Calling on the President to support the creation of a Special Tribunal for the Punishment of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine.

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 81 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 81

Calling on the President to support the creation of a Special Tribunal 
     for the Punishment of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 31, 2023

Mr. Keating (for himself, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. 
  Fitzpatrick, Mr. Quigley, and Mr. McGovern) submitted the following 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Calling on the President to support the creation of a Special Tribunal 
     for the Punishment of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine.

Whereas on February 24, 2022, the Russian Federation initiated the full scale 
        invasion of Ukraine;
Whereas the Russian Federation's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has resulted in 
        enormous destruction of civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, the 
        displacement of millions of Ukrainians both inside Ukraine and abroad, 
        mass disruption of global food supplies resulting in increased food 
        insecurity for the world's most vulnerable populations as well as the 
        death of thousands of Ukrainians civilians and military personnel;
Whereas Article 1(1) the Charter of the United Nations states that it is the 
        purpose of the United Nations to ``maintain international peace and 
        security, and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the 
        prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression 
        of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about 
        by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and 
        international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or 
        situations which might lead to a breach of the peace'';
Whereas Article 2(4) of the Charter of the United Nations states that ``All 
        Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat 
        or use of force against the territorial 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 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 Charter of the United Nations, as set out 
        in this Definition'';
Whereas General Assembly Resolution 3314 defines the following acts, regardless 
        of a declaration of war, as qualifying as an act of aggression:

    (1) The invasion or attack by the Armed Forces of a State of the 
territory of another State, or any military occupation, however temporary, 
resulting from such invasion or attack, or any annexation by the use of 
force of the territory of another State or part thereof;

    (2) Bombardment by the Armed Forces of a State against the territory of 
another State or the use of any weapons by a State against the territory of 
another State;

    (3) The blockade of the ports or coasts of a State by the Armed Forces 
of another State;

    (4) An attack by the Armed Forces of a State on the land, sea or air 
forces, or marine and air fleets of another State;

    (5) The use of Armed Forces of one State which are within the territory 
of another State with the agreement of the receiving State, in 
contravention of the conditions provided for in the agreement or any 
extension of their presence in such territory beyond the termination of the 
agreement;

    (6) The action of a State in allowing its territory, which it has 
placed at the disposal of another State, to be used by that other State for 
perpetrating an act of aggression against a third State; and

    (7) The sending by or on behalf of a State of armed bands, groups, 
irregulars or mercenaries, which carry out acts of armed force against 
another State of such gravity as to amount to the acts listed above, or its 
substantial involvement therein; and

Whereas the Russian Federation's unprecedented full-scale invasion of Ukraine 
        has reached a critical point requiring immediate and decisive action by 
        the international community: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) condemns in the strongest terms the Russian 
        Federation's full-scale invasion of Ukraine;
            (2) supports the people of Ukraine in their fight for 
        freedom, independence and democracy;
            (3) underscores Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial 
        integrity within its internationally recognized borders;
            (4) finds that there is significant evidence to suggest 
        that individual leaders of the Russian Federation are culpable 
        of committing the crime of aggression against Ukraine and this 
        requires proper adjudication by the international community;
            (5) recognizes the need for the creation of a Special 
        Tribunal on the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine;
            (6) identifies an agreement between Ukraine and the United 
        Nations following a favorable United Nations General Assembly 
        vote as one option towards the creation of such an 
        international tribunal; and
            (7) urges the President to take all available measures to 
        support the creation of a Special Tribunal for Crime of 
        Aggression against Ukraine.
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