2022, the Russian Federation launched an illegal and
unprovoked further invasion of Ukraine;
Whereas, on March 22, 2022, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry announced that the
Russian military had forcefully and illegally kidnapped 2,389 Ukrainian
children from temporarily occupied areas of Ukraine;
Whereas forcibly transferring children of one group to another group can
constitute a violation of Article II(e) of the Convention on the
Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, adopted and opened
for signature in 1948 and entered into force in 1951 (commonly known as
the ``Genocide Convention'');
Whereas the unlawful deportation or transfer of protected people constitutes a
breach of Article 147 of the Convention (IV) relative to the Protection
of Civilian Persons in Time of War, done at Geneva August 12, 1949
(commonly referred to as the ``Fourth Geneva Convention'');
Whereas, Maria Lvova-Belova, Children's Rights Commissioner for the President of
Russia, admitted to kidnapping Ukrainian children and facilitating
forced adoptions to Russian families;
Whereas Ukrainian authorities have stated that a number of the kidnapped
Ukrainian children have families who remain in Ukraine, but have been
separated due to the Russian invasion;
Whereas, on May 30, 2022, the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir
Putin, signed a decree simplifying the procedure of obtaining Russian
citizenship for Ukrainian orphans and children without parental care,
thereby expediting the process of illegal adoption of deported Ukrainian
children by Russian families;
Whereas, on June 2, 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that
200,000 children are among the Ukrainians who have been forcefully
resettled in Russia;
Whereas on June 16, 2022, Russian authorities announced that children born in
occupied Ukrainian territories after the February 24, 2022, invasion
will be deemed Russian citizens;
Whereas, on July 11, 2022, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres
ordered an investigation into the deaths and injuries of Ukrainian
children;
Whereas, on January 27, 2023, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,
Filippo Grandi, accused Russia of violating the ``fundamental principles
of child protection'' by giving Russian passports to unaccompanied
Ukrainian child refugees and putting them up for adoption;
Whereas, on July 13, 2022, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken issued a
statement calling upon Russia to ``immediately halt its systemic
filtration operations in Ukraine'', which have caused the disappearance,
detention, or forcible deportation of between 900,000 and 1,600,000
Ukrainians (approximately 260,000 of whom are children);
Whereas, on December 5, 2022, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human
Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, announced that at least 2,800,000 Ukrainians
have been deported to Russia;
Whereas on March 17, 2023, the International Criminal Court issued warrants of
arrest, relating to the war crimes described in subsections (a)(vii) and
(b)(viii) of section 2 of article 8 of the Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Court, for--
(1) Vladimir Putin, for--
G (A) the unlawful deportation of population (children); and
G (B) the unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied
areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation; and
(2) Maria Lvova-Belova, Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights
in Russia, for--
G (A) the unlawful deportation of population (children); and
G (B) the unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied
areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation; and
Whereas, as of June 1, 2023, the official platform ``Children of War'', which
was created by the Ministry of Reintegration and the National
Information Bureau on behalf of the Office of the President of Ukraine
reported that--
(1) at least 484 Ukrainian children have been killed and 992 Ukrainian
children have been wounded since Russia's renewed invasion of Ukraine
began; and
(2) there has been 19,505 verified cases of Ukrainian children being
deported to Russia: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) holds the Government of the Russian Federation, under
the leadership of Vladimir Putin, responsible for the wrongful
and illegal kidnapping of children from Ukraine and officially
condemns these actions in the strongest terms;
(2) condemns--
(A) the forcible mass transfer of millions of
Ukrainian civilians, hundreds of thousands of whom are
children, to the Russian Federation or territories
controlled by the Russian Federation; and
(B) the facilitation of illegal adoptions, which
could constitute a violation of Russia's obligations
under the Genocide Convention and amount to genocide;
(3) claims that the Russian Federation is attempting to
wipe out a generation of Ukrainian children, thereby crippling
Ukraine's ability to nurture the next generation of Ukrainian
citizens and leaders and to rebuild their country after
Russia's unprovoked war, with the purpose of demolishing
Ukraine's unique language, culture, history, and identity;
(4) asserts that the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian
Federation has significantly increased the risks of children
being exposed to human trafficking and exploitation, child
labor, gender-based violence, hunger, injury, trauma,
deprivation of education and shelter, and death;
(5) urges the President to use all legal means necessary to
hold accountable those responsible for the forcible deportation
and displacement of children in Ukraine;
(6) asserts that United States policy should involve
assisting in reunification efforts between Ukrainian children
deported or displaced by Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine
and their families; and
(7) calls upon the President to impose sanctions on those
responsible for the forcible deportation and displacement of
Ukrainian children, including through the Global Magnitsky
Human Rights Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.).
Calendar No. 99
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 158
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Condemning the deportation of children from Ukraine to the Russian
Federation and the forcible transfer of children within territories of
Ukraine that are temporarily occupied by Russian forces.
_______________________________________________________________________
June 13, 2023
Reported without amendment and an amendment to the preamble