[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 46 (Tuesday, March 15, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1180-S1181]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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 SENATE RESOLUTION 546--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE CONDEMNING 
   THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION, PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN, MEMBERS OF THE 
    RUSSIAN SECURITY COUNCIL, THE RUSSIAN ARMED FORCES, AND RUSSIAN 
 MILITARY COMMANDERS FOR COMMITTING ATROCITIES, INCLUDING ALLEGED WAR 
            CRIMES, AGAINST THE PEOPLE OF UKRAINE AND OTHERS

  Mr. GRAHAM (for himself, Mr. Coons, Mr. Cardin, Mr. King, Ms. Ernst, 
Mr. Tillis, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Cornyn, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Moran, Mr. 
Rubio, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Booker, Ms. Collins, Mr. Van Hollen, Ms. 
Klobuchar, Mr. Heinrich, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Hoeven, Mr. 
Whitehouse, Mr. Braun, Mr. Kelly, Mrs. Shaheen, and Mr. Durbin) 
submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 546

       Whereas the United States of America is a beacon for the 
     values of freedom, democracy, and human rights across the 
     globe;
       Whereas there are several universal declarations and 
     treaties promoting human rights, laws of war, and upholding 
     the dignity of individuals;
       Whereas the United Nations Charter Preamble states that 
     member nations ``reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights 
     [and] in the dignity and worth of the human person'';
       Whereas the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Preamble 
     states that ``Member States have pledged themselves to 
     achieve, in cooperation with the United Nations, the 
     promotion of universal respect for and observance of human 
     rights and fundamental freedoms'';
       Whereas the Russian Federation joined as an original member 
     of the United Nations as the former Union of Soviet 
     Socialists Republics on October 24, 1945, and as such has a 
     duty to abide by the conditions of the United Nations Charter 
     and pledges reflected in the Universal Declaration of Human 
     Rights;
       Whereas the International Criminal Court (ICC) is an 
     international tribunal that seeks to uphold the rule of law, 
     especially in areas where no rule of law exists, by 
     investigating and trying individuals charged ``with the 
     gravest crimes of concern to the international community: 
     genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime 
     of aggression'';
       Whereas grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions 
     constitute war crimes, including ``wil[l]ful killing, torture 
     or inhuman treatment, including biological experiments, 
     wil[l]fully causing great suffering or serious injury to body 
     or health. . . and extensive destruction and appropriation of 
     property, not justified by military necessity and carried out 
     unlawfully and wantonly'';
       Whereas other serious violations of the laws and customs 
     applicable in international armed conflict can constitute war 
     crimes, which can include intentionally directing attacks 
     against the civilian population as such or against individual 
     civilians not taking direct part in hostilities and 
     intentionally directing attacks against civilian objects, 
     that is, objects which are not military objectives;
       Whereas President Vladimir Putin, members of the Russian 
     Security Council, and President Putin's military commanders 
     have severely undermined the international rule of law 
     through their various actions;
       Whereas, prior to the most recent invasion of Ukraine in 
     February 2022, President Vladimir Putin and the Russian 
     Federation has a long history of committing acts of 
     aggression, human rights violations, and acts that constitute 
     war crimes within the Russian Federation and around the 
     globe, including in Chechnya, Georgia, Ukraine, and Syria;
       Whereas, beginning in 1999, the Russian Federation engaged 
     in the indiscriminate use of force against the people of 
     Chechnya, including the use of cluster munitions against 
     civilians, resulting in 50,000 Chechens, mostly civilians, 
     dead or missing;
       Whereas, during the Russian Federation's invasion of 
     Georgia in 2008, Russian Armed Forces engaged with cluster 
     munitions in indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks that 
     resulted in the death of civilians;
       Whereas, since 2014, President Vladimir Putin has violated 
     the sovereignty of Ukraine and used military force to seize 
     control and unlawfully occupy Crimea, and installed Russian 
     separatist-backed forces in eastern Ukraine, resulting in the 
     deaths of thousands of innocent civilians since 2014;
       Whereas the Russian military was deemed responsible for 
     shooting down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern 
     Ukraine on July 17, 2014, which resulted in the death of 298 
     civilians;
       Whereas rebel forces supported by the Russian Federation 
     were deemed responsible for a missile attack on January 24, 
     2015, in Mariupol, Ukraine that indiscriminately killed and 
     injured civilians, resulting in the death of at least 30 and 
     injuring many more;
       Whereas, in 2016 and 2017, Russian aircraft deployed 
     ``bunker-busting'' and incendiary bombs capable of destroying 
     military installations on civilian structures in Aleppo, 
     Syria, resulting in the death of hundreds of civilians;
       Whereas President Vladimir Putin is complicit in war crimes 
     and human rights violations in Syria through his continuing 
     political, financial, and military support for President 
     Bashar al-Assad;
       Whereas intelligence assessments have concluded Vladimir 
     Putin and his regime have destroyed the rule of law in Russia 
     and engaged in countless atrocities, including ordering the 
     poisoning of Alexei Navalny, the poisoning of Sergei and 
     Yulia Skripal, and the false imprisonment and torture 
     ultimately leading to the death of Sergei Magnitsky;
       Whereas President Vladimir Putin, in February 2022, 
     initiated a premeditated, unprovoked, unjustified, and 
     unlawful war against the sovereign nation of Ukraine;
       Whereas, since February 24, 2022, President Vladimir Putin 
     and Russian Federation forces reportedly killed more than 500 
     civilians, to include children, while invading Ukrainian 
     urban centers, causing chaos and fear among Ukrainian 
     citizens;
       Whereas, on February 28, 2022, the Ukrainian Ambassador to 
     the United States, Oksana Markarova, claimed President 
     Vladimir Putin ordered the deployment of thermobaric weapons 
     and cluster munitions to be used in the northeastern towns of 
     Okhtyrka and Karkhiv, in populated, urban areas;
       Whereas Ukraine has twice submitted to the jurisdiction of 
     the ICC for the purposes

[[Page S1181]]

     of investigating alleged war crimes and crimes against 
     humanity committed within its territory related to the 
     Russian occupation of Ukraine;
       Whereas Lithuania and Canada, members to the authorizing 
     treaty of the ICC, have called on the ICC to open an 
     investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against 
     humanity committed by Russia;
       Whereas, on February 28, 2022, the Prosecutor of the ICC, 
     Karim A.A. Khan QC stated that the ICC would open a third 
     investigation against Russia for alleged war crimes and 
     crimes against humanity committed during the Russian invasion 
     into Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022;
       Whereas Ukraine has also filed a claim in the International 
     Court of Justice (ICJ) instituting proceedings against the 
     Russian Federation related to genocide under the Genocide 
     Convention; and
       Whereas the United States Government should use its voice, 
     vote, and influence to pursue war crimes and crimes against 
     humanity allegations against Vladimir Putin and his military 
     commanders in international institutions of which it is a 
     member and encourage other allies and partners to express the 
     same: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved,

     SECTION 1. SENSE OF THE SENATE.

       The Senate--
       (1) strongly condemns the ongoing violence, including war 
     crimes, crimes against humanity, and systematic human rights 
     abuses being carried out by the Russian Armed Forces and 
     their proxies and President Putin's military commanders, at 
     the direction of President Vladimir Putin;
       (2) encourages member states to petition the ICC or other 
     appropriate international tribunal to take any appropriate 
     steps to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity 
     committed by the Russian Armed Forces and their proxies and 
     President Putin's military commanders, at the direction of 
     President Vladimir Putin;
       (3) supports any investigation into war crimes, crimes 
     against humanity, and systematic human rights abuses levied 
     by President Vladimir Putin, the Russian Security Council, 
     the Russian Armed Forces and their proxies, and President 
     Putin's military commanders;
       (4) encourages the United States Government and partner 
     nations to use their voice, vote, and influence in 
     international institutions in which they are members to hold 
     President Vladimir Putin, the Russian Security Council, the 
     Russian Armed Forces and their proxies, and President Putin's 
     military commanders accountable for their sponsorship of 
     ongoing violence, including war crimes, crimes against 
     humanity, and systematic human rights abuses; and
       (5) stands with the people of Ukraine who have been 
     affected by the brutality of the Putin regime.

     SEC. 2. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

       Nothing in this resolution may be construed as--
       (1) a declaration of war or an authorization for the use of 
     military force against the Russian Federation; or
       (2) authorization for the introduction of the United States 
     Armed Forces into Ukraine.

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