WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee
Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) are
applauding the Senate passage of their
Justice
for Victims of War Crimes Act, legislation that updates the current war crimes statute to enable
prosecution of war criminals in the United States – regardless of the location
or targets of their atrocities. The bill also extends the statute of
limitations for war crimes discovered years after they occur.
Passage of the bill comes right before
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s address to a joint session of Congress
this evening. The bill now heads to the U.S. House of Representatives.
“Today the Senate passed a our bill that
makes good on the commitments the United States made when we signed the 1949
Geneva Conventions. The U.S. is not, and will never be, a safe haven for war
criminals. Russia’s unprovoked and immoral invasion of Ukraine shines a light
on the need for this legislation. I want to thank my partner and friend,
Senator Durbin, for working with me to see it through the Senate,” Grassley
said.
“Perpetrators committing unspeakable war
crimes, such as those unfolding before our very eyes in Ukraine, must be held
to account. We have the power and responsibility to ensure that the United
States will not be used as a safe haven by the perpetrators of these heinous
crimes. Our bill will address an egregious gap in our laws to ensure that war
criminals who come to the United States can be prosecuted for their crimes,” said Durbin. “I’m thrilled our bill
passed the Senate unanimously and am hopeful it will be signed into law as soon
as possible to send a clear message to Vladimir Putin that Congress stands with
the Ukrainian people.”
Current law allows for the prosecution of
people who commit war crimes in the U.S. or abroad, but only if the victim or
perpetrator is a U.S. national or service member. Violators who target
non-Americans are not subject to the law even after they enter the U.S. The Justice
for Victims of War Crimes Act expands the original war crimes jurisdiction
to include any war criminal found in the U.S.
Full text of the bill is available
HERE.
Grassley and Durbin
introduced the bipartisan and bicameral legislation in May, along with Sens.
Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). An identical version of the
bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Reps. David
Cicilline (D-R.I.) and Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.). After a September
U.N. report found Russian troops had committed brutal executions, indiscriminate attacks and
sexual and gender-based violence during their invasion of Ukraine – including
against children – Grassley and Durbin
renewed
their push for the legislation.
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