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Rep. Omar Statement on Ukraine War Crime Deterrence and Accountability Act

April 5, 2022

WASHINGTON—Today the House Foreign Affairs Committee passed the Ukraine War Crime Deterrence and Accountability Act, a bill cosponsored by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN). The legislation would require the United States Department of State to collect and preserve any and all evidence of war crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine, and report to Congress on our support for proceedings at international bodies like the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice. It is expected to pass the full House this week.

"As the international community is calling for a war crimes investigation, we have to do our part in helping to collect the evidence," Rep. Omar said. "The massacre in Bucha is just the latest in a succession of atrocities committed by Putin's forces. All of these must be fully investigated, and everyone responsible must be held to account. I am proud to cosponsor this bill to ensure that the U.S. helps assist in collecting the information hold Russia responsible for any and all grave violations of human rights.

"This vote is also a reminder of the importance of international law. True justice is blind. In order to be legitimate, the same standards of justice we want to apply to Putin must be applied to everyone, friend or foe. No war crime should go unpunished and no war criminal should be exempt. It is long past time the United States joined the International Criminal Court, ratified the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child, and stopped selling weapons to regimes who commit human rights abuses. In this moment of horrifying violence, let us commit ourselves to ensuring it never happens again."

A refugee and survivor of war, Rep. Omar has consistently advocated for human rights protections and accountability. In 2020, she introduced the Pathway to Peace, a package of bills to put human rights at the center of our foreign policy. It includes a resolution to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, a resolution to ratify Rome Statute and join the International Criminal Court, the Stop Arming Human Rights Abusers Act, and the Congressional Oversight of Sanctions Act, among others.