•HRES 124 IH 
Whereas, since the presidential election, Belarusians have 
demonstrated their strong desire and commitment to a 
democratic future by organizing peaceful protests in 
Minsk and across the country; 
Whereas Belarusian civil society, led by Sviatlana Tsikha-
nouskaya, has called for the resignation of Alyaksandr 
Lukashenka, the peaceful transition of power, and the or-
ganization of new, free, and fair elections; 
Whereas Belarusian opposition leaders have faced intimida-
tion, harassment, and detention, including direct threats 
leading to the forced exile of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya 
in Lithuania as well as the kidnapping and imprisonment 
of Maria Kalesnikava and other opposition leaders; 
Whereas in the months since the election, Belarusian authori-
ties have arbitrarily detained and brutally assaulted tens 
of thousands of peaceful protesters, journalists, and op-
position figures, of which hundreds remain in detention; 
Whereas human rights groups have documented hundreds of 
‘‘harrowing accounts of torture, sexual violence, and 
other ill-treatment of detainees arrested for peaceful pro-
test’’; 
Whereas, on August 13 and 14, 2020, relatives of detainees 
held in the infamous ‘‘Akrestsina’’ detention facility in 
Minsk recorded the sounds of ‘‘incessant beatings which 
were clearly audible in the street, and numerous voices 
screaming out in agony with some begging for mercy’’; 
Whereas thousands of Belarusians fled to neighboring coun-
tries seeking political asylum; 
Whereas independent journalists and the free media have 
faced intimidation, violence, and mass arrests, and as a 
result, many journalists have been held in detention for 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:24 Feb 16, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR124.IH
HR124
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
•HRES 124 IH 
extended periods and faced criminal proceedings, with 
many foreign journalists being stripped of their accredita-
tion; 
Whereas despite efforts by the Lukashenka regime to sup-
press independent and free media, brave individuals, such 
as Ihar Losyk, Katsiaryna Barysevich, Ekaterina Andree-
va, and Darya Chultsova, among others, have continued 
to show their resolve and commitment to accurately and 
honestly covering the situation on the ground; 
Whereas member states of the Organization for Security and 
Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), of which the United 
States and Belarus are members, invoked paragraph 12 
of the 1991 Moscow Document of the Conference on the 
Human Dimension of the OSCE (Moscow Mechanism) to 
establish a mission of experts to review allegations of 
human rights violations; 
Whereas the OSCE Rapporteur’s Report under the Moscow 
Mechanism on Alleged Human Rights Violations related 
to the presidential elections of August 9, 2020, in 
Belarus, published November 5, 2020, concluded that 
there was ‘‘overwhelming evidence that the presidential 
elections of 9 August 2020 [had] been falsified and that 
massive and systematic human rights violations [had] 
been committed by the Belarusian security forces in re-
sponse to peaceful demonstrations and protests’’; 
Whereas women have played a leading role in peaceful dem-
onstrations across the country, protesting the police bru-
tality and mass detentions by wearing red and white, car-
rying flowers, and forming ‘‘solidarity chains’’; 
Whereas the information technology (IT) industry in Belarus 
has played a prominent role in the democratic movement 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:24 Feb 16, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR124.IH
HR124
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
•HRES 124 IH 
by demanding an end to violent oppression, as well as 
creating safe platforms for demonstrators to commu-
nicate and track people who have been detained or went 
missing during mass detentions; 
Whereas Belarusian authorities have continually disrupted 
internet channels in an attempt to limit communication 
among demonstrators and targeted lead technology com-
panies and their employees advocating for democracy; 
Whereas Belarusian state-owned television channels have 
played a prominent role in encouraging violence against 
peaceful demonstrators; 
Whereas a recent survey of IT specialists found that 15 per-
cent of IT specialists working in Belarus have already re-
located to neighboring countries, and over 40 percent of 
IT specialists no longer want to work in Belarus, result-
ing in a devastating loss of talent for Belarus, possibly 
permanently damaging the Belarusian technology indus-
try along with the Belarusian economy; 
Whereas hundreds of former law enforcement officers in 
Belarus who have defected in defiance of illegal orders to 
commit human rights violations and cover up crimes 
against civilians and those who have assisted law enforce-
ment officers in defecting have faced harassment, finan-
cial penalties, arrest, detention, and other punitive meas-
ures; 
Whereas Lukashenka’s regime directs law enforcement offi-
cers to use excessive force against peaceful demonstrators 
and sow terror in residential neighborhoods; 
Whereas several peaceful demonstrators have died as a result 
of police violence, including 31-year-old Roman Bonda-
renko who was violently beaten by plainclothes police offi-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:24 Feb 16, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR124.IH
HR124
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
•HRES 124 IH 
cers and, as a result, suffered head injuries that resulted 
in his death; 
Whereas demonstrators have reported numerous instances of 
rape by officers while being held in detention centers and 
have detailed violent assaults in interrogation rooms and 
isolation wards that led to severe injuries; 
Whereas Belarusian universities continue to expel students 
and dismiss educators and researchers for participating 
in peaceful protests; 
Whereas child protective services have threatened multiple 
civic activists with termination of parental rights for 
bringing minor children to peaceful protests; 
Whereas factory workers at state-owned enterprises have 
been continuously harassed for trying to organize inde-
pendent trade unions and have been forced to sign polit-
ical letters opposing sanctions by the European Union 
under threat of termination of their employment; 
Whereas a transatlantic community of legislators has 
emerged in support of uplifting the democratic aspira-
tions of the Belarusian people; 
Whereas international advocacy, including by co-host Latvia, 
succeeded in preventing the illegitimate Government of 
Belarus from hosting the 2021 Ice Hockey World Cham-
pionship; 
Whereas the United States, the European Union, the United 
Kingdom, and Canada have enacted sanctions and other 
punitive measures against several individuals and entities 
found responsible for the perpetration of violence against 
peaceful demonstrators, opposition members, workers, 
and journalists, among others; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:24 Feb 16, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR124.IH
HR124
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
•HRES 124 IH 
Whereas Alyaksandr Lukashenka continues to undermine the 
sovereignty and independence of Belarus through efforts 
to integrate Belarus into a so-called ‘‘Union State’’ under 
the control of Russia; 
Whereas the House of Representatives passed the Belarus 
Democracy, Human Rights, and Sovereignty Act of 2020 
with unanimous consent, sending a clear message of over-
whelming, bipartisan support for the democratic move-
ment in Belarus; 
Whereas the Belarus Democracy, Human Rights, and Sov-
ereignty Act of 2020 was signed into law, expanding the 
President’s authority to impose sanctions related to 
Belarus and authorizing increased assistance to counter 
internet censorship and surveillance technology, support 
women advocating for freedom and human rights, and 
support political refugees fleeing the crackdown in 
Belarus, among other things; 
Whereas the Belarus opposition, led by Sviatlana Tsikhanous-
kaya, organized a Day of Solidary on February 7, 2020, 
where countries, cities, and political and elected leaders, 
as well as everyday citizens, demonstrated their support 
for the six months of peaceful protests since the fraudu-
lent presidential election that took place on August 9, 
2020; and 
Whereas the United States and its transatlantic allies and 
partners must continue to explore avenues for coopera-
tion in support of the democratic movement in Belarus: 
Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) finds that the August 9, 2020, presidential 
election in Belarus was neither free nor fair and, 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:24 Feb 16, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HR124.IH
HR124
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
•HRES 124 IH 
therefore, does not recognize the government-an-
nounced results or Alyaksandr Lukashenka as the 
legitimate President of Belarus; 
(2) affirms that the people of Belarus have the 
right to determine the future of Belarus without un-
welcome intervention from any outside actors in vio-
lation of Belarusian independence and sovereignty; 
(3) condemns the human rights violations com-
mitted by Belarusian authorities, including against 
peaceful demonstrators, civil society activists, opposi-
tion leaders, students, educators, factory workers, 
medical personnel, and journalists, and calls for such 
authorities to halt any further acts of violence 
against civilians; 
(4) calls for the immediate release of all those 
detained in connection with the demonstrations or 
others unlawfully detained for reporting on or pro-
testing abuses by the Belarusian government, includ-
ing releasing those family members of American citi-
zens working for United States companies; 
(5) calls for the protection of civil society actors 
and members of the opposition against arbitrary ar-
rest and violence while conducting peaceful discus-
sions relating to the peaceful transition of power in 
Belarus; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:24 Feb 16, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HR124.IH
HR124
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
•HRES 124 IH 
(6) recognizes the sacrifices and bravery of the 
Belarusian people and the incredible organization by 
Belarusian women to peacefully demand a free and 
fair democratic process while enduring the state- 
sponsored violence that followed the August 9, 2020, 
election; 
(7) calls on Alyaksandr Lukashenka and Bela-
rusian authorities to engage in an open and con-
structive dialogue with the opposition members and 
other stakeholders to bring about a peaceful transi-
tion of power; 
(8) recognizes the Coordination Council estab-
lished by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya as a legitimate 
institution to participate in a dialogue on a peaceful 
transition of power; 
(9) calls for further targeted sanctions coordi-
nated between the United States, the European 
Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, and other al-
lies and partners against Belarusian authorities who 
committed human rights violations and authorities 
from the electoral commission who engaged in activi-
ties that resulted in the falsification of the August 
9, 2020, election results; 
(10) encourages considering, in coordination 
with transatlantic partners, the sanctioning of 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:24 Feb 16, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HR124.IH
HR124
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
•HRES 124 IH 
Belarusian state-owned companies that have directly 
violated the rights of their workers as a result of 
their participation in or in connection to the ongoing 
democratic movement in Belarus; 
(11) calls on the transatlantic community to re-
view and consider reassessing any financial assist-
ance that supports the Lukashenka regime, includ-
ing participation in state debt issuances or procure-
ment contracts; 
(12) supports increasing funds available for for-
eign assistance to Belarusian civil society groups as 
well as legal assistance for activists and independent 
journalists, among others; 
(13) calls for an international investigation into 
the human rights abuses committed during and after 
the August 9, 2020, presidential election; 
(14) calls for new free and fair elections under 
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Eu-
rope observation; and 
(15) continues to support the aspirations of the 
people of Belarus for democracy, human rights, and 
the rule of law, and reaffirms that the fulfillment of 
such aspirations is the only way to ensure the con-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:24 Feb 16, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HR124.IH
HR124
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
•HRES 124 IH 
tinued strength of Belarusian sovereignty and terri-
torial integrity. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:24 Feb 16, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\HR124.IH
HR124
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS