[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1360 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1360

To establish United States policy conditioning the lifting of sanctions 
  against Serbia and Montenegro upon improvements in Kosova, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 30, 1995

Mr. Gilman (for himself, Mr. Engel, Ms. Molinari, Mr. Rohrabacher, Mr. 
King, and Mr. Smith of New Jersey) introduced the following bill; which 
        was referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish United States policy conditioning the lifting of sanctions 
  against Serbia and Montenegro upon improvements in Kosova, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Kosova Peace, Democracy, and Human 
Rights Act of 1995''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Constitution of the Socialist Federal Republic of 
        Yugoslavia, adopted in 1946, and the amended Constitution of 
        Yugoslavia, adopted in 1974, described the status of Kosova as 
        one of the eight constituent territorial units of the Yugoslav 
        Federation.
            (2) The political rights of the Albanian majority in Kosova 
        were curtailed when the Government of Yugoslavia illegally 
        amended the Constitution of Yugoslavia without the consent of 
        the people of Kosova on March 23, 1989, revoking the autonomous 
        status of Kosova.
            (3) In 1990, the Parliament and Government of Kosova were 
        abolished by further unlawful amendments to the Constitution of 
        Yugoslavia.
            (4) In September 1990, a referendum on the question of 
        independence for Kosova was held in which 87 percent of those 
        eligible to participate voted and 99 percent of those voting 
        supported independence for Kosova.
            (5) In May 1992, a Kosovar national parliament was elected 
        and Dr. Ibrahim Rugova was overwhelmingly elected President of 
        the Republic of Kosova.
            (6) The Parliament and Government of Kosova were not 
        permitted to assemble in Kosova.
            (7) Credible reports of Serbian ``ethnic cleansing'' in 
        Kosova have been received by the United Nations Special 
        Rapporteur on Human Rights, and in January 1995, Serbia 
        announced a new policy to colonize Albanian land in Kosova.
            (8) Over 100,000 ethnic Albanians in government, police, 
        the judiciary, enterprises, media, educational institutions, 
        and hospitals of Kosova have been removed from their jobs and 
        replaced by Serbians.
            (9) The government in Belgrade has severely restricted the 
        access of ethnic Albanians in Kosova to all levels of 
        education, especially education in the Albanian language, 
        solely on the basis of their ethnicity.
            (10) Reports of arrests and brutal beatings by the mostly 
        Serbian police, sometimes leading to the death of ethnic 
        Albanians in Kosova for expressing views in opposition to 
        Serbian authorities, are received almost daily.
            (11) Observers of the Organization on Security and 
        Cooperation in Europe dispatched to Kosova in 1991 were 
        expelled by the government in Belgrade in July 1993.
            (12) The Government of Serbia has ignored United Nations 
        Security Council Resolution 855 of August 1993, which calls 
        upon Belgrade to allow the continuation of the mission of the 
        Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe and to 
        guarantee the safety of and unimpeded access for monitors of 
        the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe.
            (13) Following the departure of such observers, several 
        international human rights organizations, including Amnesty 
        International, Human Rights Watch-Helsinki, and the Helsinki 
        Federation for Human Rights have documented an increase in 
        humanitarian abuses in Kosova.
            (14) Congress provided for the opening of a United States 
        Information Agency cultural center in Prishtina, Kosova, in 
        section 223 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal 
        Years 1992 and 1993, but the Department of State has asserted 
        that security conditions have prevented the establishment of 
        such center.
            (15) The President has explicitly warned the Government of 
        Serbia that the United States is prepared to respond in the 
        event of escalated conflict in Kosova caused by Serbia.
            (16) On January 4, 1994, President Clinton stated, ``there 
        are a large number of issues, including Kosova, that I believe 
        must be addressed before Belgrade should be freed of United 
        Nations sanctions and able to return to the international 
        community. . . . As before, our decision of whether to support 
        suspension of any sanctions will be made in close consultation 
        with Congress.''.
            (17) On February 15, 1994, President Clinton announced, 
        without prior consultation with the Congress, a set of 
        conditions, not including improvements in Kosova, which, if met 
        by Serbia and Montenegro, would result in the lifting of 
        international sanctions against Serbia and Montenegro.

SEC. 3. POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States that--
            (1) the situation in Kosova must be resolved before 
        Belgrade is freed of international sanctions and is able to 
        return to the international community;
            (2) the right of the people of Kosova to govern themselves 
        and to establish a separate identity for Kosova must not be 
        denied;
            (3) international observers should be returned to Kosova;
            (4) the elected Government of Kosova should be permitted to 
        meet and exercise its legitimate mandate as elected 
        representatives of the people of Kosova;
            (5) all individuals whose employment was terminated on the 
        basis of their ethnicity should be reinstated to their previous 
        positions; and
            (6) the education system in Kosova should be reopened to 
        all residents of Kosova regardless of ethnicity and the 
        majority ethnic Albanian population should be allowed to 
        educate its youth in its native tongue.

SEC. 4. RESTRICTIONS ON THE TERMINATION OF SANCTIONS AGAINST SERBIA AND 
              MONTENEGRO UNTIL CERTAIN CONDITIONS ARE MET.

    (a) Restrictions.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no 
sanction, prohibition, or requirement described in section 1511 of the 
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994 (Public Law 
103-160), with respect to Serbia or Montenegro, may cease to be 
effective, unless--
            (1) the President first submits to the Congress a 
        certification described in subsection (b); and
            (2) the requirements of section 1511 of that Act are met.
    (b) Certification.--A certification described in this subsection is 
a certification that--
            (1) there is substantial progress toward--
                    (A) the realization of a separate identity for 
                Kosova and the right of the people of Kosova to govern 
                themselves; or
                    (B) the creation of an international protectorate 
                for Kosova;
            (2) there is substantial improvement in the human rights 
        situation in Kosova;
            (3) international human rights observers are allowed to 
        return to Kosova; and
            (4) the elected government of Kosova is permitted to meet 
        and carry out its legitimate mandate as elected representatives 
        of the people of Kosova.

SEC. 5. REPORTING REQUIREMENT.

    Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the President shall prepare and transmit to the Congress a report on--
            (1) the situation in Kosova, including the manner in which 
        the policies of Serbia have affected the economic, social, and 
        cultural rights of the majority in Kosova;
            (2) measures to provide humanitarian assistance to the 
        population of Kosova and to Kosovar refugees who have fled 
        Kosova, including the impact of United States sanctions against 
        Serbia and Montenegro upon the delivery of humanitarian 
        assistance to Kosova;
            (3) recommendations (taking into account the views of other 
        United Nations Security Council members and the European Union) 
        on what modalities may be pursued, including the possibility of 
        establishing an international protectorate for Kosova together 
        with other members of the United Nations Security Council and 
        the European Union, to implement international protection of 
        the rights of the people of Kosova, reestablish an 
        international presence in Kosova to monitor more effectively 
        the situation in Kosova, and secure for the people of Kosova 
        their right to democratic self-government;
            (4) the current status of United States efforts to 
        establish a United States Information Agency cultural center in 
        Prishtina, Kosova, as provided in section 223 of the Foreign 
        Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993, 
        specifying the security conditions and any other factors 
        preventing establishment of such center; and
            (5) the presence of United States officials in Kosova, 
        prior to establishment of a United States Information Agency 
        cultural center in Prishtina, Kosova, including the number, 
        frequency, and duration of visits of personnel of the United 
        States Embassy in Belgrade to Kosova during the 12-month period 
        ending on the date of the enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>