[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 124 Engrossed in House (EH)]

<DOC>
H. Res. 124

                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                        April 20, 2021.
Whereas the Republic of Belarus held a presidential election on August 9, 2020, 
        that was neither free nor fair;
Whereas the presidential election took place without appropriate observation 
        from local independent groups and international delegations;
Whereas since the presidential election, Belarusians have demonstrated their 
        strong desire and commitment to a democratic future by organizing 
        peaceful protests in Minsk and across the country;
Whereas Belarusian civil society, led by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, has called 
        for the resignation of Alyaksandr Lukashenka, the peaceful transition of 
        power, the organization of new, free, and fair elections and the release 
        of all political prisoners;
Whereas Belarusian opposition leaders have faced intimidation, harassment, and 
        detention, including direct threats leading to the forced exile of 
        Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya in Lithuania as well as the kidnapping and 
        imprisonment of Maria Kalesnikava and other opposition leaders;
Whereas in the months since the election, Belarusian authorities have 
        arbitrarily detained and brutally assaulted tens of thousands of 
        peaceful protesters, journalists, and opposition figures, of which 
        hundreds remain in detention;
Whereas human rights groups have documented hundreds of horrific accounts of 
        torture, including sexual violence and rape, along with other instances 
        ill-treatment and excessive force used against detainees arrested for 
        peaceful protest;
Whereas on August 13 and 14, 2020, relatives of detainees held in the infamous 
        ``Akrestsina'' detention facility in Minsk recorded the sounds of 
        ``incessant beatings which were clearly audible in the street, and 
        numerous voices screaming out in agony with some begging for mercy'';
Whereas thousands of Belarusians have fled to neighboring countries seeking 
        political asylum;
Whereas independent journalists and the free media have faced intimidation, 
        violence, mass arrests and prosecution, with many foreign journalists 
        being stripped of their accreditation;
Whereas Katsyaryna Andreyeva and Darya Chultsovatwo, two journalists who work 
        for Belsat, an independent Polish-based satellite television station 
        aimed at Belarus, have each been sentenced to two years in prison simply 
        for reporting live from a rally in Minsk in November 2020;
Whereas Ihar Losik, a popular Belarusian blogger on Telegram, went on a hunger 
        strike for 6 weeks to protest the politically-motivated charges that he 
        helped organize riots after the fraudulent presidential election;
Whereas member states of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in 
        Europe (OSCE), of which the United States and Belarus are members, 
        invoked paragraph 12 of the 1991 Moscow Document of the Conference on 
        the Human Dimension of the OSCE (Moscow Mechanism) to establish a 
        mission of experts to review allegations of human rights violations;
Whereas the OSCE Rapporteur's Report under the Moscow Mechanism on Alleged Human 
        Rights Violations related to the presidential elections of August 9, 
        2020, in Belarus, published November 5, 2020, concluded that there was 
        ``overwhelming evidence that the presidential elections of 9 August 2020 
        [had] been falsified and that massive and systematic human rights 
        violations [had] been committed by the Belarusian security forces in 
        response to peaceful demonstrations and protests'';
Whereas women have played a leading role in peaceful demonstrations across the 
        country, protesting the police brutality and mass detentions by wearing 
        red and white, carrying flowers, and forming ``solidarity chains'';
Whereas the information technology (IT) industry in Belarus has played a 
        prominent role in the democratic movement by demanding an end to violent 
        oppression, as well as creating safe platforms for demonstrators to 
        communicate and track people who have been detained or went missing 
        during mass detentions;
Whereas Belarusian authorities have continually disrupted internet channels in 
        an attempt to limit communication among demonstrators and targeted lead 
        technology companies and their employees advocating for democracy;
Whereas Belarusian state-owned television channels have encouraged violence 
        against peaceful demonstrators;
Whereas a recent survey of IT specialists found that 15 percent of IT 
        specialists working in Belarus have already relocated to neighboring 
        countries, and over 40 percent of IT specialists no longer want to work 
        in Belarus, resulting in a devastating loss of talent for Belarus, 
        possibly permanently damaging the Belarusian technology industry along 
        with the Belarusian economy;
Whereas hundreds of former law enforcement officers in Belarus who have defected 
        in defiance of illegal orders to commit human rights violations and 
        cover up crimes against civilians and those who have assisted law 
        enforcement officers in defecting have faced harassment, financial 
        penalties, arrest, detention, and other punitive measures;
Whereas several peaceful demonstrators have died as a result of police violence, 
        including 31-year-old Roman Bondrenko who was violently beaten by 
        plainclothes police officers and, as a result, suffered head injuries 
        that resulted in his death;
Whereas Belarusian universities continue to expel students and dismiss educators 
        and researchers for participating in peaceful protests;
Whereas child protective services have threatened multiple civic activists with 
        termination of parental rights for bringing minor children to peaceful 
        protests;
Whereas factory workers at state-owned enterprises have been continuously 
        harassed for trying to organize independent trade unions and have been 
        forced to sign political letters opposing sanctions by the European 
        Union under threat of termination of their employment;
Whereas a transatlantic community of legislators has emerged in support of 
        uplifting the democratic aspirations of the Belarusian people;
Whereas international advocacy, including by co-host Latvia, succeeded in 
        preventing the illegitimate Government of Belarus from hosting the 2021 
        Ice Hockey World Championship;
Whereas the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Canada 
        have enacted sanctions and other punitive measures against dozens of 
        individuals and entities found responsible for the perpetration of 
        violence against peaceful demonstrators, opposition members, and 
        journalists, among others;
Whereas Alyaksandr Lukashenka continues to undermine the sovereignty and 
        independence of Belarus through efforts to integrate Belarus into a so-
        called ``Union States'' under the control of Russia;
Whereas the House of Representatives passed the Belarus Democracy, Human Rights, 
        and Sovereignty Act of 2020 with unanimous consent, sending a clear 
        message of overwhelming, bipartisan support for the democratic movement 
        in Belarus;
Whereas the Belarus Democracy, Human Rights, and Sovereignty Act of 2020 was 
        signed into law via the fiscal year 2021 omnibus spending bill, 
        expanding the President's authority to impose sanctions related to 
        Belarus, including on Russian individuals who have undermined Belarus' 
        sovereignty, as well as authorizing increased assistance to counter 
        internet censorship and surveillance technology, support women 
        advocating for freedom and human rights, and support political refugees 
        fleeing the crackdown in Belarus, among other things; and
Whereas the Belarusian opposition, led by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, organized a 
        Day of Solidary on February 7, 2020, where countries, cities, and 
        political and elected leaders, as well as everyday citizens around the 
        world demonstrated their support for the six months of historic peaceful 
        protests since the fraudulent presidential election that took place on 
        August 9, 2020: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) finds that the August 9, 2020, presidential election in Belarus 
        was neither free nor fair and, therefore, does not recognize the 
        government-announced results or Alyaksandr Lukashenka as the legitimate 
        President of Belarus;
            (2) calls for new free and fair elections under Organization for 
        Security and Co-operation in Europe observation;
            (3) affirms that the people of Belarus have the right to determine 
        the future of Belarus without unwelcome intervention from the Russian 
        Federation or any outside actors in violation of Belarusian independence 
        and sovereignty;
            (4) condemns the human rights violations committed by Belarusian 
        authorities, including against peaceful demonstrators, civil society 
        activists, opposition leaders, students, educators, employees at state-
        owned enterprises, medical personnel, and journalists, and calls for 
        such authorities to halt any further acts of violence against civilians;
            (5) calls for the immediate release of all political prisoners and 
        those unlawfully detained in connection with the peaceful demonstrations 
        including independent journalists and family members of United States 
        citizens;
            (6) recognizes the sacrifices and bravery of the Belarusian people 
        and the incredible organization by Belarusian women to peacefully demand 
        a free and fair democratic process while enduring the state-sponsored 
        violence that followed the August 9, 2020, election;
            (7) calls on Alyaksandr Lukashenka and Belarusian authorities to 
        engage in an open and constructive dialogue with the opposition members 
        and other stakeholders to bring about a peaceful transition of power;
            (8) calls for the protection of civil society actors and members of 
        the opposition against arbitrary arrest and violence while conducting 
        peaceful discussions relating to the peaceful transition of power in 
        Belarus;
            (9) recognizes the Coordination Council established by Sviatlana 
        Tsikhanouskaya as a legitimate institution to participate in a dialogue 
        on a peaceful transition of power;
            (10) urges continued cooperation among the United States and its 
        transatlantic allies and partners to explore avenues in support of the 
        democratic movement in Belarus;
            (11) calls for further targeted sanctions coordinated between the 
        United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, and other 
        allies and partners against Belarusian authorities who committed human 
        rights violations and engaged in activities that resulted in the 
        falsification of the August 9, 2020, election results;
            (12) encourages when considering, in coordination with transatlantic 
        partners, the sanctioning of Belarusian state-owned companies that have 
        directly violated the rights of their workers as a result of their 
        participation in or in connection to the ongoing democratic movement in 
        Belarus that the Administration take into consideration the potential 
        implications of making these companies more vulnerable to takeovers by 
        Russian or Chinese state-owned companies;
            (13) calls on the transatlantic community to review and consider 
        reassessing any financial assistance that supports the Lukashenka 
        regime, including participation in state debt issuances or procurement 
        contracts;
            (14) supports increasing funds available for foreign assistance to 
        Belarusian civil society groups as well as legal assistance for 
        activists and independent journalists, among others, as called for in 
        the Belarus Democracy, Human Rights, and Sovereignty Act of 2020;
            (15) urges the President to provide the United States Agency for 
        Global Media with a surge capacity (as such term is defined in section 
        316 of the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 (22 
        U.S.C. 6216)) for programs and activities in Belarus, including to 
        protect the brave independent journalists reporting from within Belarus 
        as called for in the Belarus Democracy, Human Rights, and Sovereignty 
        Act of 2020;
            (16) calls for an international investigation into the human rights 
        abuses committed during and after the August 9, 2020, presidential 
        election; and
            (17) continues to support the aspirations of the people of Belarus 
        for democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, and reaffirms that the 
        fulfillment of such aspirations is critical to ensuring the continued 
        strength of Belarusian sovereignty and territorial integrity.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.