Ukrainians and allies continue to urge Congress to declare the invasion of Russia in the country of genocide, a legislative step and the US State Department has been reluctant to officially take so far, despite mounting evidence.
The latest effort came this week when Razom for Ukraine, a US-based civil society group, was released letters from 50 genocide scholars, human rights activists and international lawyers to the leaders of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives who asked for the long-standing genocide declaration in the House of Representatives since last year.
President Joe Biden said in the early weeks of the war that it is genocidebut the government has since become more cautious about the label, which has a legal definition under a 1948 international treaty.
However, in February, the administration came close, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken declaring that Russia had committed crimes against humanity.
“These actions were not random or spontaneous; they were part of a widespread and systematic attack by the Kremlin on the civilian population of Ukraine,” Blinken said.
In addition to the declaration and helping to investigate alleged war crimes, the US has provided about $71.3 billion in aid to Ukraine since the war began, with $43.2 billion in military aid, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
In the letter, Ukrainian supporters say it’s time for Congress to label the war a genocide.
“While we appreciate that the executive branch’s process is also common to that determination, the Kremlin’s genocidal intentions and actions are so clear and so clear that the congressional declaration is not only recommended, but it is desperately needed to prevent further atrocities,” the letter said.
According to the 1948 treaty, signed by the United States, genocide occurs when there is an attempt to destroy in whole or in part a racial, ethnic, national or religious group by at least one of several methods, including killing or causing serious harm. , creating “living conditions” intended to destroy the group, implementing measures to prevent births in the group or transfer their children to other groups.
“These actions are not random or spontaneous; they are part of the Kremlin’s widespread and systematic attacks on the civilian population of Ukraine.
– Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, when announcing that Russia has committed crimes against humanity in Ukraine
While reports of Russian atrocities have been rife, the latest is with the alleged video beheading of Ukrainian soldiers and testimony by two men claiming to be former members of Wagner’s mercenary group is said to be carrying out orders to kill civiliansincluding children, the State Department is not ready to go beyond the “crimes against humanity” label.
“The Secretary did not define Russian atrocities as genocide. We will continue to monitor the situation in Ukraine and will make such determinations as appropriate,” a State Department spokesperson told HuffPost in a statement.
The scholar’s letter was released on Wednesday, as the House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing on war crimes in Ukraine. MPs heard from witnesses who described abducted children being brought to Russia and a woman who said she was beaten and tortured while living in the Russian-occupied Kherson region.
Committee chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said he had visited Ukraine and heard similar stories.
“I personally heard an account from a mother who saw her 5-year-old daughter gang-raped to death by 10 Wagner mercenaries, who then threw the body on the side of the road,” he said.
“This is more than a war crime. This is more than a crime against humanity. What we are seeing in Ukraine is genocide,” McCaul said.
“This is more than a war crime. This is more than a crime against humanity. What we are seeing in Ukraine is genocide.
– Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee
The committee’s office did not respond to a request for comment on whether McCaul planned to bring it up resolution authored by Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), which has 21 co-sponsors, including five Republicans.
In a letter calling for action on the resolution, the experts said, “If we do not recognize this invasion, we will not only fail in Ukraine. people, but we ignore our security interests and our basic values.
“The United States must recognize and help stop the genocide, and not just remember the destruction and destruction of a nation.”
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