H. Res. 351 
In the House of Representatives, U. S., 
June 27, 2017. 
Whereas, on April 1, 2017, the Russian newspaper Novaya 
Gazeta reported that authorities in Chechnya, a republic 
of the Russian Federation, had abducted, detained, and 
tortured over 100 men due to their actual or suspected 
sexual orientation; 
Whereas multiple independent and firsthand accounts have 
subsequently corroborated the Novaya Gazeta report, and 
describe a campaign of persecution by Chechen officials 
against men due to their actual or suspected sexual ori-
entation; 
Whereas, as a result of this persecution, at least three deaths 
have been reported and many individuals have been 
forced to flee Chechnya; 
Whereas Chechen officials have denied the existence of such 
persecution, including through a statement by the spokes-
man for Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov that ‘‘You can-
not arrest or repress people who don’t exist in the repub-
lic.’’; 
Whereas the same spokesman for Ramzan Kadyrov has also 
stated that ‘‘If such people existed in Chechnya, law en-
forcement would not have to worry about them, as their 
own relatives would have sent them to where they could
•HRES 351 EH 
never return,’’ and credible reports indicate that Chechen 
authorities have encouraged families to carry out so- 
called ‘‘honor killings’’ of relatives due to their actual or 
suspected sexual orientation; 
Whereas Chechnya is a constituent republic of the Russian 
Federation and subject to its laws, and Ramzan Kadyrov 
was installed as the leader of Chechnya by Russian Presi-
dent Vladimir Putin; 
Whereas Chechen authorities have a long history of violating 
the fundamental human rights of their citizens, including 
through extrajudicial executions, forced disappearances, 
and torture of government critics; 
Whereas Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed re-
ports of persecution in Chechnya and termed them 
‘‘phantom complaints’’; 
Whereas Russia’s Human Rights Ombudsman, Tatyana 
Moskalkova, has also claimed that such reports should 
not be believed because formal complaints have not been 
registered with the appropriate authorities; 
Whereas the Russian Federation is a participating State of 
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe 
and a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human 
Rights, and thus has agreed to guarantee the funda-
mental human rights of all of its citizens; 
Whereas, on April 7, 2017, the United States Department of 
State issued a statement saying ‘‘We categorically con-
demn the persecution of individuals based on their sexual 
orientation’’ and urging the Government of the Russian 
Federation to take steps to ensure the release of all those 
wrongfully detained in Chechnya, and to conduct a cred-
ible investigation of the reports; and
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Whereas, on April 17, 2017, United States Ambassador to 
the United Nations Nikki Haley issued a statement say-
ing ‘‘Chechen authorities must immediately investigate 
these allegations, hold anyone involved accountable, and 
take steps to prevent future abuses. We are against all 
forms of discrimination, including against people based 
on sexual orientation. When left unchecked, discrimina-
tion and human rights abuses can lead to destabilization 
and conflict.’’: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) condemns the violence and persecution in 
Chechnya and calls on Chechen officials to immediately 
cease the abduction, detention, and torture of individuals 
on the basis of their actual or suspected sexual orienta-
tion, and hold accountable all those involved in perpe-
trating such abuses; 
(2) calls on the Government of the Russian Federa-
tion to protect the human rights of all its citizens, con-
demn the violence and persecution, investigate these 
crimes in Chechnya, and hold accountable all those in-
volved in perpetrating such abuses; 
(3) calls on the United States Government to con-
tinue to condemn the violence and persecution in 
Chechnya, demand the release of individuals wrongfully 
detained, and identify those individuals whose involve-
ment in this violence qualifies for the imposition of sanc-
tions under the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Account-
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ability Act of 2012 (Public Law 112–208; 22 U.S.C. 
5811 note) or the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Ac-
countability Act (Public Law 114–328); and 
(4) affirms that the rights to freedom of assembly, 
association, 
and 
expression 
and 
freedom 
from 
extrajudicial detention and violence are universal human 
rights that apply to all persons, and that countries that 
fail to respect these rights jeopardize the security and 
prosperity of all their citizens. 
Attest: 
Clerk.