A resolution calling on the President to support the creation of an international special tribunal to prosecute Russia's aggression against Ukraine.

III 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. RES. 227 Calling on the President to support the creation of an international special tribunal to prosecute Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 31 (legislative day, MAY 30), 2023 Mr. CARDIN (for himself and Mr. KAINE) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations RESOLUTION Calling on the President to support the creation of an inter- national special tribunal to prosecute Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. Whereas, on February 24, 2022, Russia unleashed a full- scale invasion of Ukraine in contravention of inter- national law and the Charter of the United Nations; Whereas the Russian Armed Forces committed mass atroc- ities in Bucha, Irpin, Kherson, Izyum, Mariupol, Dnipro, and Ukrainian towns occupied by the Russian Federa- tion, including rape, summary execution, and unlawful vi- olence and threats against civilians; Whereas the Russian Armed Forces deliberately choose to target civilian infrastructure to terrorize Ukrainian citi- zens; VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:28 Jun 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR227.IS SR227 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 2 •SRES 227 IS Whereas, on September 21, 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated to the United Nations Gen- eral Assembly that an aggression tribunal must be estab- lished as a ‘‘signal to all ‘would-be’ aggressors, that they must value peace or be brought to responsibility by the world’’; Whereas, on January 19, 2023, the European Parliament, by a vote of 472 to 19, called for the establishment of ‘‘a special international criminal tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine’’ in order to ‘‘send a very clear signal to both Russian society and the international community that Putin and the Russian political and mili- tary leadership can be convicted for the crime of aggres- sion in Ukraine’’; Whereas, on March 27, 2023, the United States Ambassador- at-Large for Global Criminal Justice, Dr. Beth Van Schaack, stated, ‘‘There is no question that Russia’s ag- gression against Ukraine is a manifest violation of the UN Charter.’’; Whereas Article 2(4) of the Charter of the United Nations states, ‘‘All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the terri- torial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.’’; Whereas United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3314 (XXIX), adopted by the United Nations General Assem- bly on December 14, 1974, defines aggression as ‘‘the use of armed force by a State against the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of another State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Char- ter of the United Nations, as set out in this Definition’’; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:47 Jun 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR227.IS SR227 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 3 •SRES 227 IS Whereas Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, as amended by Resolution RC/Res. 6, adopted by the Review Conference at the 13th plenary meeting on June 11, 2010, states, in part: ‘‘For the pur- pose of this Statute, ‘crime of aggression’ means the planning, preparation, initiation or execution, by a person in a position effectively to exercise control over or to di- rect the political or military action of a State, of an act of aggression which, by its character, gravity and scale, constitutes a manifest violation of the Charter of the United Nations.’’; Whereas, on March 17, 2023, the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for President Vladimir Putin and Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova for their responsi- bility in the war crimes of unlawful deportation and transfer of children, and the International Criminal Court continues to investigate other international crimes within its jurisdiction that have been committed in Ukraine; Whereas the International Criminal Court has jurisdiction over war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Ukraine, but it does not have jurisdiction over crimes of aggression in Ukraine because neither Ukraine nor the Russian Federation have ratified the Rome Statute and its amendments related to the crime of aggression; Whereas the Russian Federation has committed manifest ag- gression against the Ukrainian State for which its leader- ship must be held accountable; Whereas the international community must hold those re- sponsible for these atrocities to account for their actions, VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:47 Jun 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR227.IS SR227 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 4 •SRES 227 IS including Russian President Putin and all of the Mem- bers of the Security Council of Russia; and Whereas an international special tribunal must be based on the adoption of a United Nations General Assembly Res- olution: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate— 1 (1) condemns, in the strongest terms, the Rus- 2 sian Federation’s full-scale war and aggression 3 against Ukraine; 4 (2) regards the Russian Federation’s aggression 5 in Ukraine as an affront to humanity and in con- 6 travention of international law; 7 (3) calls on the United States to use its voice 8 and vote in international institutions to support the 9 creation of a special international criminal tribunal 10 to hold accountable the leaders of the Russian Fed- 11 eration who led and sanctioned aggression in 12 Ukraine; 13 (4) states its expectation that such a tribunal 14 will be formed pursuant to a United Nations General 15 Assembly resolution put forward by friends of 16 Ukraine that would— 17 (A) direct the Secretary General of the 18 United Nations to negotiate with Ukraine the 19 terms of the tribunal’s scope; and 20 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:47 Jun 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR227.IS SR227 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 5 •SRES 227 IS (B) ensure that the role of the United Na- 1 tions— 2 (i) would be complementary to the ju- 3 risdiction of the International Criminal 4 Court; and 5 (ii) would not limit or affect the juris- 6 diction of the International Criminal 7 Court, including its exercise of jurisdiction 8 over war crimes, crimes against humanity, 9 and possible genocide committed in the 10 context of Russia’s ongoing aggression 11 against Ukraine; and 12 (5) stands with people of Ukraine in support of 13 their freedom and Ukraine’s sovereignty against tyr- 14 anny. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:47 Jun 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR227.IS SR227 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS