Ukraine Religious Freedom Support Act

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 5408 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 30, 2020 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations AN ACT To oppose violations of religious freedom in Ukraine by Russia and armed groups commanded by Russia. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Dec 01, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5408.RFS H5408 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 HR 5408 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ukraine Religious 2 Freedom Support Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 4 Congress makes the following findings: 5 (1) Russia invaded the Crimea region of 6 Ukraine in February 2014, continues to occupy and 7 control that region, and has exercised control over 8 part of the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine since 9 April 2014 through non-state armed groups and ille- 10 gal entities it has established, instigated, com- 11 manded, and supported, including with military and 12 intelligence personnel on the ground from Russia. 13 (2) International humanitarian law, including 14 the Geneva Conventions, to which Russia is a signa- 15 tory, requires Russia to respect and protect the reli- 16 gious freedom of the inhabitants of the territory it 17 occupies or controls, including through organized 18 non-state armed groups and illegal entities it com- 19 mands and supports, and holds Russia responsible 20 for violations of religious freedom in this territory. 21 (3) According to the Department of State’s 22 International Religious Freedom Reports, and other 23 reporting, violations of religious freedom in the Cri- 24 mea region of Ukraine since Russia invaded and oc- 25 cupied the territory have included abduction, deten- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Dec 01, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5408.RFS H5408 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 HR 5408 RFS tion and imprisonment, torture, forced psychiatric 1 hospitalizations, fines, restrictions on missionary ac- 2 tivities, confiscations of property, including churches 3 and meeting halls, expulsions and obstructions to re- 4 entry, denying registration of religious groups, van- 5 dalism, fines, and banning peaceful religious groups, 6 and targeted groups have included Muslim Crimean 7 Tatars, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, formerly 8 the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan Patri- 9 archate, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, 10 Protestant Christians, and Jehovah’s Witnesses. 11 (4) According to the Department of State’s 12 International Religious Freedom Reports, violations 13 of religious freedom in the part of the Donbas region 14 of Ukraine controlled by armed groups commanded 15 by Russia have included detention and imprison- 16 ment, torture, confiscation of property, including 17 churches and meeting halls, physical assaults and 18 threats of violence, vandalism, fines, restrictions on 19 missionary activities, religious services, ceremonies, 20 gatherings, and literature, and banning of peaceful 21 religious groups, and targeted groups have included 22 the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, formerly the 23 Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyiv Patriarchate, the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Dec 01, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5408.RFS H5408 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 HR 5408 RFS Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Protestant Chris- 1 tians, and Jehovah’s Witnesses. 2 (5) The International Religious Freedom Act of 3 1998, as amended by the Frank R. Wolf Inter- 4 national Religious Freedom Act, requires the Presi- 5 dent to— 6 (A) designate a foreign country as a coun- 7 try of particular concern for religious freedom 8 when its government has engaged in or toler- 9 ated particularly severe violations of religious 10 freedom in that country over the previous 12 11 months; 12 (B) take one or more of the actions de- 13 scribed in paragraphs (9) through (15) of sec- 14 tion 405(a) of the International Religious Free- 15 dom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6445(a)), or com- 16 mensurate actions in substitution, not later 17 than 90 days, or 180 days in case of a delay 18 under paragraph (3), after the date of the des- 19 ignation of a country as a country of particular 20 concern for religious freedom; and 21 (C) designate a foreign country on a ‘‘Spe- 22 cial Watch List’’ when its government has en- 23 gaged in or tolerated severe violations of reli- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Dec 01, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5408.RFS H5408 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 HR 5408 RFS gious freedom in that country over the previous 1 12 months. 2 (6) On December 18, 2019, the Secretary of 3 State re-designated Russia for the ‘‘Special Watch 4 List’’. 5 (7) The National Security Strategy of the 6 United States issued in 2017, 2015, 2006, 2002, 7 2000, 1999, 1998, and 1997, committed the United 8 States to promoting international religious freedom 9 to advance the security, economic, and other na- 10 tional interests of the United States. 11 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 12 It is the policy of the United States to consider any 13 alien who, while serving as an official of the Government 14 of Russia, was responsible for or directly carried out par- 15 ticularly severe violations of religious freedom in the sov- 16 ereign territory of Ukraine that Russia illegally occupies 17 or controls, including through non-state armed groups and 18 illegal entities it commands and supports, to have com- 19 mitted particularly severe violations of religious freedom 20 for purposes of applying section 212(a)(2)(G) of the Im- 21 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)(G)) 22 with respect to any such alien. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Dec 01, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5408.RFS H5408 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 HR 5408 RFS SEC. 4. DESIGNATION OF RUSSIA AS A COUNTRY OF PAR- 1 TICULAR CONCERN FOR RELIGIOUS FREE- 2 DOM. 3 For purposes of making a determination of whether 4 to designate Russia as a country of particular concern for 5 religious freedom under section 402 of the International 6 Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6442), the 7 President shall consider any particularly severe violation 8 of religious freedom in the territory of Ukraine that Rus- 9 sia occupies or controls, including controls through non- 10 state armed groups and illegal entities it commands and 11 supports, during the period of time that is the basis for 12 the determination and designation, to be a particularly se- 13 vere violation of religious freedom that the Government 14 of Russia has engaged in or tolerated. 15 SEC. 5. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 16 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 17 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 18 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 19 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 20 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 21 by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, pro- 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Dec 01, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5408.RFS H5408 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 HR 5408 RFS vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 1 vote on passage. 2 Passed the House of Representatives November 18, 2020. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Dec 01, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5408.RFS H5408 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS