[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 15 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 15

 Concerning the implementation of the General Framework Agreement for 
Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, urging continued and increased support 
 for the efforts of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former 
Yugoslavia to bring to justice the perpetrators of gross violations of 
  international law in the former Yugoslavia, and urging support for 
  democratic forces in all of the countries emerging from the former 
                              Yugoslavia.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 7, 1997

  Mr. Hoyer (for himself, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Mascara, Mr. Cummings, Mr. 
Moran of Virginia, and Mr. Markey) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on International Relations, and in 
  addition to the Committee on Banking and Financial Services, for a 
 period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Concerning the implementation of the General Framework Agreement for 
Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, urging continued and increased support 
 for the efforts of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former 
Yugoslavia to bring to justice the perpetrators of gross violations of 
  international law in the former Yugoslavia, and urging support for 
  democratic forces in all of the countries emerging from the former 
                              Yugoslavia.

Whereas relative peace has come to Bosnia and Herzegovina and tensions have been 
        reduced throughout the region as a result of the implementation of the 
        General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and 
        associated annexes (hereafter referred to as the ``Peace Agreement''), 
        negotiated in Dayton, Ohio, and signed in Paris, France, on December 14, 
        1995, and as a result of the work of the NATO-led Peace Implementation 
        Forces (IFOR);
Whereas the Peace Agreement provides that Bosnia and Herzegovina shall continue 
        as a single state, despite its agreed division into two entities, with 
        full respect for its sovereignty by its neighbors, and the parties 
        thereto have agreed to a constitution for Bosnia and Herzegovina that 
        creates federal institutions including a presidency, a bicameral 
        legislature, a constitutional court and a central bank;
Whereas the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina, under the auspices of the 
        Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and observed 
        by international and domestic monitors, participated in national and 
        entity-level elections on September 14, 1996, as provided for by the 
        Peace Agreement and elected representatives charged with creating the 
        democratic institutions of a unified Bosnian state;
Whereas the elections were impaired by restrictions on freedom of movement, 
        association and expression, demonstrating the need for further 
        improvement in civilian implementation of the Peace Agreement;
Whereas the parties to the Peace Agreement have agreed that all refugees and 
        displaced persons have the right freely to return to their homes of 
        origin and have accepted the obligation to ensure that refugees and 
        displaced persons are permitted to return in safety, without risk of 
        harassment, intimidation, persecution or discrimination, particularly on 
        account of their ethnic origin, religious belief, or political opinion, 
        and that they shall have the right to have restored to them property of 
        which they were deprived in the course of hostilities since 1991, and to 
        be compensated for any property that cannot be restored to them;
Whereas the majority of refugees and displaced persons have not been able to 
        return to their homes of origin within Bosnia-Herzegovina and, in fact, 
        many new refugees have been created since the signing of the Peace 
        Agreement, contributing to instability and hindering efforts to achieve 
        reconciliation and lasting peace;
Whereas the parties to the Peace Agreement accept the need for a balance of 
        armed forces and weapons and have entered into an Agreement on Sub-
        regional Arms Control pursuant to which the parties are required to 
        report their holdings and allow inspection of certain categories of 
        weapons, and to undertake the destruction of those weapons above agreed 
        ceilings, in order to contribute to regional stability;
Whereas the Republika Srpska, one of the parties to that agreement, has, through 
        abuse of counting and exemption rules, grossly under reported its 
        liability for reduction of heavy armaments; and
Whereas the United Nations, recognizing the need for justice in the former 
        Yugoslavia, established the International Criminal Tribunal for the 
        former Yugoslavia (referred to as the ``International Criminal 
        Tribunal'') as a vehicle to maintain and restore international peace and 
        security, and United Nations Security Council Resolution 827 of May 25, 
        1993, requires all states to cooperate fully with the International 
        Criminal Tribunal;
Whereas the parties to the Peace Agreement reaffirmed their obligation ``to 
        cooperate in the investigation and prosecution of war crimes and other 
        violations of international humanitarian law'';
Whereas as of January 6, 1997, the Tribunal has publicly indicted 75 people, 
        including 5 indictments for genocide and 8 indictments for gang rape and 
        enslavement of women. Those indicted include 51 Bosnian Serbs, 18 
        Bosnian Croats (17 of whom fought with Bosnian Croat forces and 1 of 
        whom fought with Bosnian Serb forces), 3 Serbian Yugoslav Army officers, 
        and 3 Bosniacs. The highest ranking political and military figures 
        indicted to date are, respectively, Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic;
Whereas the Republika Srpska and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and 
        Montenegro) have failed to arrest and turn over for prosecution persons 
        indicted for war crimes, including Karadzic and Mladic;
Whereas Bosnian Croats and Croatia have failed to arrest and turn over for 
        prosecution persons indicted for war crimes, including Dario Kordic and 
        Ivica Rajic;
Whereas the International Criminal Tribunal continues to investigate gross 
        violations of international law in the former Yugoslavia with a view 
        toward issuing further indictments;
Whereas individuals indicted for war crimes are known to reside openly and 
        notoriously within some of the countries of the former Yugoslavia;
Whereas on June 6, 1996, the President of the International Criminal Tribunal, 
        declaring that the failure of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to 
        extradite persons indicted for war crimes is a blatant violation of the 
        Peace Agreement and of United National Security Council Resolutions, 
        called on the High Representative to reimpose economic sanctions on the 
        Republica Srpska and on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and 
        Montenegro);
Whereas Section 582 of Public Law 104-107 requires the Secretary of the Treasury 
        to instruct the United States executive directors of the international 
        financial institutions to work in opposition to, and vote against, any 
        extension by such institutions of financing or financial or technical 
        assistance to any country, the government of which knowingly grants 
        sanctuary to persons in its territory for the purpose of evading 
        prosecution, where such persons have been indicted by the International 
        Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the International 
        Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda;
Whereas the apprehension and prosecution of indicted war criminals is essential 
        for peace and reconciliation to be achieved, and democracy to be 
        established, throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina;
Whereas the democratic development of all countries emerging from the former 
        Yugoslavia is essential to the stability and security of Bosnia and 
        Herzegovina and the region as a whole as outlined in the Peace 
        Agreement; and
Whereas recent protests by democratic forces in Serbia against electoral fraud, 
        reports of which have been corroborated by the Organization for Security 
        and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), demonstrate the particularly vital 
        importance of a democratic Serbia to promoting peace and stability in 
        the region: Now, therefore be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that--
            (1) the United States is committed fully to the goals 
        enunciated in the General Framework Agreement for Peace in 
        Bosnia and Herzegovina, and associated annexes (hereafter 
        referred to as the ``Peace Agreement''), negotiated in Dayton, 
        Ohio, and signed in Paris, France, on December 14, 1995, and to 
        the unified state of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
            (2) the United States and the international community 
        should oppose secession by any entity from the unified state of 
        Bosnia and Herzegovina, and should actively support the work of 
        the parties to the Peace Agreement to establish democratic 
        institutions and the rule of law in Bosnia and Herzegovina;
            (3) the signatories to the Peace Agreement and those 
        nations and organizations participating in the implementation 
        of that agreement should ensure full and faithful 
        implementation of the arms control and confidence-building 
        agreements reached as part of the Peace Agreement including the 
        Agreement on Sub-Regional Arms Control. Failure to comply with 
        reporting, inspection, and reduction requirements should be 
        regarded as a serious breach of the Dayton commitments, and 
        coercive reduction of weapons held in cantonments should be 
        undertaken to ensure full compliance with the reduction 
        liabilities under this Agreement.
            (4) the United States and the international community 
        should increase support for the efforts of the International 
        Criminal Tribunal to investigate and bring to justice the 
        perpetrators of gross violations of international law in the 
        former Yugoslavia;
            (5) the United States and the international community 
        should support the request of the President of the 
        International Criminal Tribunal for the High Representative to 
        impose sanctions on those who have not complied with their 
        obligations to cooperate fully with the International Criminal 
        Tribunal, and should publicly and forcefully condemn those 
        authorities which harbor persons indicted for war crimes;
            (6) the NATO-led Implementation Force (IFOR) is to be 
        commended for its hard work and effectiveness in establishing 
        peace and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina;
            (7) IFOR, for the remainder of its mission in Bosnia and 
        Herzegovina, the NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR), the 
        International Police Task Force (IPTF), and other designated 
        missions, in carrying out their mandates, should make it an 
        urgent priority to detain and bring to justice persons indicted 
        by the International Criminal Tribunal;
            (8) IFOR and SFOR should take an active role in ensuring 
        respect by the parties to the Peace Agreement for freedom of 
        movement throughout the country, including the return of 
        refugees and displaced persons safely, without risk of 
        harassment, intimidation, persecution or discrimination, 
        particularly on account of their ethnic origin, religious 
        belief or political opinion.
            (9) parties to the Peace Agreement should not be admitted 
        to international organizations and fora, and should be 
        prohibited from receiving loans and financial or technical 
        assistance from international financial institutions such as 
        the World Bank, IMF, and EBRD, until and unless such states 
        have complied with their obligations under the Peace Agreement 
        and United Nations Security Council Resolutions to cooperate 
        fully with the International Criminal Tribunal; and
            (10) the OSCE and other institutions as well as NGOs are to 
        be encouraged to promote further rebuilding of democratic 
        institutions and a civic society in Bosnia and Herzegovina and 
        neighboring countries; and
            (11) the United States, the OSCE, and the international 
        community should continually and forcefully press the 
        Government of Serbia to recognize the results of the recent 
        elections, facilitate installation of the duly elected 
        opposition candidates, undertake a dialogue with the democratic 
        forces working for reform, and act immediately to improve 
        respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. If such 
        steps are not taken, the international community should impose 
        targeted sanctions on the leaders of the Serbian regime and 
        oppose Serbia's reintegration into European and international 
        organizations and fora.
                                 <all>