[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 345 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 345

   Expressing the sense of the Senate on the political situation in 
                                Belarus.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 9, 2021

  Mrs. Shaheen (for herself, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Durbin, Mr. 
 Portman, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Markey, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Hagerty, Mr. Rubio, 
  Mr. Johnson, Mr. Kaine, and Mr. Van Hollen) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Expressing the sense of the Senate on the political situation in 
                                Belarus.

Whereas the United States Senate has long maintained strong bipartisan concern 
        regarding the troubling lack of democracy in Belarus, highlighted by the 
        passing of the Belarus Democracy Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-347; 22 
        U.S.C. 5811 note);
Whereas the 116th Congress, as referenced in H.R. 8438, the Belarus Democracy, 
        Human Rights, and Sovereignty Act of 2020, and Senate Resolution 658, 
        which both passed with unanimous support, stated its deep concern 
        regarding the fraudulent election in Belarus on August 9, 2020;
Whereas, on September 17, 2020, the Moscow Mechanism of the human dimension of 
        the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) was 
        invoked by 17 participating states with regard to credible reports of 
        human rights violations before, during, and after the presidential 
        election of August 9, 2020, in Belarus;
Whereas, following Alyaksandr Lukashenka's inauguration on September 23, 2020, 
        the United States, the European Union, numerous European Union member 
        states, the United Kingdom, and Canada announced they did not recognize 
        the legitimacy of the election results;
Whereas, after the August 9, 2020 presidential election, the Government of 
        Belarus responded to the resulting peaceful protests, the largest in the 
        country's history, with a violent crackdown, including the detention of 
        more than 10,000 peaceful protectors, according to the United Nations 
        Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus;
Whereas the Government of Belarus, under the misrule of the Lukashenka regime, 
        continues to engage in a pattern of clear and persistent violations of 
        human rights and fundamental freedoms and disrespects the basic 
        principles of democratic governance by subjecting tens of thousands of 
        pro-democracy political activists, peaceful protesters, and ordinary 
        citizens to harassment, beatings, abductions, forced deportations, and 
        imprisonment and by committing acts of transnational repression to 
        punish any dissent expressed by Belarusian citizens;
Whereas the Lukashenka regime continues to silence independent media, such as 
        Nasha Niva, tut.by, and Belsat, and has unlawfully raided the offices of 
        media outlets, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and arrested 
        journalists;
Whereas, on September 11, 2020, then-Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun 
        said that ``we stand by our long-term commitment to support the 
        sovereignty of Belarus as well as its territorial integrity, as the 
        aspirations of the Belarusian people to determine their own path remains 
        in front of us'';
Whereas, on May 23, 2021, the Lukashenka regime forced a commercial airliner 
        flying between two European Union member states to land in Minsk in 
        order for the regime to arrest journalist Raman Pratasevich and his 
        partner Sofia Sapega, an action that resulted in near universal 
        condemnation from the international community and coordinated sanctions 
        by the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union;
Whereas, on May 28, 2021, the White House announced the re-imposition of full 
        blocking sanctions against nine Belarusian state-owned enterprises and 
        announced a new Executive order to increase sanctions on elements of the 
        Lukashenka regime;
Whereas the Lukashenka regime has actively encouraged over 4,000 migrants from 
        other countries to cross through Belarus into European Union member 
        state Lithuania, amounting to people smuggling and obliging Lithuania to 
        declare a state of emergency;
Whereas, on June 9, 2021, the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate held 
        a hearing regarding the political situation in Belarus, in which United 
        States Ambassador to Belarus Julie Fisher testified that ``Despite the 
        oppression, the violence, and the turmoil that followed the events of 
        the past year provide glimmers of hope. A new generation of brave 
        Belarusians, with courageous women at the front, have emerged. They 
        represent a Belarus determined to chart its own path. They represent a 
        Belarus in which wearing a red and white dress, hanging a flag, or 
        playing a particular song will not result in torture, forced 
        confessions, or even death.'';
Whereas, on July 27, 2021, President Biden met Belarusian opposition leader 
        Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya at the White House and declared that ``The 
        United States stands with the people of Belarus in their quest for 
        democracy and universal human rights.'';
Whereas, on August 9, 2021, President Biden--

    (1) announced an Executive order authorizing the imposition of blocking 
sanctions on certain sectors of the Belarus economy, including the potash, 
tobacco products, and construction sectors; and

    (2) pursuant to such Executive order and Executive Order 13405, issued 
additional sanctions on Belarusian individuals and entities, including 
Belaruskali (a state-owned potash fertilizer company) and the Belarus 
National Olympic Committee; and

Whereas Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya continues to 
        represent the widely shared desire of the Belarusian people for free and 
        fair elections and democracy: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) continues, on the first anniversary of the illegitimate 
        presidential election in Belarus on August 9, 2020, to refuse 
        to recognize Alyaksandr Lukashenka as the legitimately elected 
        leader of Belarus;
            (2) condemns Lukashenka's ongoing crackdown on members of 
        the pro-democracy movement, senior members of the Coordination 
        Council, peaceful protesters, employees from state-owned 
        enterprises participating in strikes, independent election 
        observers, independent journalists and bloggers, medical 
        professionals, professors, teachers, athletes, and cultural 
        leaders;
            (3) continues to call for the fulfillment by the Government 
        of Belarus of Belarus' freely undertaken obligations as an 
        Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) 
        member and accept the OSCE's offer to facilitate a national 
        dialogue and fully participate in the OSCE process;
            (4) calls for new presidential and parliamentary elections 
        to be held in Belarus, conducted in a manner that is free and 
        fair according to OSCE standards and under the supervision of 
        OSCE observers and independent domestic observers;
            (5) welcomes the United States Government's close 
        coordination with the European Union, the United Kingdom, 
        Canada, other allied and partner countries, and international 
        organizations to promote the principles of democracy, the rule 
        of law, and human rights in Belarus and encourages continued 
        coordination to apply maximal pressure on the Lukashenka 
        regime;
            (6) continues to call for the immediate release, without 
        preconditions, of all political prisoners in Belarus;
            (7) welcomes the recent release of Radio Free Europe/Radio 
        Liberty (RFE/RL) journalists Aleh Hruzdzilovich and Ina 
        Studzinskaya and calls for the unconditional release of all 
        political prisoners and journalists detained on dubious 
        charges, including opposition candidates Sergei Tikhanovsky and 
        Viktar Babaryka, pro-democracy activist Maria Kalesnikava, and 
        RFE/RL journalist Ihar Losik;
            (8) condemns the forced diversion of Ryanair Flight 4978 to 
        arrest Raman Pratasevich and his partner Sofia Sapega, which 
        violated international civil aviation law and risked the lives 
        of innocent passengers and crew, and calls for their immediate 
        unconditional release;
            (9) commends the bravery of Belarusians who have created 
        innovative ways to protest Lukashenka's autocracy and applauds 
        the Belarusian diaspora's efforts to maintain international 
        focus on the deteriorating political situation;
            (10) lauds the extraordinary support offered by the 
        Governments of Lithuania, Ukraine, and Poland to support the 
        people of Belarus, including support for the political 
        opposition, accommodation of political refugees, and backing a 
        free media;
            (11) calls on the Lukashenka regime to immediately halt 
        exploiting and instrumentalizing migrants and to stop directing 
        individuals to Lithuania's borders;
            (12) welcomes the Executive order announced on August 9, 
        2021, that applies additional sanctions on the Lukashenka 
        regime and urges the Biden Administration to consider all 
        economic, political, and diplomatic tools at its disposal to 
        support democracy in Belarus;
            (13) welcomes the European Union sanctions imposed on the 
        Lukashenka regime and urges the United States to continue to 
        coordinate additional measures with the European Union; and
            (14) emphasizes that the United States supports the people 
        of Belarus in their quest to maintain their sovereignty, choose 
        their own leadership, and live in freedom, and recognizes the 
        extensive efforts of the Belarusian opposition to coordinate 
        efforts with the United States, the European Union, the OSCE, 
        and the United Nations to bring free and fair elections to its 
        people.
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