H.Con.Res. 120 (ih) Supporting the independence and sovereignty of Ukraine and the progress of its political and economic reforms. [Introduced in House] ...

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        H.Con. Res.120
                                            Agreed to September 18, 1996

                       One Hundred Fourth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

         Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
   the third day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-six


                          Concurrent Resolution


 
Supporting the independence and sovereignty of Ukraine and the progress 
                 of its political and economic reforms.

Whereas August 24, 1996, marks the fifth anniversary of the 
  independence of Ukraine;
Whereas the independent State of Ukraine is a member State of the 
  United Nations and the United Nations has established in Ukraine an 
  office to assist Ukraine in building relations with the international 
  community and in coordinating international assistance for Ukraine;
Whereas the independent State of Ukraine is a member State of the 
  Council of Europe, the Organization on Security and Cooperation in 
  Europe, the Central European Initiative, and the North Atlantic 
  Cooperation Council of the North Atlantic Alliance, is a participant 
  in the Partnership for Peace program of the North Atlantic Alliance, 
  and has entered into a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with the 
  European Union;
Whereas the United States recognized Ukraine as an independent State on 
  December 25, 1991;
Whereas Ukraine is a major European nation, having the second largest 
  territory and sixth largest population of all the States of Europe;
Whereas Ukraine has an important geopolitical and economic role to play 
  within Central and Eastern Europe and a strong, stable, and secure 
  Ukraine serves the interests of peace and stability in all of Europe, 
  which is also an important national security interest of the United 
  States;
Whereas Ukraine conducted its first presidential and parliamentary 
  elections as an independent State in 1994, carrying such elections 
  out in a free and fair manner and moving further away from the former 
  communist model of one-party, centralized, totalitarian rule;
Whereas Ukraine's presidential elections of July 1994 resulted in the 
  first peaceful transfer of executive power in any of the independent 
  States of the former Soviet Union;
Whereas on June 28, 1996, the Parliament of Ukraine adopted a new 
  constitution for Ukraine;
Whereas Ukraine's economic and social stability depend on its ability 
  to build a stable market-based economy and a legal system based on 
  the rule of law, attract foreign investment, improve tax and revenue 
  collection, and build its export sectors;
Whereas Ukraine was the first of the independent states of the former 
  Soviet Union to have appointed a civilian to the office of Minister 
  of Defense, an historic precedent in support of civilian control and 
  oversight of the armed forces of Ukraine;
Whereas Ukraine is pursuing political and economic reforms intended to 
  ensure its future strength, stability, and security and to ensure 
  that it will assume its rightful place among the international 
  community of democratic States and in European and trans-Atlantic 
  institutions;
Whereas through the agreement by the Government of Ukraine to the 
  establishment of a mission from the Organization on Security and 
  Cooperation in Europe in the region of Crimea, Ukraine has shown its 
  interest in avoiding the use of force in resolving ethnic and 
  regional disputes within Ukraine;
Whereas all nuclear weapons were removed from Ukraine by June 1, 1996, 
  and Ukraine has taken very positive steps in supporting efforts to 
  stem proliferation of nuclear weapons by ratifying the START-I Treaty 
  on nuclear disarmament and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of 
  Nuclear Weapons;
Whereas in December 1994, the Presidents of the United States and the 
  Russian Federation and the Prime Minister of Great Britain signed a 
  Memorandum on National Security Assurances for Ukraine as depository 
  States under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons;
Whereas the Secretary of Defense of the United States and the Minister 
  of Defense of Ukraine signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 
  cooperation in the field of defense and military relations on July 
  27, 1993;
Whereas Ukraine has sought to promote constructive cooperation with its 
  neighbors through humanitarian assistance and through mediation of 
  disputes;
Whereas Ukraine has provided Ukrainian troops as part of the 
  international peacekeeping force meant to prevent the spread of 
  conflict in the states of the former Yugoslavia; and
Whereas Ukraine has acted in defense of its sovereignty and that of 
  other newly independent states by opposing the emergence of any 
  political or military organization which has the potential to promote 
  the reintegration of the states of the former Soviet Union: Now, 
  therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of the Congress that--
        (1) Ukraine has made significant progress in political reform 
    in its first 5 years of independence and that it is to be 
    congratulated for the successful conduct of free and fair elections 
    for the presidency and parliament and for the adoption of a new 
    constitution;
        (2) the territorial integrity of Ukraine in its existing 
    borders is an important element of European peace and stability;
        (3) the President and Parliament of Ukraine should focus their 
    efforts on passing legislation needed to implement the new 
    democratic constitution;
        (4) the Government of Ukraine should continue its efforts to 
    ensure the rights of all citizens of Ukraine regardless of their 
    ethnic or religious background;
        (5) the Government of Ukraine should make its first priority 
    the dismantling of the remaining socialist sectors of its economy, 
    particularly by speedily privatizing medium and large state-owned 
    enterprises, privatizing state and collective farms and ending 
    their monopolistic control of the agro-industrial sector, and 
    fostering a competitive market-based energy sector;
        (6) the Government of Ukraine should make the necessary 
    institutional and legal reforms to create a stable tax regime, 
    foster market-based competition, protect the right to private 
    property, and make other changes that build a positive climate for 
    foreign investment;
        (7) the Government of Ukraine should make it a priority to 
    build the institutional capacity and legal framework needed to 
    fight crime and corruption effectively in a democratic environment;
        (8) the Government of Ukraine should continue its cooperative 
    efforts with the ``G-7'' group of States to safely and 
    expeditiously shut down the nuclear reactors at Chernobyl, Ukraine;
        (9) the President of the United States should support continued 
    United States assistance to Ukraine for its political and economic 
    reforms, for efforts associated with the safe and secure 
    dismantlement of its weapons of mass destruction, and for the 
    increased safety of operation of its civilian nuclear reactors, and 
    assistance for the establishment of rule of law, for criminal 
    justice and law enforcement training, and for the promotion of 
    trade and investment, and in this regard United States assistance 
    to the Ukraine should leverage private-sector involvement as much 
    as possible;
        (10) the President of the United States should urge that the 
    Government of the Russian Federation, in line with the assurances 
    for the security of Ukraine made by the President of the Russian 
    Federation in the January 1994 Trilateral Statement on Nuclear 
    Disarmament in Ukraine, offer Ukraine its promised highest possible 
    cooperation, fully and finally recognizing Ukraine's sovereignty 
    and territorial integrity and refraining from any economic coercion 
    of Ukraine;
        (11) the Government of Ukraine should continue to act in 
    defense of its sovereignty and that of the other independent states 
    of the former Soviet Union by opposing the emergence of any 
    political or military organization which would have the potential 
    to promote the reintegration of the states of the former Soviet 
    Union;
        (12) the President of the United States should ensure that 
    Ukraine's national security interests are fully considered in any 
    review of European security arrangements and understandings;
        (13) the President of the United States should support 
    continued United States security assistance for Ukraine, including 
    assistance for training of military officers, military exercises as 
    part of the North Atlantic Alliance's Partnership for Peace 
    program, and appropriate military equipment to assist Ukraine in 
    maintaining its defensive capabilities as it reduces its military 
    force levels;
        (14) the President of the United States should ensure the 
    United States Government's continued efforts to assist Ukraine in 
    its accession to the World Trade Organization; and should ensure, 
    in particular, that the potential for aerospace and space 
    cooperation and commerce between the United States and Ukraine is 
    fully and appropriately exploited; and
        (15) as a leader of the democratic nations of the world, the 
    United States should continue to support the people of Ukraine in 
    their struggle to bring peace, prosperity, and democracy to Ukraine 
    and to the other independent states of the former Soviet Union.
Attest:

                                 Clerk of the House of Representatives.

Attest:

                                               Secretary of the Senate.

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