Recognizes the 85th anniversary of the Ukrainian Famine (Holodomor) of 1932-1933 and extends sympathies to the victims, survivors, and families of that tragedy. Encourages dissemination of information regarding the famine.
Condemns the systematic violations of human rights of the Ukrainian people by the Soviet government.
Supports the continuing efforts of the people of Ukraine to work toward ensuring democratic principles, a free-market economy, and full respect for human rights.
[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 608 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 608
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the 85th
anniversary of the Ukrainian Famine-Genocide of 1932-1933 (Holodomor)
should serve as a reminder of repressive Soviet policies against the
people of Ukraine.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 7, 2017
Mr. Levin (for himself, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Fitzpatrick, and Mr. Harris)
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee
on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the 85th
anniversary of the Ukrainian Famine-Genocide of 1932-1933 (Holodomor)
should serve as a reminder of repressive Soviet policies against the
people of Ukraine.
Whereas 2017 marks the 85th anniversary of the Ukrainian Famine-Genocide of
1932-1933;
Whereas, in 1932 and 1933, an estimated 7 to 10 million Ukrainian people
perished at the will of the totalitarian Stalinist Government of the
former Soviet Union, which perpetrated a premeditated famine in Ukraine
in an effort to break the nation's resistance to collectivization and
communist occupation;
Whereas the Soviet Government deliberately confiscated grain harvests and
starved millions of Ukrainian men, women, and children by a policy of
forced collectivization that sought to destroy the nationally conscious
movement for independence;
Whereas Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin ordered the borders of Ukraine sealed to
prevent anyone from escaping the man-made starvation and preventing any
international food aid that would provide relief to the starving;
Whereas numerous scholars worldwide have worked to uncover the scale of the
famine, including Canadian wheat expert Andrew Cairns who visited
Ukraine in 1932 and was told that there was no grain ``because the
government had collected so much grain and exported it to England and
Italy'', while simultaneously denying food aid to the people of Ukraine;
Whereas nearly a quarter of Ukraine's rural population perished or was forced
into exile due to the forcibly induced starvation, and the entire nation
suffered from the consequences of the prolonged famine;
Whereas the Soviet Government manipulated and censored foreign journalists,
including New York Times correspondent, Walter Duranty, whose reports
from Ukraine knowingly denied not only the scope and magnitude, but also
the existence, of the man-made famine;
Whereas noted correspondents of the time were refuted for their courage in
depicting and reporting of the forced famine in Ukraine, including
Gareth Jones, William Henry Chamberlin, and Malcolm Muggeridge who wrote
``They (the peasants) will tell you that many have already died of
famine and that many are dying every day; that thousands have been shot
by the government and hundreds of thousands exiled . . .'';
Whereas, in May 1934, former United States Congressman Hamilton Fish (NY)
introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives (H. Res. 399,
73d Congress, 2d Session), which called for the condemnation of the
Government of the former Soviet Union for its acts of destruction of the
Ukrainian people;
Whereas Public Law 99-180, signed into law on December 13, 1985, established the
Commission on the Ukraine Famine to conduct a study to expand the
world's knowledge of the famine and provide the American public with a
better understanding of the former Soviet system by revealing the Soviet
role in the Ukraine famine;
Whereas the final report of the United States Government's Commission on the
Ukraine Famine, concluded that the victims were ``starved to death in a
man-made famine'' and that ``Joseph Stalin and those around him
committed genocide against Ukrainians in 1932-1933'';
Whereas with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, archival documents became
available that confirmed the deliberate and premeditated deadly nature
of the famine, and that exposed the atrocities committed by the Soviet
Government against the Ukrainian people;
Whereas the Parliament of Ukraine passed on November 28, 2006, law No.: N 376-V
``About the 1932-1933 Holodomor in Ukraine'' that gave official
recognition to the Famine as an act of genocide against the Ukrainian
people;
Whereas the Congress passed and the President of the United States signed Public
Law 109-340 on October 13, 2006, authorizing ``the Government of Ukraine
to establish a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia to
honor the victims of the Ukrainian famine-genocide of 1932-1933'', which
was officially dedicated in November 2015;
Whereas the Government of Ukraine and the Ukrainian communities in the United
States and worldwide continue their efforts to secure greater
international awareness and understanding of the 1932-1933 tragedy; and
Whereas victims of the 1932-1933 Famine-Genocide (Holodomor) will be
commemorated by Ukrainian communities around the globe, and in Ukraine
through November 2018: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) solemnly remembers the 85th anniversary of the
Ukrainian Famine (Holodomor) of 1932-1933 and extends its
deepest sympathies to the victims, survivors, and families of
this tragedy;
(2) condemns the systematic violations of human rights,
including the freedom of self-determination and freedom of
speech, of the Ukrainian people by the Soviet Government;
(3) encourages dissemination of information regarding the
Ukrainian Famine (Holodomor) in order to expand the world's
knowledge of this man-made tragedy; and
(4) supports the continuing efforts of the people of
Ukraine to work toward ensuring democratic principles, a free-
market economy, and full respect for human rights, in order to
enable Ukraine to achieve its potential as an important
strategic partner of the United States in that region of the
world, and to reflect the will of its people.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats.
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