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HomeMy WebLinkAboutR-22-0111City of Miami Resolution R-22-0111 Legislation City Hall 3500 Pan American Drive Miami, FL 33133 www.miamigov.com File Number: 11649 Final Action Date: 3/10/2022 DECLARING VLADIMIR PUTIN AND ALL HIS ALLIES, OLIGARCHS, AND SUPPORTERS WAR CRIMINALS AND PERSONAS NON GRATA IN THE CITY OF MIAMI A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION STRONGLY CONDEMNING RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN ("PUTIN") AND THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION FOR INVADING THE SOVEREIGN COUNTRY OF UKRAINE; FURTHER CONDEMNING PUTIN FOR HIS HISTORY OF COMMITTING WAR CRIMES, CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY, AND ACTS OF AGGRESSION GLOBALLY; DECLARING PUTIN AND ALL HIS ALLIES, OLIGARCHS, AND SUPPORTERS WAR CRIMINALS AND PERSONAS NON GRATA IN THE CITY OF MIAMI; EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE AND ITS PEOPLE AND ENCOURAGING THE UNITED STATES AND ITS PARTNERS TO CONTINUE APPLYING THE MAXIMUM ECONOMIC SANCTIONS AGAINST RUSSIA AS WELL AS SUPPLYING DEFENSIVE MILITARY ASSISTANCE TO UKRAINE; DIRECTING THE CITY CLERK TO TRANSMIT A COPY OF THIS RESOLUTION TO THE OFFICIALS LISTED. SPONSOR(S): Mayor Francis X. Suarez, Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla, Commissioner Ken Russell, Commissioner Joe Carollo, Commissioner Manolo Reyes, Commissioner Christine King WHEREAS, the International Criminal Court ("ICC") is an international tribunal that seeks to uphold the rule of law, especially in areas where no rule of law exists, by investigating and trying individuals charged "with the gravest crimes of concern to the international community: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression"; and WHEREAS, the ICC recognizes the grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and other serious violations of laws and customs applicable in international armed conflict as war crimes, including, but not limited to, the willful killing, torture or inhuman treatment, including biological experiments, the willful causing of great suffering or serious injury to body or health, and extensive destruction and appropriation of property, especially civilian objects or infrastructure, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly; and WHEREAS, prior to the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin ("Putin"), his allies, oligarchs, and supporters and the Russian Federation have had a long history of committing acts of aggression, human rights violations, and acts that constitute war crimes within Russia and around the globe, including in Chechnya, Georgia, Ukraine, and Syria; WHEREAS, in 1999, Russia Federation forces engaged in the indiscriminate use of force against the people of Chechnya, including use of cluster munitions against civilians, resulting in 50,000 Chechens, mostly civilians, dead or missing; and City of Miami Page 1 of 3 File ID: 11649 (Revision:) Printed On: 6/10/2025 File ID: 11649 Enactment Number: R-22-0111 WHEREAS, during the Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008, Russia Federation forces engaged with cluster munitions in indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks that resulted in the death of over 200 civilians and injuring far more; and WHEREAS, Putin violated the sovereignty of Ukraine and used military force to seize control and unlawfully occupy Crimea and eastern Ukraine, indiscriminately targeting and killing thousands of innocent civilians since 2014; and WHEREAS, Russia was deemed responsible for shooting down commercial Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, which resulted in the death of 298 civilians; and WHEREAS, rebel forces supported by the Russian Federation were deemed responsible for a missile attack on January 24, 2015, in Mariupol, Ukraine that indiscriminately targeted civilians resulting in the death of at least 30 and injuring many more; and WHEREAS, in 2016 and 2017, Russian airstrikes deployed "bunker -busting" and incendiary bombs capable of destroying military installations on civilian structures in Aleppo, Syria, many of which were recklessly indiscriminate or purposefully targeting civilian infrastructure resulting in the death of over 400 civilians, including 90 children; and WHEREAS, United States intelligence has concluded Putin and his regime have engaged in countless crimes against humanity in Russia, including ordering the poisoning of Alexei Navalny and Sergei and Yulia Skripal, and the false imprisonment and torture that lead to the death of Sergei Magnitsky; and WHEREAS, Putin has long sought to control Ukraine after the fall of the Soviet Union and with greater zeal after many countries in Eastern and Central Europe, once part of the Soviet bloc, proceeded toward democratic governments and allied with western European nations; and WHEREAS, on February 24, 2022, after months of troop and tank buildups, Russia began shelling and rocket attacks on several major cities in Ukraine, including its capital, Kyiv at the direction of Putin; and WHEREAS, since then, Putin and Russian Federation forces have targeted and reportedly killed more than 300 civilians, including women, children, and the elderly, while engaging in Ukrainian urban centers causing widespread devastation to civilian infrastructure throughout the country; and WHEREAS, Ukranian ambassadors have claimed Putin ordered the use of thermobaric weapons and cluster munitions to be used in various civilian and urban areas of Ukraine; and WHEREAS, the Russian Federation forces have met with strong and courageous opposition from the Ukrainian military and citizen -resistance; and WHEREAS, in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the United States and its Western European allies have announced strong measures that undoubtedly will cause Moscow to suffer economically even as it struggles against Ukraine militarily; and WHEREAS, the City Commission stands with the international community in strongly condemning the egregious actions of Putin and the Russian Federation and expresses its City of Miami Page 2 of 3 File ID: 11649 (Revision:) Printed on: 6/10/2025 File ID: 11649 Enactment Number: R-22-0111 support for Ukraine and its people and the continued application of economic sanctions to Russia as well as supplying defensive military assistance to Ukraine; and WHEREAS, in accordance with Section 2-33(f) of the City Code, the City Commission, by a majority vote, hereby deems this Resolution to be of an emergency nature; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA: Section 1. The recitals and findings contained in the Preamble of this Resolution are adopted by reference and incorporated as though fully set forth in this Section. Section 2. The City Commission stands with the international community in strongly condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian Federation for invading the sovereign country of Ukraine. Section 3. The City Commission further condemns Putin for his history of committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of aggression globally. Section 4. The City Commission hereby declares Putin, his allies, oligarchs, and supporters war criminals and personas non grata in the City of Miami. Section 5. The City Commission expresses support for the people of Ukraine and encourages the United States and its partners to continue applying the maximum economic sanctions against Russia. Section 6. The City Commission directs the City Clerk to transmit a copy of this Resolution to President Joseph R. Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, United States Senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio, United States Representatives Maria Salazar and Frederica Wilson, President of the United Nations Abdulla Shahid, Ambassador Linda Thomas -Greenfield, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Ambassador Julianne Smith, all the member cities through the United States Conference of Mayors, and all city governments in the United States. Section 7. This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon its adoption. APPROVED AS TO FORM AND CORRECTNESS: 4ndez, ity (tor City of Miami Page 3 of 3 File ID: 11649 (Revision:) Printed on: 6/10/2025