[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.J. Res. 139 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. J. RES. 139

 Providing for the designation of a ``Freedom to Choose their Destiny 
         for the Nations of Eastern Europe and Eurasia Week''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 12, 2018

 Ms. Kaptur (for herself, Mr. Harris, Mr. Fitzpatrick, and Mr. Levin) 
  submitted the following joint resolution; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                            JOINT RESOLUTION


 
 Providing for the designation of a ``Freedom to Choose their Destiny 
         for the Nations of Eastern Europe and Eurasia Week''.

Whereas the United States has through democratic process dedicated itself to 
        achieve a harmonious national unity of its people even though they stem 
        from the most diverse of racial, religious, and ethnic backgrounds;
Whereas this largely successful, but imperfect and ongoing, effort has led the 
        people of the United States to possess a warm understanding and sympathy 
        for the aspirations of peoples everywhere and to recognize the natural 
        interdependence of the peoples and nations of the world;
Whereas in the 1975 Helsinki Final Act, the United States, the former Soviet 
        Union and 33 other nations endorsed ten principles, which ``all are of 
        primary significance, guiding their mutual relations'', which include--

    (1) sovereign equality, respect for the rights inherent in sovereignty;

    (2) refraining from the threat or use of force;

    (3) inviolability of frontiers;

    (4) territorial integrity of states;

    (5) peaceful settlement of disputes;

    (6) non-intervention in internal affairs;

    (7) respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the 
freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief;

    (8) equal rights and self-determination of peoples;

    (9) co-operation among states; and

    (10) fulfilment in good faith of obligations under international law;

Whereas President George H.W. Bush called for a Europe whole and free in 1989, a 
        goal supported by all subsequent Administrations, Republican and 
        Democratic;
Whereas the Heads of States and Governments of the participating States of the 
        Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) issued the 
        Paris Charter in 1990 affirming that ``the Ten Principles of the Final 
        Act will guide us towards . . . (an) ambitious future, just as they have 
        lighted our way towards better relations for the past fifteen years. 
        Full implementation of all CSCE commitments must form the basis for the 
        initiatives we are now taking to enable our nations to live in 
        accordance with their aspirations.'';
Whereas the Government of Russia voluntarily signed the Belovezha Accords, which 
        led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the recognition as 
        interstate borders of the administrative boundaries among the former 
        republics of the Soviet Union;
Whereas the dissolution of the Soviet Union led to the emergence of 15 
        independent nations: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, 
        Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, 
        Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan;
Whereas all of these nations are heir to the promise and principles of the 
        Helsinki Final Act and the Paris Charter;
Whereas Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania availed themselves of these principles 
        and joined both the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty 
        Organization, as did Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, 
        Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia;
Whereas this development has created historically unprecedented peace and 
        prosperity in Central and Eastern Europe;
Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has violated the principles of 
        the Helsinki Final Act and the Paris Charter in a clear, gross and thus 
        far uncorrected manner, and is in violation of its international 
        obligations to respect the sovereignty, independence and territorial 
        integrity of all its neighbors;
Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has violated its obligations 
        under the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, which provided security assurances 
        to Ukraine relating to Kyiv giving up its nuclear weapons;
Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has asserted the purported 
        right to a ``sphere of influence'' in at least the territory of the 
        former Soviet Union;
Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has asserted the purported 
        right and duty to ``protect'' ethnic Russians, Russian speakers, and 
        Russian citizens wherever they may live, and whether or not they seek 
        such ``protection'';
Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has actively provided Russian 
        passports and Russian citizenship to people living in nearby countries 
        and particularly to those living in areas that have been the sites of 
        tension or war in the post-Soviet space: Abkhazia, Crimea, Transnistria, 
        and the Tskhinvali Region (South Ossetia);
Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has exploited alleged 
        violations of the rights of ethnic Russians and Russian speakers to 
        justify wars of aggression against Georgia and Ukraine;
Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has employed military 
        intimidation, cyber-attacks, outright invasion, occupation, and illegal 
        annexation to hold hostage the aspirations of Georgia, Moldova and 
        Ukraine in particular;
Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has employed tools of cyber 
        warfare, hybrid warfare, and disinformation in its aggression in Ukraine 
        and Georgia, and in other sovereign nations, in order to exert influence 
        while obfuscating the reality of these conflicts;
Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has exploited alleged 
        violations of the rights of ethnic Russians and Russian speakers to 
        exert pressure on the governments of many of the states achieving 
        independence since the fall of the Soviet Union;
Whereas the stability and prosperity that have emerged in Europe since the end 
        of the Cold War contribute to the security and prosperity of the United 
        States;
Whereas the United States has always been the well-wisher and supporter of 
        European nations demanding freedom and the right to choose their own 
        futures;
Whereas many of the people of these nations that emerged from the dissolution of 
        the Soviet Union and the demise of the Soviet Empire have looked to the 
        United States, the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty 
        Organization as exemplars and natural allies; and
Whereas, as was done in the designation of ``Captive Nations Week'' beginning in 
        1953 and then declared by a Congressional resolution and signed into law 
        (Public Law 86-90) in 1959, it is fitting that the United States clearly 
        manifest to such peoples, through an appropriate and official means, the 
        historic fact that the people of the United States share with them their 
        aspirations to choose their own future consistent with the Helsinki 
        Final Act and the Paris Charter: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, That--
            (1) Congress condemns the clear, gross, and uncorrected 
        violation of principles of the Helsinki Final Act, the Paris 
        Charter, and other international agreements and norms by the 
        Russian Federation in its relations with Georgia, Moldova, and 
        Ukraine in particular, including the flagrant violation of 
        their sovereignty and territorial integrity;
            (2) the President is authorized and requested to issue a 
        proclamation designating a ``Freedom to Choose their Destiny 
        for the Nations of Eastern Europe and Eurasia Week'' and 
        inviting the people of the United States to observe such week 
        with appropriate ceremonies and activities;
            (3) the President is further authorized and requested to 
        issue a similar proclamation each year until such time as the 
        nations of Eastern Europe and Eurasia are free to exercise 
        their sovereign rights without outside interference; and
            (4) the President is further authorized and requested to 
        develop policies designed to support the efforts of these 
        nations to determine their own futures, including policies to 
        help these nations strengthen domestic vulnerabilities and 
        impose penalties on those violating their sovereignty and 
        territorial integrity.
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