[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 63 (Monday, April 17, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S1136]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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  SENATE RESOLUTION 158--CONDEMNING THE DEPORTATION OF CHILDREN FROM 
UKRAINE TO THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION AND THE FORCIBLE TRANSFER OF CHILDREN 
WITHIN TERRITORIES OF UKRAINE THAT ARE TEMPORARILY OCCUPIED BY RUSSIAN 
                                 FORCES

  Mr. PETERS (for himself, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Cassidy, Mr. Grassley, 
Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Cardin, Mrs. Shaheen, and Mr. Scott of Florida) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 158

       Whereas, on January 12, 1951, the Convention on the 
     Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (commonly 
     known as the ``Genocide Convention''), of which the Russian 
     Federation is a signatory, came into effect;
       Whereas, on February 24, 2022, the Russian Federation 
     launched an illegal and unprovoked further invasion of 
     Ukraine;
       Whereas, on March 22, 2022, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry 
     announced that the Russian military had forcefully and 
     illegally kidnapped 2,389 Ukrainian children from temporarily 
     occupied areas of Ukraine;
       Whereas forcibly transferring children of one group to 
     another group is a violation of Article II(e) of the 
     Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of 
     Genocide, adopted and opened for signature in 1948 and 
     entered into force in 1951 (commonly known as the ``Genocide 
     Convention'');
       Whereas the unlawful deportation or transfer of people 
     constitutes a breach of Article 147 of the Convention (IV) 
     relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of 
     War, done at Geneva August 12, 1949 (commonly referred to as 
     the ``Fourth Geneva Convention'');
       Whereas, Maria Lvova-Belova, Children's Rights Commissioner 
     for the President of Russia, admitted to kidnapping Ukrainian 
     children and facilitating forced adoptions to Russian 
     families;
       Whereas Ukrainian authorities have stated that a number of 
     the kidnapped Ukrainian children have families who remain in 
     Ukraine, but have been separated due to the Russian invasion;
       Whereas, on May 30, 2022, the President of the Russian 
     Federation, Vladimir Putin, signed a decree simplifying the 
     procedure of obtaining Russian citizenship for Ukrainian 
     orphans and children without parental care, thereby 
     expediting the process of illegal adoption of deported 
     Ukrainian children by Russian families;
       Whereas, on June 2, 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr 
     Zelenskyy stated that 200,000 children are among the 
     Ukrainians who have been forcefully resettled in Russia;
       Whereas on June 16, 2022, Russian authorities announced 
     that children born in occupied Ukrainian territories after 
     the February 24, 2022, invasion will be deemed Russian 
     citizens;
       Whereas, on July 11, 2022, United Nations Secretary General 
     Antonio Guterres ordered an investigation into the deaths and 
     injuries of Ukrainian children;
       Whereas, on July 13, 2022, Secretary of State Antony J. 
     Blinken issued a statement calling upon Russia to 
     ``immediately halt its systemic filtration operations in 
     Ukraine'', which have caused the disappearance, detention, or 
     forcible deportation of between 900,000 and 1,600,000 
     Ukrainians (approximately 260,000 of whom are children);
       Whereas, on December 5, 2022, Ukrainian Parliament 
     Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, announced 
     that at least 2,800,000 Ukrainians have been deported to 
     Russia;
       Whereas on March 17, 2023, the International Criminal Court 
     issued warrants of arrest, relating to the war crimes 
     described in subsections (a)(vii) and (b)(viii) of section 2 
     of article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International 
     Criminal Court, for--
       (1) Vladimir Putin, for--
          (A) the unlawful deportation of population (children); 
     and
          (B) the unlawful transfer of population (children) from 
     occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation; and
       (2) Maria Lvova-Belova, Presidential Commissioner for 
     Children's Rights in Russia, for--
          (A) the unlawful deportation of population (children); 
     and
          (B) the unlawful transfer of population (children) from 
     occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation; and
       Whereas, as of March 27, 2023, the official platform 
     ``Children of War'', which was created by the Ministry of 
     Reintegration and the National Information Bureau on behalf 
     of the Office of the President of Ukraine reported that--
       (1) at least 465 Ukrainian children have been killed and 
     942 Ukrainian children have been wounded since Russia's 
     renewed invasion of Ukraine began; and
       (2) there has been 16,207 verified cases of Ukrainian 
     children being deported to Russia out of a possible 744,000 
     cases: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) holds the Government of the Russian Federation, under 
     the leadership of Vladimir Putin, responsible for the 
     wrongful and illegal kidnapping of children from Ukraine and 
     officially condemns these actions in the strongest terms;
       (2) declares that the facilitation of illegal adoptions is 
     contrary to Russia's obligations under the Genocide 
     Convention and amounts to genocide;
       (3) claims that the Russian Federation is attempting to 
     wipe out a generation of Ukrainian children, thereby 
     crippling Ukraine's ability to nurture the next generation of 
     Ukrainian citizens and leaders and to rebuild their country 
     after Russia's unprovoked war, with the purpose of 
     demolishing Ukraine's unique language, culture, history, and 
     identity; and
       (4) asserts that the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian 
     Federation has significantly increased the risks of children 
     being exposed to human trafficking and exploitation, child 
     labor, gender-based violence, hunger, injury, trauma, 
     deprivation of education and shelter, and death.

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