IV 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 304 Commending the International Criminal Court’s issuance of an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, and Maria Lvova-Belova, Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation, for two war crimes related to the forcible deportation of Ukrainian children from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 18, 2023 Mr. KEATING (for himself, Mr. QUIGLEY, Ms. KAPTUR, and Mr. FITZPATRICK) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Commending the International Criminal Court’s issuance of an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, and Maria Lvova-Belova, Commis- sioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the Presi- dent of the Russian Federation, for two war crimes re- lated to the forcible deportation of Ukrainian children from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federa- tion. Whereas, on March 17, 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, and Maria Lvova- Belova, Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:55 Apr 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR304.IH HR304 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 304 IH of the President of the Russian Federation, for commit- ting two war crimes related to the forcible deportation of Ukrainian children to the Russian Federation, stating that the Court believes that ‘‘each suspect bears responsi- bility’’ for these war crimes; Whereas, on February 24, 2022, the Russian Federation at the direction of Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale inva- sion of Ukraine; Whereas, in November 2022, Amnesty International pub- lished a report which documented the forcible deportation of Ukrainian civilians, including children, by Russian forces and their proxies into Russia; Whereas the Russian Federation has amended its domestic legislation to enable the swift placement and adoption of these forcibly deported children with Russian foster fami- lies while issuing said children Russian citizenship; Whereas the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) issued a report on March 16, 2023, which found that the Russian Federation has committed war crimes, including forcibly deporting children from occu- pied territories in Ukraine to the Russian Federation, since February 24, 2022; Whereas the March 2023 UNHRC report stated that ‘‘Inter- national humanitarian law prohibits the evacuation of children by a party to the armed conflict, with the excep- tion of a temporary evacuation . . . [for] reasons relating to the health or medical treatment . . . The written con- sent of parents or legal guardians is required . . . The transfers were not justified by safety or medical rea- sons’’; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:55 Apr 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR304.IH HR304 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 304 IH Whereas the Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab found that Russian adoption facilities are engaging in systematic ‘‘re-education’’ efforts that expose children from Ukraine to Russia-centric academic, cul- tural, patriotic, and military education, and multiple fa- cilities are advertised as ‘‘integration programs’’ with the apparent goal of integrating children from Ukraine into the Russian Government’s vision of national culture, his- tory, and society; Whereas the Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab also verified that thousands of Ukrainian children, some only toddlers, have been victims of this forcible deportation to Russia and that many of these children are being held in 43 camps across Russian Fed- eration territory, including two camps in Siberia; Whereas the 117th Congress passed legislation directing the United States to assist with ‘‘investigations and prosecu- tions of foreign nationals related to the situation in Ukraine, including to support victims and witnesses’’; and Whereas President Zelenskyy of Ukraine has thanked the ICC for its ‘‘historic’’ decision to issue arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, stating that ‘‘in the criminal proceeding being investigated by [Ukraine’s] law enforcement officers, more than 16,000 forced deportations of Ukrainian children by the occupier have already been recorded. But the real, full number of deportees may be much higher’’: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) denounces the Russian Federation’s full- 2 scale invasion of Ukraine and calls on the Russian 3 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:55 Apr 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR304.IH HR304 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 304 IH Federation to immediately withdraw all forces from 1 the internationally recognized territory of Ukraine; 2 (2) stands outraged by actions taken by Rus- 3 sian Armed Forces, Government, and their proxies 4 to remove Ukrainian children from their homes and 5 forcibly integrate them into Russian society; 6 (3) condemns the ongoing, unlawful, and sys- 7 tematic deportation, forcible transfer, and ‘‘re-edu- 8 cation’’ of Ukrainian children from occupied terri- 9 tories of Ukraine to the Russian Federation and 10 within occupied territories of Ukraine under the di- 11 rection of Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova; 12 (4) recognizes the devastating psychological, in- 13 tergenerational harm and trauma caused to Ukrain- 14 ian parents, families, and communities by the forc- 15 ible removal of their children and to the Ukrainian 16 children separated from their families and commu- 17 nities; 18 (5) supports the decision of the International 19 Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for Vladimir 20 Putin, President of the Russian Federation, and 21 Maria Lvova-Belova, Commissioner for Children’s 22 Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian 23 Federation, for committing war crimes related to the 24 unlawful deportation of children from occupied areas 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:55 Apr 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR304.IH HR304 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HRES 304 IH of Ukraine to the Russian Federation and within oc- 1 cupied territories of Ukraine; 2 (6) calls for the Russian Federation to imme- 3 diately reveal any existing records of the deportation 4 of children and adoption of deported children to 5 Ukrainian authorities; 6 (7) calls for the Russian Federation to imme- 7 diately return all deported Ukrainian children back 8 to their homes in Ukraine so they can be reunited 9 with their families and communities; 10 (8) condemns the Russian Federation for all 11 atrocity crimes and the gross violations of human 12 rights it has committed in Ukraine such as targeting 13 civilians, destroying critical civilian infrastructure re- 14 lated to energy and health care, and using torture 15 and sexual violence as weapons of war; and 16 (9) calls on President Biden to direct all de- 17 partments and agencies to support the International 18 Criminal Court’s investigation and prosecution of 19 atrocity crimes committed in Ukraine, including 20 those related to the Russian Federation’s unlawful 21 transfer and deportation of children. 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:55 Apr 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR304.IH HR304 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS