[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 339 Engrossed in House (EH)]


                 In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

                                                        March 20, 2002.
Whereas Ukraine stands at a critical point in its development to a fully 
        democratic society, and the parliamentary elections on March 31, 2002, 
        its third parliamentary elections since becoming independent more than 
        10 years ago, will play a significant role in demonstrating whether 
        Ukraine continues to proceed on the path to democracy or experiences 
        setbacks in its democratic development;
Whereas the Government of Ukraine can demonstrate its commitment to democracy by 
        conducting a genuinely free and fair parliamentary election process, in 
        which all candidates have access to news outlets in the print, radio, 
        television, and Internet media, and nationally televised debates are 
        held, thus enabling the various political parties and election blocs to 
        compete on a level playing field and the voters to acquire objective 
        information about the candidates;
Whereas a flawed election process, which contravenes commitments of the 
        Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on democracy 
        and the conduct of elections, could potentially slow Ukraine's efforts 
        to integrate into Western institutions;
Whereas in recent years, incidents of government corruption and harassment of 
        the media have raised concerns about the commitment of the Government of 
        Ukraine to democracy, human rights, and the rule of law;
Whereas Ukraine, since its independence in 1991, has been one of the largest 
        recipients of United States foreign assistance;
Whereas $154,000,000 in technical assistance to Ukraine was provided under 
        Public Law 107-115 (the Kenneth M. Ludden Foreign Operations, Export 
        Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, Fiscal Year 2002), a 
        $16,000,000 reduction in funding from the previous fiscal year due to 
        concerns about continuing setbacks to needed reform and the unresolved 
        deaths of prominent dissidents and journalists, such as the case of 
        Heorhiy Gongadze;
Whereas Public Law 107-115 requires a report by the Department of State on the 
        progress by the Government of Ukraine in investigating and bringing to 
        justice individuals responsible for the murders of Ukrainian 
        journalists;
Whereas the Presidential election of 1999, according to the final report of the 
        Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of OSCE on 
        that election, failed to meet a significant number of OSCE election-
        related commitments;
Whereas according to the ODIHR report, during the 1999 Presidential election 
        campaign, a heavy proincumbent bias was prevalent among the state-owned 
        media outlets, and members of the media viewed as not in support of the 
        President were subject to harassment by government authorities, while 
        proincumbent campaigning by state administration and public officials 
        was widespread and systematic;
Whereas the Law on Elections of People's Deputies of Ukraine, signed by 
        President Leonid Kuchma on October 30, 2001, which was cited in a report 
        of the ODIHR dated November 26, 2001, as making improvements in 
        Ukraine's electoral code and providing safeguards to meet Ukraine's 
        commitments on democratic elections, does not include a role for 
        domestic nongovernmental organizations to monitor elections;
Whereas according to international media experts, the Law on Elections defines 
        the conduct of an election campaign in an imprecise manner which could 
        lead to arbitrary sanctions against media operating in Ukraine;
Whereas the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) on December 13, 2001, rejected 
        a draft Law on Political Advertising and Agitation, which would have 
        limited free speech in the campaign period by giving too many 
        discretionary powers to government bodies, and posed a serious threat to 
        the independent media;
Whereas the Department of State has dedicated $4,700,000 in support of 
        monitoring and assistance programs for the 2002 parliamentary elections;
Whereas the process for the 2002 parliamentary elections has reportedly been 
        affected by violations by many parties during the period prior to the 
        official start of the election campaign on January 1, 2002; and
Whereas monthly reports for November and December of 2001 released by the 
        Committee on Voters of Ukraine (CVU), an indigenous, nonpartisan, 
        nongovernment organization that was established in 1994 to monitor the 
        conduct of national election campaigns and balloting in Ukraine, cited 
        five major types of violations of political rights and freedoms during 
        the precampaign phase of the parliamentary elections, including--

    (1) use of government position to support particular political groups;

    (2) government pressure on the opposition and on the independent media;

    (3) free goods and services given by many political groups in order to 
sway voters;

    (4) coercion to join political parties and pressure to contribute to 
election campaigns; and

    (5) distribution of anonymous and compromising information about 
political opponents: Now, therefore, be it

    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) acknowledges the strong relationship between the United States 
        and Ukraine since Ukraine's independence more than 10 years ago, while 
        understanding that Ukraine can only become a full partner in Western 
        institutions when it fully embraces democratic principles;
            (2) expresses its support for the efforts of the Ukrainian people to 
        promote democracy, the rule of law, and respect for human rights in 
        Ukraine;
            (3) urges the Government of Ukraine to enforce impartially its newly 
        adopted election law, including provisions calling for--
                    (A) the transparency of election procedures;
                    (B) access for international election observers;
                    (C) multiparty representation on election commissions;
                    (D) equal access to the media for all election participants;
                    (E) an appeals process for electoral commissions and within 
                the court system; and
                    (F) administrative penalties for election violations;
            (4) urges the Government of Ukraine to meet its commitments on 
        democratic elections, as delineated in the 1990 Copenhagen Document of 
        the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), with 
        respect to the campaign period and election day, and to address issues 
        identified by the Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights 
        (ODIHR) of OSCE in its final report on the 1999 Presidential election, 
        such as state interference in the campaign and pressure on the media; 
        and
            (5) calls upon the Government of Ukraine to allow election monitors 
        from the ODIHR, other participating states of OSCE, and private 
        institutions and organizations, both foreign and domestic, access to all 
        aspects of the parliamentary election process according to international 
        practices, including--
                    (A) access to political events attended by the public during 
                the campaign period;
                    (B) access to observe voting and counting procedures at 
                polling stations and electoral commission meetings on election 
                day, including procedures to release election results on a 
                district-by-district basis as they become available; and
                    (C) access to observe postelection tabulation of results and 
                processing of election challenges and complaints.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.