[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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