[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 571 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 571

  Condemning the ongoing illegal occupation of Crimea by the Russian 
                              Federation.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 10, 2018

  Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Portman, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Toomey, Mr. 
 Coons, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Markey, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Cardin, and Mr. Brown) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                          on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Condemning the ongoing illegal occupation of Crimea by the Russian 
                              Federation.

Whereas, in February 2014, unidentified Russian armed forces entered Ukrainian 
        territory and took control of key military and government infrastructure 
        in the Crimean peninsula of Ukraine;
Whereas, in March 2014, the parliament of the Russian Federation gave rubber-
        stamp approval to President Vladimir Putin's request to use military 
        force against Ukrainian territory ostensibly because of the ``threat of 
        violence from ultranationalists'';
Whereas, on March 27, 2014, the United Nations General Assembly adopted 
        Resolution 68/262 calling on states and international organizations not 
        to recognize any change in Crimea's status and affirmed the commitment 
        of the United Nations to recognize Crimea as part of Ukraine;
Whereas the Russian Federation's illegal invasion and annexation of Crimea has 
        been widely seen as an effort to stifle the spread of pro-democracy 
        developments across Ukraine in 2014 in the wake of the Euromaidan 
        protests;
Whereas the Russian Federation is a signatory to the 1994 Budapest Memorandum 
        and thus committed to respect the independence, sovereignty, and borders 
        of Ukraine and to refrain from threats, coercive economic actions, or 
        the use of force against Ukraine's territorial integrity and political 
        independence;
Whereas the Russian Federation committed in the 1975 Final Act of the Conference 
        for Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Final Act) to respect 
        the sovereign equality and territorial integrity of other participating 
        States;
Whereas the Russian Federation's obligations under the Charter of the United 
        Nations prohibit the threat or use of force against the territorial 
        integrity and political independence of other states;
Whereas the Russian Federation's ongoing illegal occupation of Crimea in Ukraine 
        have been widely condemned by the international community as illegal 
        acts;
Whereas the United States and European Union have imposed sanctions on 
        individuals and entities who have enabled the illegal invasion, 
        annexation, and occupation of Crimea;
Whereas the Department of State has stated in its Country Reports on Human 
        Rights Practices that security services and local authorities in Crimea 
        installed by the Government of the Russian Federation have ``worked to 
        consolidate control over Crimea and continued to restrict human rights 
        by imposing repressive Federal laws of the Russian Federation on the 
        Ukrainian territory of Crimea'' and that ``the most significant human 
        rights problems in Crimea [were] related directly to the Russian 
        occupation'';
Whereas the Department of State has described ``an extensive campaign of 
        intimidation to suppress dissent and opposition to the occupation'' that 
        has been carried out by Russian security services inside Crimea, 
        including the use of torture and physical abuse, kidnapping, 
        disappearances, and deportations, and reporting from independent human 
        rights groups inside and outside Crimea has documented such alleged 
        human rights violations by Russian security services and paramilitary 
        groups;
Whereas the campaign of intimidation in Crimea has resulted in the prosecution 
        and imprisonment of individuals who oppose or criticize the occupation 
        or support Ukrainian sovereignty as well as the transfer of some 
        individuals from Crimea to Russian Federation territory from prosecution 
        and imprisonment;
Whereas the Department of State has noted that illegal occupying authorities in 
        Crimea have also restricted the fundamental human rights of particular 
        groups, including ethnic Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars, ``particularly 
        regarding expressions of nationality and ethnicity, and subjected them 
        to systematic discrimination'';
Whereas human rights groups have cited that such discrimination has been carried 
        out in myriad ways, including through the outlawing in 2016 of the 
        elected representative body (mejilis) of the Crimean Tatar people, the 
        closing of Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian-language schools, and forced 
        conscription;
Whereas the Department of State and other international human rights groups have 
        noted further continuing human rights concerns in Crimea, including the 
        suppression of independent media and civil society through harassment 
        and harsh administrative measures, politicized and unfair judicial 
        processes, and poor prison conditions;
Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has worked to extend Russian 
        citizenship to individuals inside Crimea and deprived access to public 
        services of those who refuse such citizenship;
Whereas civil society groups have alleged that the Government of the Russian 
        Federation has encouraged Russian citizens to relocate to the Crimean 
        peninsula and has supported the physical destruction of historical sites 
        in Crimea, ostensibly to influence the demographics and political 
        character of the region in favor of the Kremlin; and
Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has supported the development 
        of infrastructure and institutional ties between Crimea and the Russian 
        Federation, including the opening of a road and rail bridge over the 
        Kerch Strait on May 15, 2018: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) reiterates that Crimea is part of the sovereign 
        territory of Ukraine;
            (2) stresses that United States policy should remain that 
        Crimea is part of Ukraine and should reject attempts to change 
        the status, demographics, or political nature of Crimea;
            (3) reaffirms respect for the values of democracy, human 
        rights, and rule of law that all individuals in Crimea deserve, 
        including non-Russian ethnic groups and religious minorities;
            (4) condemns all human rights violations against 
        individuals in Crimea, and underscores the culpability of the 
        Russian Federation for such violations while this territory is 
        under illegal Russian occupation;
            (5) calls on the Government of the Russian Federation to 
        immediately respect the political and human rights of 
        individuals in Crimea, including those detained in Crimea or 
        who have been transferred from Crimea to the territory of 
        Russia, and to cease efforts to restrict dissent or change the 
        demographic or political nature of the peninsula;
            (6) urges the United States Government, in coordination 
        with the European Union, NATO, and members of the international 
        community, to prioritize efforts to prevent the further 
        consolidation of illegal occupying powers in Crimea, reaffirm 
        unified opposition to the actions of the Russian Federation in 
        Crimea, and secure the human rights of individuals there;
            (7) welcomes the sanctions that have been imposed and 
        maintained to date by the United States and European Union 
        against individuals engaged in furthering the illegal 
        occupation of Crimea by the Russian Federation;
            (8) calls on the United States Government to continue to 
        use relevant sanctions authorities codified in the Countering 
        America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017 (Public Law 
        115-144), as well as under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights 
        Accountability Act (subtitle F of title XII of Public Law 114-
        328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note), to address and deter those engaged 
        in furthering the illegal occupation of Crimea and human rights 
        abuses and corruption committed in Crimea or against 
        individuals from Crimea;
            (9) welcomes further efforts by the United States 
        Government to encourage the European Union to impose additional 
        Crimea-related sanctions; and
            (10) calls upon the United States Government to declare it 
        the foreign policy of the United States to never recognize the 
        illegal annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, similar 
        to the 1940 Welles Declaration in which the United States 
        refused to recognized the Soviet annexation of the Baltic 
        States.
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