IV 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1022 

Condemning the ongoing illegal occupation of Crimea by the Russian 

Federation. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 24, 2018 

Mr. JOYCE of Ohio submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 

the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on 

the Judiciary, Oversight and Government Reform, Financial Services, and 

Ways and Means, 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 

RESOLUTION 

Condemning the ongoing illegal occupation of Crimea by 

the Russian Federation. 

Whereas, in February 2014, unidentified Russian armed 

forces entered Ukrainian territory and took control of key 

military and government infrastructure in the Crimean 

peninsula of Ukraine; 

Whereas, in March 2014, the Parliament of the Russian Federation gave rubber-stamp approval to President Vladimir 

Putin’s request to use military force against Ukrainian 

territory ostensibly because of the ‘‘threat of violence 

from ultranationalists’’; 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
2 

•HRES 1022 IH 

Whereas, on March 27, 2014, the United Nations General 

Assembly adopted Resolution 68/262 calling on states 

and international organizations not to recognize any 

change in Crimea’s status and affirmed the commitment 

of the United Nations to recognize Crimea as part of 

Ukraine; 

Whereas the Russian Federation’s illegal invasion and annexation of Crimea has been widely seen as an effort to stifle 

the spread of prodemocracy developments across Ukraine 

in 2014 in the wake of the Euromaidan protests; 

Whereas the Russian Federation is a signatory to the 1994 

Budapest Memorandum and thus committed to respect 

the independence, sovereignty, and borders of Ukraine 

and to refrain from threats, coercive economic actions, or 

the use of force against Ukraine’s territorial integrity 

and political independence; 

Whereas the Russian Federation committed in the 1975 

Final Act of the Conference for Security and Cooperation 

in Europe (Helsinki Final Act) to respect the sovereign 

equality and territorial integrity of other participating 

states; 

Whereas the Russian Federation’s obligations under the 

Charter of the United Nations prohibit the threat or use 

of force against the territorial integrity and political independence of other states; 

Whereas the Russian Federation’s ongoing illegal occupation 

of Crimea in Ukraine has been widely condemned by the 

international community as illegal acts; 

Whereas the United States and the European Union have imposed sanctions on individuals and entities who have enVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:09 Jul 25, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1022.IH HR1022

dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
3 

•HRES 1022 IH 

abled the illegal invasion, annexation, and occupation of 

Crimea; 

Whereas the Department of State has stated in its Country 

Reports on Human Rights Practices that security services and local authorities in Crimea installed by the Government of the Russian Federation have ‘‘worked to consolidate control over Crimea and continued to restrict 

human rights by imposing repressive Federal laws of the 

Russian Federation on the Ukrainian territory of Crimea’’ and that ‘‘the most significant human rights problems in Crimea [were] related directly to the Russian occupation’’; 

Whereas the Department of State has described ‘‘an extensive campaign of intimidation to suppress dissent and opposition to the occupation’’ that has been carried out by 

Russian security services inside Crimea, including the use 

of torture and physical abuse, kidnapping, disappearances, and deportations, and reporting from independent 

human rights groups inside and outside Crimea has documented such alleged human rights violations by Russian 

security services and paramilitary groups; 

Whereas the campaign of intimidation in Crimea has resulted 

in the prosecution and imprisonment of individuals who 

oppose or criticize the occupation or support Ukrainian 

sovereignty as well as the transfer of some individuals 

from Crimea to Russian Federation territory for prosecution and imprisonment; 

Whereas the Department of State has noted that illegal occupying authorities in Crimea have also restricted the fundamental human rights of particular groups, including 

ethnic Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars, ‘‘particularly reVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:09 Jul 25, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1022.IH HR1022

dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
4 

•HRES 1022 IH 

garding expressions of nationality and ethnicity, and subjected them to systematic discrimination’’; 

Whereas human rights groups have cited that such discrimination has been carried out in myriad ways, including 

through the outlawing in 2016 of the elected representative body (Mejlis) of the Crimean Tatar people, the closing of Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian-language schools, 

and forced conscription; 

Whereas the Department of State and other international 

human rights groups have noted further continuing 

human rights concerns in Crimea, including the suppression of independent media and civil society through harassment and harsh administrative measures, politicized 

and unfair judicial processes, and poor prison conditions; 

Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has 

worked to extend Russian citizenship to individuals inside 

Crimea and deprived access to public services of those 

who refuse such citizenship; 

Whereas civil society groups have alleged that the Government of the Russian Federation has encouraged Russian 

citizens to relocate to the Crimean peninsula and has 

supported the physical destruction of historical sites in 

Crimea, ostensibly to influence the demographics and political character of the region in favor of the Kremlin; 

and 

Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation has supported the development of infrastructure and institutional 

ties between Crimea and the Russian Federation, including the opening of a road and rail bridge over the Kerch 

Strait on May 15, 2018: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
5 

•HRES 1022 IH 

1 (1) reiterates that Crimea is part of the sov2 ereign territory of Ukraine; 

3 (2) stresses that United States policy should re4 main that Crimea is part of Ukraine and should re5 ject attempts to change the status, demographics, or 

6 political nature of Crimea; 

7 (3) reaffirms respect for the values of democ8 racy, human rights, and rule of law that all individ9 uals in Crimea deserve, including non-Russian ethnic 

10 groups and religious minorities; 

11 (4) condemns all human rights violations 

12 against individuals in Crimea, and underscores the 

13 culpability of the Russian Federation for such viola14 tions while this territory is under illegal Russian oc15 cupation; 

16 (5) calls on the Government of the Russian 

17 Federation to immediately respect the political and 

18 human rights of individuals in Crimea, including 

19 those detained in Crimea or who have been trans20 ferred from Crimea to the territory of Russia, and 

21 to cease efforts to restrict dissent or change the de22 mographic or political nature of the peninsula; 

23 (6) urges the United States Government, in co24 ordination with the European Union, NATO, and 

25 members of the international community, to 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
6 

•HRES 1022 IH 

1 prioritize efforts to prevent the further consolidation 

2 of illegal occupying powers in Crimea, reaffirm uni3 fied opposition to the actions of the Russian Federa4 tion in Crimea, and secure the human rights of indi5 viduals there; 

6 (7) welcomes the sanctions that have been im7 posed and maintained to date by the United States 

8 and the European Union against individuals engaged 

9 in furthering the illegal occupation of Crimea by the 

10 Russian Federation; 

11 (8) calls on the United States Government to 

12 continue to use relevant sanctions authorities codi13 fied in the Countering America’s Adversaries 

14 Through Sanctions Act of 2017 (Public Law 115– 

15 44), as well as under the Global Magnitsky Human 

16 Rights Accountability Act (subtitle F of title XII of 

17 Public Law 114–328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note), to ad18 dress and deter those engaged in furthering the ille19 gal occupation of Crimea and human rights abuses 

20 and corruption committed in Crimea or against indi21 viduals from Crimea; 

22 (9) welcomes further efforts by the United 

23 States Government to encourage the European 

24 Union to impose additional Crimea-related sanctions; 

25 and 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
7 

•HRES 1022 IH 

1 (10) calls upon the United States Government 

2 to declare it the foreign policy of the United States 

3 to never recognize the illegal annexation of Crimea 

4 by the Russian Federation, similar to the 1940 

5 Welles Declaration in which the United States re6 fused to recognize the Soviet annexation of the Bal7 tic States. 

Æ 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS