[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 16 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 16
Recognizing Russian actions in Ukraine as a genocide.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 6, 2025
Mr. Cohen (for himself, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, Mr. Boyle of
Pennsylvania, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Doggett, Ms. Stevens, Mr. Quigley,
Mr. Lawler, Mr. Costa, Ms. Norton, Mrs. Torres of California, Mr.
Veasey, Mr. Keating, and Ms. Kaptur) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing Russian actions in Ukraine as a genocide.
Whereas the Russian Federation's illegal, premeditated, unprovoked, and brutal
war against Ukraine includes extensive, systematic, and flagrant
atrocities against the people of Ukraine;
Whereas Article II of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the
Crime of Genocide (hereinafter the ``Genocide Convention''), approved
and opened for signature in 1948 and entered into force in 1951, defines
genocide as ``any of the following acts committed with intent to
destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious
group, as such: (a) Killing members of the group; (b) Causing serious
bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) Deliberately
inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its
physical destruction in whole or in part; (d) Imposing measures intended
to prevent births within the group; (e) Forcibly transferring children
of the group to another group'';
Whereas substantial and significant evidence documenting widespread, systematic
actions against the Ukrainian people committed by Russian Forces under
the direction of Russian Federation political leadership meets one or
more of the criteria under Article II of the Genocide Convention,
including--
(1) killing members of the Ukrainian people in mass atrocities through
deliberate and regularized murders of fleeing civilians and civilians in
passing as well as purposeful targeting of homes, schools, hospitals,
shelters, and other residential and civilian areas;
(2) causing serious bodily or mental harm to the Ukrainian people by
launching indiscriminate attacks against civilians and civilian areas,
conducting willful strikes on humanitarian evacuation corridors, and
employing widespread and systematic sexual violence against Ukrainian
civilians, including women, children, and men;
(3) deliberately inflicting upon the Ukrainian people conditions of
life calculated to bring about their physical destruction in whole or in
part, including displacement due to annihilated villages, towns, and cities
left devoid of food, water, shelter, electricity, and other basic
necessities, starvation caused by the destruction of farmlands and
agricultural equipment, the placing of Russian landmines across thousands
of acres of useable fields, and blocking the delivery of humanitarian food
aid;
(4) imposing measures intended to prevent births among the Ukrainian
people, demonstrated by the Russian military's expansive and direct
targeting of maternity hospitals and other medical facilities and
systematic attacks against residential and civilian areas as well as
humanitarian corridors intended to deprive Ukrainians of safe havens within
their own country and the material conditions conducive to childrearing;
and
(5) forcibly mass transferring millions of Ukrainian civilians,
hundreds of thousands of whom are children, to Russia or Russian
Federation-controlled territories;
Whereas the Russian Federation's State-level intent in favor of these heinous
crimes against humanity has been demonstrated through frequent
pronouncements and other forms of official communication denying
Ukrainian nationhood and sovereignty, including President Putin's
ahistorical claims that Ukraine is part of a ``single whole'' Russian
nation with ``no historical basis'' for being an independent country;
Whereas some Russian soldiers and brigades accused of committing war crimes in
Bucha and elsewhere were rewarded with medals by President Putin;
Whereas the Russian State-owned media outlet RIA Novosti's published the article
``What Should Russia do with Ukraine'' which outlines ``de-
Nazification'' as meaning ``de-Ukrainianization'' or the destruction of
Ukraine;
Whereas Article I of the Genocide Convention confirms ``that genocide, whether
committed in time of peace or in time of war, is a crime under
international law which they undertake to prevent and to punish''; and
Whereas additional documentation and analysis of atrocities committed by the
Russian Federation in Ukraine may be needed to punish those responsible,
the substantial and significant documentation already undertaken and
combined with statements showing intent, compel urgent action to prevent
further acts of genocide: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) condemns the Russian Federation for committing acts of
genocide against the Ukrainian people;
(2) calls on the United States, in cooperation with North
Atlantic Treaty Organization and European Union allies, to
undertake measures to support the Ukrainian Government to
prevent further acts of Russian genocide against the Ukrainian
people; and
(3) supports tribunals and international criminal
investigations to hold Russian political leaders and military
personnel to account for a war of aggression, war crimes,
crimes against humanity, and genocide.
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