I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5102

To encourage the promotion of democracy, free, fair, and transparent 

elections, and respect for human rights and the rule of law in Ukraine. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 15, 2004

Mr. ROHRABACHER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on International Relations, and in addition to the Committees 

on the Judiciary and Financial Services, 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 encourage the promotion of democracy, free, fair, and 

transparent elections, and respect for human rights and 

the rule of law in Ukraine.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Constantine Menges 

5 Ukraine Democracy and Fair Elections Act of 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 
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1 (1) The United States supports the promotion 

2 of democracy, free, fair, and transparent elections, 

3 and respect for human rights and the rule of law in 

4 Ukraine consistent with the commitments of 

5 Ukraine as a member country of the Organization 

6 for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). 

7 (2) The United States has a vital interest in the 

8 independence and sovereignty of Ukraine and in its 

9 successful integration into the European community 

10 of democracies. 

11 (3) Elections conducted by the Government of 

12 Ukraine during the past ten years have not satisfied 

13 the criteria established for free, fair, and trans14 parent elections consistent with OSCE and Euro15 pean democratic standards. 

16 (4) Georgiy Gongadze, Igor Alexandrov, and 

17 other independent journalists in Ukraine who sup18 ported democracy and published critical reports con19 cerning governmental actions have been murdered or 

20 have disappeared and are presumed dead. 

21 (5) Former government officials of Ukraine 

22 have made credible allegations and produced evi23 dence that top officials of the current government 

24 were involved in the disappearances. 
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1 (6) The current Government of Ukraine, led by 

2 President Leonid D. Kuchma and Prime Minister 

3 Viktor Yanukovych—

4 (A) systematically harasses and represses 

5 independent media and independent trade 

6 unions and journalists; 

7 (B) actively suppresses freedom of speech 

8 and expression and encourages a virtual black9 out on national television stations of the main 

10 democratic opposition candidate; 

11 (C) uses police to block the transit by land 

12 of opposition candidates and refuses access for 

13 the airplane of the opposition candidates to 

14 land at city airports for campaign appearances; 

15 (D) uses state and city dump trucks and 

16 bulldozers to block access of voters to city 

17 squares for appearances by opposition can18 didates; 

19 (E) denies access of opposition candidates 

20 to rent government-owned auditoriums and 

21 public places for meetings with voters; and 

22 (F) denies postal service delivery of opposi23 tion campaign literature. 

24 (7) In spite of current and past statements by 

25 President Kuchma and Prime Minister Yanukovych 
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1 that the up-coming presidential election will be free, 

2 fair, and transparent with an honest ballot count, 

3 the presidential election of October 1999, the na4 tional referendum of 2000, the parliamentary elec5 tion of March 2002, and recent by-elections to Par6 liament and city mayoral races, including the may7 oral race in Mukachevo in spring 2004, were deter8 mined by OSCE and other local and international 

9 observers to be fundamentally unfair. 

10 (8) These elections failed to meet OSCE stand11 ards for democratic elections as formulated in the 

12 1990 Copenhagen Document, and were marred by 

13 significant abusive and illegal misconduct that was 

14 publicly approved at the highest levels of the govern15 ment, including—

16 (A) the harassment, arrest, and false dis17 qualification of opposition candidates; 

18 (B) the arrest and beating by the police of 

19 members of Parliament who were acting as offi20 cial precinct election observers; 

21 (C) the denial of equal and fair access by 

22 opposition candidates to the state-controlled tel23 evision, radio, and print media, and the denial 

24 of the use of the postal system for sending op25 position campaign mail to voters; 
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1 (D) the seizure of equipment and property 

2 of independent nongovernmental organizations, 

3 radio stations, and press organizations and the 

4 harassment of their staff and management, 

5 causing several individuals to flee to foreign 

6 countries for their safety; 

7 (E) the implementation of voting and vote 

8 counting procedures that were neither trans9 parent nor legal; and 

10 (F) the implementation of a campaign of 

11 intimidation directed against opposition activ12 ists, domestic election observer organizations, 

13 and opposition and independent media, includ14 ing denying newsprint and access to printing 

15 plants to the independent media. 

16 (9) Dr. Constantine Menges, who died in July 

17 2004, served as a senior official on the National Se18 curity Council under President Ronald Reagan and 

19 was a staunch anti-Communist, a friend of the peo20 ples of Eastern European countries, and particularly 

21 supportive of Ukrainian independence. 

22 SEC. 3. DECLARATION OF POLICY. 

23 Congress—

24 (1) expresses its support for individuals and or25 ganizations in Ukraine that promote—
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1 (A) democracy, free, fair, and transparent 

2 elections, and respect for human rights and the 

3 rule of law in Ukraine; and 

4 (B) the integration of Ukraine into the 

5 European community of democracies; 

6 (2) expresses it grave concern over the murders 

7 and disappearances of independent journalists in 

8 Ukraine like Georgiy Gongadze, Igor Alexandrov, 

9 and others; 

10 (3) calls upon the President Kuchma and Prime 

11 Minister Yanukovych to cease persecution of political 

12 opponents and independent journalists and to cease 

13 harassment of individuals who try to exercise their 

14 rights to freedom of speech, expression, assembly, 

15 and association; 

16 (4) calls upon President Kuchma and Prime 

17 Minister Yanukovych to end the pattern of clear, 

18 gross, and uncorrected violations of relevant OSCE 

19 human dimension commitments and to respect the 

20 basic freedoms of speech, expression, assembly, and 

21 association; and 

22 (5) calls upon the Government of Ukraine to re23 solve the continuing constitutional and political crisis 

24 by assuring—
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1 (A) a free, fair, and transparent presi2 dential election in 2004; 

3 (B) meaningful access by the political op4 position to state-controlled media, including ac5 cess to newsprint and printing plants; 

6 (C) full and uninterrupted access for the 

7 political opposition to postal delivery services; 

8 (D) unimpeded access by the political op9 position to public auditoriums and other areas 

10 for gathering and meeting with voters; 

11 (E) unimpeded transit by road and air for 

12 opposition candidates; 

13 (F) modification of the electoral code in 

14 keeping with OSCE commitments; and 

15 (G) full freedom for international observers 

16 to monitor the election and ballot counting at 

17 local, regional, and national levels. 

18 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING MULTILATERAL 

19 COOPERATION CONCERNING UKRAINE. 

20 It is the sense of Congress that the President should 

21 coordinate with other countries, particularly European 

22 countries, to formulate and implement a comprehensive 

23 and multilateral strategy to further the purposes of this 

24 Act, including, as appropriate, encouraging other coun-
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1 tries to take measures with respect to Ukraine that are 

2 similar to the measures described in this Act. 

3 SEC. 5. SANCTIONS AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT OF 

4 UKRAINE. 

5 (a) APPLICATION AND TIMING OF SANCTIONS.—

6 Until the President makes the determination that Ukraine 

7 meets all the requirements specified in subsection (b) and 

8 certifies such determination to the appropriate congres9 sional committees, the President shall direct that the sanc10 tions described in subsection (c) shall apply immediately 

11 with respect to Ukraine. 

12 (b) CERTIFICATION.—A certification under this sub13 section is a certification transmitted to the appropriate 

14 congressional committees of a determination made by the 

15 president that the following has occurred with respect to 

16 Ukraine: 

17 (1) The implementation of free, fair, and trans18 parent elections for president and Parliament fully 

19 consistent with OSCE standards for democratic elec20 tions and in cooperation with relevant OSCE and 

21 Council of Europe institutions. 

22 (2) The cessation of all forms of harassment 

23 and repression against the media, independent trade 

24 unions, nongovernmental organizations, religious or25 ganizations, and the political opposition. 
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1 (3) The withdrawal and cessation of politically 

2 motivated legal charges against opposition figures 

3 and independent journalists. 

4 (c) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—

5 (1) DENIAL OF ENTRY INTO UNITED STATES.—

6 The President shall direct the Secretary of Home7 land Security to deny entry under section 212(f) of 

8 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

9 1182(f)) to the United States of any alien who—

10 (A) is a senior government official in the 

11 current government of Ukraine; or 

12 (B) is a spouse, minor child, or agent of 

13 such an alien. 

14 (2) SEIZURE OF ASSETS IN UNITED STATES.—

15 The President shall direct the Office of Foreign As16 sets Control of the Department of the Treasury to 

17 identify and seize the personal assets or personal fi18 nancial accounts in the United States obtained by 

19 improper or illicit means of any alien who—

20 (A) is a senior government official in the 

21 current government of Ukraine; or 

22 (B) is a spouse, minor child, or agent of 

23 such an alien. 

24 (3) PROHIBITIONS ON LOANS AND INVEST25 MENT.—The President shall direct that—
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1 (A) no loan, credit guarantee, insurance, 

2 financing, or other similar financial assistance 

3 is provided on or after the date of the enact4 ment of this Act by any agency of the United 

5 States, including by the Export-Import Bank of 

6 the United States and the Overseas Private In7 vestment Corporation, to the Government of 

8 Ukraine (except with respect to the provision of 

9 humanitarian goods and agricultural or medical 

10 products); and 

11 (B) no funds made available to the Trade 

12 and Development Agency may be made avail13 able on or after the date of the enactment of 

14 this Act for any activity or project of the Agen15 cy in or for Ukraine. 

16 (4) INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITU17 TIONS.—The President shall direct the Secretary of 

18 the Treasury to instruct the United States executive 

19 director to each appropriate international financial 

20 institution in which the United States participates, 

21 to oppose and vote against the extension by each 

22 such institution of any loan or financial or technical 

23 assistance or grant to the Government of Ukraine 

24 (except for loans and assistance that serve humani25 tarian needs). 
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1 (d) WAIVER.—

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President may waive 

3 the application of subsection (c)(1), (c)(2), (c)(3), or 

4 (c)(4), or any combination of such subsections, if the 

5 President determines—

6 (A) that it is in the national security inter7 est of the United States to do so; 

8 (B) that a new president is elected in 

9 Ukraine in November 2004 who—

10 (i) has corrected the abuses and elec11 tion irregularities outlined under section 2; 

12 and 

13 (ii) has pledged to conduct a free, 

14 fair, and transparent election in the par15 liamentary election scheduled for March 

16 2006; or 

17 (C) that in the case of the application any 

18 such subsection or combination of such sub19 sections to an individual, such individual was 

20 not directly or indirectly involved in any of the 

21 abuses or election irregularities outlined under 

22 section 2. 

23 (2) CERTIFICATION.—If the President exercises 

24 the waiver under paragraph (1), the President shall 
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1 submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

2 a report containing the reasons for such waiver. 

3 SEC. 6. REPORTS. 

4 (a) DATES FOR SUBMISSION.—Not later than 90 

5 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 

6 year thereafter, the President shall transmit to the appro7 priate congressional committees a report containing the 

8 information required by subsection (b). In the case of the 

9 second and all subsequent reports, each such report shall 

10 contain such information with respect to the preceding 12-

11 month period. 

12 (b) CONTENTS.—The reports required by subsection 

13 (a) shall contain information regarding the following: 

14 (1) The personal assets and bank accounts of 

15 the current president, prime minister and other sen16 ior government officials of the Government of 

17 Ukraine that are located in the United States or 

18 other country, and, if such assets and accounts are 

19 determined to have been acquired through improper 

20 or illicit means, any actions the United States has 

21 taken to investigate and seize such assets and ac22 counts and encourage such other country to take 

23 similar action. 

24 (2) The sale or delivery of weapons or weapons25 related technologies from Ukraine to any country, 
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1 the government of which the Secretary of State has 

2 determined, for purposes of section 6(j)(1) of the 

3 Export Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. App. 

4 2405 (j)(1)), has repeatedly provided support for 

5 acts of international terrorism. 

6 (3) An identification of each country described 

7 in paragraph (2) and a detailed description of the 

8 weapons or weapons-related technologies involved in 

9 such sale. 

10 (4) An identification of the goods, services, 

11 credits, or other consideration received by Ukraine 

12 in exchange for the weapons or weapons-related 

13 technologies involved in such sale. 

14 (c) FORM.—A report transmitted pursuant to sub15 section (a) shall be in unclassified form but may contain 

16 a classified annex. 

17 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 

18 In this Act: 

19 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT20 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com21 mittees’’ means the Committee on International Re22 lations of the House of Representatives and the 

23 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate. 
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1 (2) SENIOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL.—The term 

2 ‘‘senior government official’’ means, with respect to 

3 Ukraine—

4 (A) the president, prime minister, deputy 

5 prime ministers, government ministers; chair6 men and members of state committees, includ7 ing the Central Election Commission and re8 gional and local election commissions, members 

9 of the Presidential Administration, members of 

10 Parliament; and the heads of the Security Serv11 ices, State Tax Administration, and the State 

12 Customs Services; 

13 (B) any official of the Government of 

14 Ukraine who is personally involved in the sup15 pression of freedom and free, fair, and trans16 parent elections in Ukraine, including judges, 

17 law enforcement personnel, prosecutors, re18 gional governors, mayors, and administrators; 

19 and 

20 (C) any other individual determined by the 

21 Secretary of State to be personally involved in 

22 the formulation or execution of policies or ac23 tivities that are in contradiction of internation-
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1 ally recognized human rights and free, fair, and 

2 transparent elections standards.

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