Ukraine Religious Freedom Support Act

Ukraine Religious Freedom Support Act

This bill directs the President, when determining whether Russia is a country of particular concern for religious freedom under certain federal laws, to consider incidents occurring in the parts of Ukraine controlled by Russia or Russia-affiliated non-state groups. (The United States may take certain actions, such as withdrawing development assistance, against a country of particular concern for religious freedom.)

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5408 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5408

  To oppose violations of religious freedom in Ukraine by Russia and 
                   armed groups commanded by Russia.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 12, 2019

 Mr. Wilson of South Carolina (for himself, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Meadows, 
 Ms. Moore, Mr. Bilirakis, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Cohen, Mr. 
    Harris, Mr. Veasey, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Lipinski, and Ms. Kaptur) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for 
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  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 Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Ukraine Religious Freedom Support 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Russia invaded the Crimea region of Ukraine in February 
        2014, continues to occupy and control that region, and has 
        exercised control over part of the Donbas region of eastern 
        Ukraine since April 2014 through non-state armed groups and 
        illegal entities it has established, instigated, commanded, and 
        supported, including with military and intelligence personnel 
        on the ground from Russia, such as the self-proclaimed Donetsk 
        People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic.
            (2) International humanitarian law, including the Geneva 
        Conventions, to which Russia is a signatory, requires Russia to 
        respect and protect the religious freedom of the inhabitants of 
        the territory it occupies and controls, or controls through 
        organized non-state armed groups it commands, and holds Russia 
        responsible for violations of religious freedom in this 
        territory.
            (3) According to the Department of State's International 
        Religious Freedom Reports, and other reporting, violations of 
        religious freedom in the Crimea region of Ukraine since Russia 
        invaded and occupied the territory have included abduction, 
        detention and imprisonment, torture, forced psychiatric 
        hospitalizations, fines, restrictions on missionary activities, 
        confiscations of property, including churches and meeting 
        halls, expulsions and obstructions to reentry, denying 
        registration of religious groups, vandalism, fines, and banning 
        peaceful religious groups, and targeted groups have included 
        Muslim Crimean Tatars, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, formerly 
        the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan Patriarchate, the 
        Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Protestant Christians, and 
        Jehovah's Witnesses.
            (4) According to the Department of State's International 
        Religious Freedom Reports, violations of religious freedom in 
        the part of the Donbas region of Ukraine controlled by armed 
        groups commanded by Russia have included detention and 
        imprisonment, torture, confiscation of property, including 
        churches and meeting halls, physical assaults and threats of 
        violence, vandalism, fines, restrictions on missionary 
        activities, religious services, ceremonies, gatherings, and 
        literature, and banning of peaceful religious groups, and 
        targeted groups have included the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, 
        formerly the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyiv Patriarchate, the 
        Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Protestant Christians, and 
        Jehovah's Witnesses.
            (5) The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, as 
        amended by the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom 
        Act, requires the President to--
                    (A) designate a foreign country as a country of 
                particular concern for religious freedom when its 
                government has engaged in or tolerated particularly 
                severe violations of religious freedom in that country 
                over the previous 12 months;
                    (B) to take 15 actions, or commensurate actions in 
                substitution, following the designation of a country as 
                a country of particular concern for religious freedom; 
                and
                    (C) designate a foreign country on a ``Special 
                Watch List'' when its government has engaged in or 
                tolerated severe violations of religious freedom in 
                that country over the previous 12 months.
            (6) On November 28, 2018, the Secretary of State designated 
        Russia on the ``Special Watch List''.
            (7) The National Security Strategy of the United States 
        issued in 2017, 2015, 2006, 2002, 2000, 1999, 1998, and 1997, 
        committed the United States to promoting international 
        religious freedom to advance the security, economic, and other 
        national interests of the United States.

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States to consider--
            (1) any alien who, while serving as an official of the 
        Government of Russia, was responsible for or directly or 
        indirectly carried out particularly severe violations of 
        religious freedom in the territory of Ukraine that Russia 
        occupies and controls, or controls through non-state armed 
        groups it commands; and
            (2) the spouse and children, if any, of such alien,
to have committed particularly severe violations of religious freedom 
for purposes of applying section 212(a)(2)(G) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)(G)) with respect to any such alien 
and spouse and children of such alien.

SEC. 4. DESIGNATION OF RUSSIA AS A COUNTRY OF PARTICULAR CONCERN FOR 
              RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.

    For purposes of making a determination of whether to designate 
Russia as a country of particular concern for religious freedom under 
section 402 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 
U.S.C. 6442), the President shall consider any particularly severe 
violation of religious freedom in the territory of Ukraine that Russia 
occupies and exercises controls, or controls through non-state armed 
groups it commands, during the period of time that is the basis for the 
determination and designation, to be a particularly severe violation of 
religious freedom that the Government of Russia has engaged in or 
tolerated.
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