I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 854

To provide for the promotion of democracy, human rights, and rule of law 

in the Republic of Belarus and for the consolidation and strengthening 

of Belarus sovereignty and independence. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 13, 2003

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. HOYER, Mr. HOEFFEL, and Ms. 

SLAUGHTER) 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 provide for the promotion of democracy, human rights, 

and rule of law in the Republic of Belarus and for 

the consolidation and strengthening of Belarus sovereignty and independence.

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 ‘‘Belarus Democracy 

5 Act of 2003’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that—

3 (1) the United States supports the promotion of 

4 democracy, respect for human rights, and the rule of 

5 law in the Republic of Belarus consistent with its 

6 commitments as a participating state of the Organi7 zation for Security and Cooperation in Europe 

8 (OSCE); 

9 (2) the United States has a vital interest in the 

10 independence and sovereignty of the Republic of 

11 Belarus and its integration into the European com12 munity of democracies; 

13 (3) the last parliamentary election in Belarus 

14 deemed to be free and fair by the international com15 munity was conducted in 1995 from which emerged 

16 the 13th Supreme Soviet whose democratically and 

17 constitutionally derived authorities and powers have 

18 been usurped by the authoritarian regime of Presi19 dent Aleksandr Lukashenka; 

20 (4) in November 1996, Lukashenka orches21 trated an illegal and unconstitutional referendum 

22 that enabled him to impose a new constitution, abol23 ish the duly-elected parliament, the 13th Supreme 

24 Soviet, install a largely powerless National Assembly, 

25 and extend his term of office to 2001; 
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1 (5) in May 1999, Belarusian democratic forces 

2 challenged Lukashenka’s unconstitutional extension 

3 of his presidential term by staging alternative presi4 dential elections which were met with repression; 

5 (6) Belarusian democratic forces have organized 

6 peaceful demonstrations against the Lukashenka re7 gime in cities and towns throughout Belarus which 

8 led to beatings, mass arrests, and extended incarcer9 ations; 

10 (7) Victor Gonchar, Anatoly Krasovsky, and 

11 Yuri Zakharenka, who have been leaders and sup12 porters of the democratic forces, and Dmitry 

13 Zavadsky, a journalist known for his critical report14 ing, have disappeared and are presumed dead; 

15 (8) former Belarus Government officials have 

16 come forward with credible allegations and evidence 

17 that top officials of the Lukashenka regime were in18 volved in the disappearances; 

19 (9) the Lukashenka regime systematically 

20 harasses and represses the independent media and 

21 independent trade unions, imprisons independent 

22 journalists, and actively suppresses freedom of 

23 speech and expression; 

24 (10) the Lukashenka regime harasses the 

25 autocephalic Belarusian Orthodox Church, the 
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1 Roman Catholic Church, the Jewish community, the 

2 Hindu Lights of Kalyasa community, evangelical 

3 Protestant churches (such as Baptist and Pente4 costal groups), and other minority religious groups; 

5 (11) the Law on Religious Freedom and Reli6 gious Organizations, passed by the National Assem7 bly and signed by Lukashenka on October 31, 2002, 

8 establishes one of the most repressive legal regimes 

9 in the OSCE region, severely limiting religious free10 dom and placing excessively burdensome government 

11 controls on religious practice; 

12 (12) the United States, the European Union, 

13 the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) 

14 Parliamentary Assembly, and the OSCE Parliamen15 tary Assembly have not recognized the National As16 sembly; 

17 (13) the parliamentary elections of October 15, 

18 2000, conducted in the absence of a democratic elec19 tion law, were illegitimate, unconstitutional, plagued 

20 by violent human rights abuses committed by the 

21 Lukashenka regime, and determined to be non22 democratic by the OSCE; and 

23 (14) the presidential election of September 9, 

24 2001, was determined by the OSCE and other ob25 servers to be fundamentally unfair and failed to 
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1 meet the OSCE commitments for democratic elec2 tions formulated in the 1990 Copenhagen Document 

3 and featured significant and abusive misconduct by 

4 the Lukashenka regime, including—

5 (A) the harassment, arrest, and imprison6 ment of opposition members; 

7 (B) the denial of equal and fair access by 

8 opposition candidates to the state-controlled 

9 media; 

10 (C) the seizure of equipment and property 

11 of independent nongovernmental organizations 

12 and press organizations and the harassment of 

13 their staff and management; 

14 (D) voting and vote counting procedures 

15 that were not transparent; and 

16 (E) a campaign of intimidation directed 

17 against opposition activists, domestic election 

18 observation organizations, opposition and inde19 pendent media, and a libelous media campaign 

20 against international observers. 

21 SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE TO PROMOTE DEMOCRACY AND CIVIL 

22 SOCIETY IN BELARUS. 

23 (a) PURPOSES OF ASSISTANCE.—The assistance 

24 under this section shall be available for the following pur25 poses: 
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1 (1) To assist the people of the Republic of 

2 Belarus in regaining their freedom and to enable 

3 them to join the European community of democ4 racies. 

5 (2) To encourage free and fair presidential, 

6 parliamentary, and local elections in Belarus, con7 ducted in a manner consistent with internationally 

8 accepted standards and under the supervision of 

9 internationally recognized observers. 

10 (3) To assist in restoring and strengthening in11 stitutions of democratic governance in Belarus. 

12 (b) AUTHORIZATION FOR ASSISTANCE.—To carry out 

13 the purposes of subsection (a), the President is authorized 

14 to furnish assistance and other support for the activities 

15 described in subsection (c), to be provided primarily for 

16 indigenous Belarusian groups that are committed to the 

17 support of democratic processes. 

18 (c) ACTIVITIES SUPPORTED.—Activities that may be 

19 supported by assistance under subsection (b) include—

20 (1) the observation of elections and the pro21 motion of free and fair electoral processes; 

22 (2) development of democratic political parties; 

23 (3) radio and television broadcasting to and 

24 within Belarus; 
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1 (4) the development of nongovernmental organi2 zations promoting democracy and supporting human 

3 rights; 

4 (5) the development of independent media 

5 working within Belarus and from locations outside 

6 the country and supported by nonstate-controlled 

7 printing facilities; 

8 (6) international exchanges and advanced pro9 fessional training programs for leaders and members 

10 of the democratic forces in skill areas central to the 

11 development of civil society; and 

12 (7) other activities consistent with the purposes 

13 of this Act. 

14 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

16 appropriated to the President to carry out this sec17 tion $40,000,000 for fiscal years 2004 and 2005. 

18 (2) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts appro19 priated pursuant to the authorization of appropria20 tions under paragraph (1) are authorized to remain 

21 available until expended. 

22 SEC. 4. RADIO BROADCASTING TO BELARUS. 

23 (a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to 

24 authorize increased support for United States Government 

25 and surrogate radio broadcasting to the Republic of 
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1 Belarus that will facilitate the unhindered dissemination 

2 of information. 

3 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addi4 tion to such sums as are otherwise authorized to be appro5 priated, there is authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 

6 for each fiscal year for Voice of America and RFE/RL, 

7 Incorporated for radio broadcasting to the people of 

8 Belarus in languages spoken in Belarus. 

9 (c) REPORTING ON RADIO BROADCASTING TO AND

10 IN BELARUS.—Not later than 120 days after the date of 

11 the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall sub12 mit to the appropriate congressional committees a report 

13 on how funds appropriated and allocated pursuant to the 

14 authorizations of appropriations under subsection (b) and 

15 section 3(d) will be used to provide AM and FM broad16 casting that covers the territory of Belarus and delivers 

17 independent and uncensored programming. 

18 SEC. 5. SANCTIONS AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT OF 

19 BELARUS. 

20 (a) APPLICATION OF SANCTIONS.—The sanctions de21 scribed in subsections (c) through (e) shall apply with re22 spect to the Republic of Belarus until the President deter23 mines and certifies to the appropriate congressional com24 mittees that the Government of Belarus has made signifi-
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1 cant progress in meeting the conditions described in sub2 section (b). 

3 (b) CONDITIONS.—The conditions referred to in sub4 section (a) are the following: 

5 (1) The release of individuals in Belarus who 

6 have been jailed based on political or religious be7 liefs. 

8 (2) The withdrawal of politically motivated legal 

9 charges against all opposition figures and inde10 pendent journalists in Belarus. 

11 (3) A full accounting of the disappearances of 

12 opposition leaders and journalists in Belarus, includ13 ing Victor Gonchar, Anatoly Krasovsky, Yuri 

14 Zakharenka, and Dmitry Zavadsky, and the prosecu15 tion of those individuals who are responsible for 

16 their disappearances. 

17 (4) The cessation of all forms of harassment 

18 and repression against the independent media, inde19 pendent trade unions, nongovernmental organiza20 tions, religious organizations (including their leader21 ship and members), and the political opposition in 

22 Belarus. 

23 (5) The implementation of free and fair presi24 dential and parliamentary elections in Belarus con-
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1 sistent with OSCE standards on democratic elections 

2 and in cooperation with relevant OSCE institutions. 

3 (c) DENIAL OF ENTRY INTO THE UNITED STATES

4 OF BELARUSIAN OFFICIALS.—It is the sense of Congress 

5 that the President should use his authority under section 

6 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

7 1182(f)) to deny the entry into the United States of any 

8 alien who—

9 (1) holds a position in the senior leadership of 

10 the Government of Belarus; or 

11 (2) is a spouse, minor child, or agent of a per12 son inadmissible under paragraph (1). 

13 (d) PROHIBITION ON STRATEGIC EXPORTS TO

14 BELARUS.—

15 (1) PROHIBITION.—No computers, computer 

16 software, goods or technology intended to manufac17 ture or service computers, or any other related goods 

18 or technology may be exported to Belarus for use by 

19 the Government of Belarus, or by its military, police, 

20 prison system, or national security agencies. The 

21 prohibition of the preceding sentence shall not apply 

22 with respect to the export of goods or technology for 

23 democracy-building or humanitarian purposes. 

24 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

25 subsection shall prevent the issuance of licenses to 
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1 ensure the safety of civil aviation and safe operation 

2 of United States–origin commercial passenger air3 craft and to ensure the safety of ocean-going mari4 time traffic in international waters. 

5 (e) PROHIBITION ON LOANS AND INVESTMENT.—

6 (1) UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT FINANC7 ING.—No loan, credit guarantee, insurance, financ8 ing, or other similar financial assistance may be ex9 tended by any agency of the United States Govern10 ment (including the Export-Import Bank and the 

11 Overseas Private Investment Corporation) to the 

12 Government of Belarus, except with respect to the 

13 provision of humanitarian goods and agricultural or 

14 medical products. 

15 (2) TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT AGENCY.—No 

16 funds available to the Trade and Development Agen17 cy may be available for activities of the Agency in 

18 or for Belarus. 

19 (f) MULTILATERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—It is 

20 the sense of Congress that, in addition to the application 

21 of the sanctions described in subsections (c) through (e) 

22 to the Republic of Belarus (until the President determines 

23 and certifies to the appropriate congressional committees 

24 that the Government of Belarus has made significant 

25 progress in meeting the conditions described in subsection 
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1 (b)), the Secretary of the Treasury should instruct the 

2 United States Executive Director of each international fi3 nancial institution to which the United States is a member 

4 to use the voice and vote of the United States to oppose 

5 any extension by those institutions of any financial assist6 ance (including any technical assistance or grant) of any 

7 kind to the Government of Belarus, except for loans and 

8 assistance that serve humanitarian needs. 

9 (g) WAIVER.—The President may waive the applica10 tion of any sanction described in this section with respect 

11 to Belarus if the President determines and certifies to the 

12 appropriate congressional committees that it is important 

13 to the national interests of the United States to do so. 

14 SEC. 6. MULTILATERAL COOPERATION. 

15 It is the sense of Congress that the President should 

16 continue to seek to coordinate with other countries, par17 ticularly European countries, a comprehensive, multilat18 eral strategy to further the purposes of this Act, including, 

19 as appropriate, encouraging other countries to take meas20 ures with respect to the Republic of Belarus that are simi21 lar to measures described in this Act. 

22 SEC. 7. REPORT. 

23 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

24 of enactment of this Act, and every year thereafter, the 

25 President shall transmit to the appropriate congressional 
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1 committees a report that describes, with respect to the 

2 preceding 12-month period, the following: 

3 (1) The sale or delivery of weapons or weapons4 related technologies from the Republic of Belarus to 

5 any country, the government of which the Secretary 

6 of State has determined, for purposes of section 

7 6(j)(1) of the Export Administration Act of 1979 

8 (50 U.S.C. App. 2405(j)(1)), has repeatedly pro9 vided support for acts of international terrorism. 

10 (2) An identification of each country described 

11 in paragraph (1) and a detailed description of the 

12 weapons or weapons-related technologies involved in 

13 the sale. 

14 (3) An identification of the goods, services, 

15 credits, or other consideration received by Belarus in 

16 exchange for the weapons or weapons-related tech17 nologies. 

18 (4) The personal assets and wealth of Alek19 sandr Lukashenka and other senior leadership of the 

20 Government of Belarus. 

21 (b) FORM.—A report transmitted pursuant to sub22 section (a) shall be in unclassified form but may contain 

23 a classified annex. 

24 SEC. 8. DECLARATION OF POLICY. 

25 Congress hereby—
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1 (1) expresses its support to those in the Repub2 lic of Belarus seeking—

3 (A) to promote democracy, human rights, 

4 and the rule of law and to consolidate the inde5 pendence and sovereignty of Belarus; and 

6 (B) to promote its integration into the Eu7 ropean community of democracies; 

8 (2) expresses its grave concern about the dis9 appearances of Victor Gonchar, Anatoly Krasovsky, 

10 Yuri Zakharenka, and Dmitry Zavadsky; 

11 (3) calls upon the Lukashenka regime to cease 

12 its persecution of political opponents or independent 

13 journalists and to release those individuals who have 

14 been imprisoned for opposing his regime or for exer15 cising their right to freedom of speech; 

16 (4) calls upon the Lukashenka regime to end 

17 the pattern of clear, gross, and uncorrected viola18 tions of relevant Organization for Security and Co19 operation in Europe (OSCE) human dimension com20 mitments and to respect the basic freedoms of 

21 speech, expression, assembly, association, language, 

22 culture, and religion or belief; 

23 (5) calls upon the Government of the Russian 

24 Federation to use its influence to encourage demo25 cratic development in Belarus so that Belarus can 
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1 become a democratic, prosperous, sovereign, and 

2 independent state that is integrated into Europe; 

3 (6) calls upon the Government of Belarus to re4 solve the continuing constitutional and political crisis 

5 through free, fair, and transparent presidential and 

6 parliamentary elections, including, as called for by 

7 the OSCE, through respect for human rights, an 

8 end to the current climate of fear, meaningful access 

9 by the opposition to state media, modification of the 

10 electoral code in keeping with OSCE commitments, 

11 engagement in genuine talks with the opposition, 

12 and modifications to allow for genuine authority for 

13 the parliament; and 

14 (7) commends the democratic opposition in 

15 Belarus for their commitment to freedom, their 

16 courage in the face of the repression of the 

17 Lukashenka regime in Belarus, and the emergence 

18 of a pluralist civil society in Belarus—the foundation 

19 for the development of democratic political struc20 tures. 

21 SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this Act: 

23 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT24 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com25 mittees’’ means the Committee on International Re-
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1 lations of the House of Representatives and the 

2 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate. 

3 (2) OSCE.—The term ‘‘OSCE’’ means the Or4 ganization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. 

5 (3) SENIOR LEADERSHIP OF THE GOVERNMENT

6 OF BELARUS.—The term ‘‘senior leadership of the 

7 Government of Belarus’’ includes—

8 (A) the President, Prime Minister, Deputy 

9 Prime Ministers, government ministers, Chair10 men of State Committees, and members of the 

11 Presidential Administration of Belarus; 

12 (B) any official of the Government of 

13 Belarus who is personally and substantially in14 volved in the suppression of freedom in Belarus, 

15 including judges and prosecutors; and 

16 (C) any other individual determined by the 

17 Secretary of State (or the Secretary’s designee) 

18 to be personally and substantially involved in 

19 the formulation or execution of the policies of 

20 the Lukashenka regime that are in contradic21 tion of internationally recognized human rights 

22 standards.

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