December 23, 2022 - WASHINGTON -- Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) applauded House passage of 
their Justice for Victims of War Crimes Act, a day after it received broad support in the Senate. The legislation updates 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.
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa)
House passage of the bill came the day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s address to a joint session of Congress.
“I’m glad Congress has passed 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,” Grassley said.
“By passing this vital legislation, we are sending a clear message to Vladimir Putin: 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 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 is heading to President Biden’s desk for signature following President Zelensky’s moving address to Congress last night. He is a tireless leader for 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.
Source: Senator Chuck Grassley
