Sec. 101. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS
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## SEC. 101 FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS **[**[22 U.S.C. 9521 note](/us/usc/t22/s9521)**]** ###
(a)Findings Congress makes the following findings: ####
(1)On February 24, 2022, the Government of the Russian Federation violated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine by engaging in a premeditated, second illegal invasion of Ukraine. ####
(2)The international community has condemned the illegal invasions of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, as well as the commission of the crime of aggression, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide by officials of the Russian Federation, including through the deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure, the forcible transfer of children, and the commission of sexual violence. ####
(3)The leaders of the G7 have called the Russian Federation’s “unprovoked and completely unjustified attack on the democratic state of Ukraine” a “serious violation of international law and a grave breach of the United Nations Charter and all commitments Russia entered in the Helsinki Final Act and the Charter of Paris and its commitments in the Budapest Memorandum”. ####
(4)On March 2, 2022, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution ES-11/1, entitled “Aggression against Ukraine”, by a vote of 141 to 5. That resolution “deplore[d] in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine in violation of Article 2(4) of the [United Nations] Charter” and demanded that the Russian Federation “immediately cease its use of force against Ukraine” and “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders”. ####
(5)On March 16, 2022, the International Court of Justice issued a provisional measures order requiring the Russian Federation to “immediately suspend the military operations that it commenced on 24 February 2022 in the territory of Ukraine” and, in this regard, observed that “orders on provisional measures . . . have binding effect”. ####
(6)On November 14, 2022, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution— #####
(A)recognizing that the Russian Federation has committed a serious breach of the most fundamental norms of international law and its gross and systematic refusal to obey its obligations has affected the entire international community; #####
(B)recognizing the need for the establishment, in cooperation with Ukraine, of an international mechanism for compensation for financially assessable damages caused by the Russian Federation’s internationally wrongful acts; and #####
(C)recommending “the creation . . . of an international register of damage to serve as a record . . . of evidence and claims information on damage, loss or injury to all natural and legal persons concerned, as well as the State of Ukraine, caused by internationally wrongful acts of the Russian Federation in or against Ukraine . . . .”. ####
(7)The Russian Federation bears international legal responsibility for its aggression against Ukraine and, under international law, must cease its internationally wrongful acts. Because of this breach of the prohibition on aggression under international law, the United States is legally entitled to take counter measures that are proportionate and aimed at inducing the Russian Federation to comply with its international obligations. ####
(8)Approximately $300,000,000,000 of Russian sovereign assets have been immobilized worldwide. Only a small fraction of those assets, 1 to 2 percent, or between $4,000,000,000 and $5,000,000,000, are reportedly subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. ####
(9)The vast majority of immobilized Russian sovereign assets, approximately $190,000,000,000, are reportedly subject to the jurisdiction of Belgium. The Government of Belgium has publicly indicated that any action by that Government regarding those assets would be predicated on support by the G7. ###
(b)Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that, having committed an act of aggression, as recognized by the United Nations General Assembly on March 2, 2022, the Russian Federation is to be considered as an aggressor state. The extreme illegal actions taken by the Russian Federation, including an act of aggression, present a unique situation, justifying the establishment of a legal authority for the United States Government and other countries to confiscate Russian sovereign assets in their respective jurisdictions.
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Sec. 101
FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS
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