[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 561 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 561

Concerning the crisis in Kosovo and calling for NATO agreement to take 
  direct and decisive action against those forces attacking civilian 
                         populations in Kosovo.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 1, 1998

Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. Hoyer, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Fox of 
Pennsylvania, Mr. Lantos, Mr. Hall of Ohio, Mr. Moran of Virginia, Mr. 
Olver, Mr. Payne, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Engel, Mr. Wexler, Mr. Hastings of 
Florida, and Mr. McNulty) submitted the following resolution; which was 
          referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Concerning the crisis in Kosovo and calling for NATO agreement to take 
  direct and decisive action against those forces attacking civilian 
                         populations in Kosovo.

Whereas open conflict erupted in Kosovo in early 1998 between Serbian security 
        forces and the Yugoslav military on the one hand, and militants among 
        the ethnic Albanian population of Kosovo on the other;
Whereas, since that time, the conflict has evolved into an assault on the 
        civilian population of Kosovo, killing approximately a thousand men, 
        women, and children and displacing hundreds of thousands of others, 
        including tens of thousands now living as refugees in Albania, Macedonia 
        and Montenegro;
Whereas over one-third of Kosovo's villages and an estimated 4,000 homes have 
        been deliberately damaged or destroyed;
Whereas Yugoslav officials have refused to issue visas to forensic experts 
        seeking to investigate reported deaths in Kosovo;
Whereas the assault on the civilian population has been reported to include 
        atrocities which could be considered war crimes, crimes against humanity 
        and genocide;
Whereas Serbian security forces have imposed food blockades and deliberately 
        destroyed crops and livestock upon which the population of Kosovo 
        depend;
Whereas Serbian security forces have deliberately hindered the delivery of 
        humanitarian aid through the denial of visas to foreign personnel, 
        restricting access to targeted regions of Kosovo, and attacking aid 
        delivery convoys and workers;
Whereas the approaching winter season will likely create a humanitarian 
        catastrophe for those in Kosovo currently without food and shelter;
Whereas providing sufficient humanitarian aid in a timely manner to forestall 
        the humanitarian catastrophe requires an immediate halt to the assault 
        on the civilian population and the assurance that the assault will not 
        be resumed;
Whereas Yugoslav and Serbian officials, including Slobodan Milosevic, claim to 
        seek a dialogue on Kosovo but have not ceased the assault on the 
        civilian population of Kosovo;
Whereas Yugoslav and Serbian officials, led by Slobodan Milosevic, similarly 
        instigated, organized and directed aggressive action against civilians 
        in Croatia in 1991, and in Bosnia-Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995;
Whereas peace was only restored to the region of the former Yugoslavia in 1995 
        when Yugoslav and Serbian officials, including Slobodan Milosevic, were 
        confronted with the clear resolve of the international community to use 
        force against them;
Whereas both the House and Senate of the United States Congress have concurred 
        in their belief that Slobodan Milosevic is culpable for war crimes, 
        crimes against humanity and genocide;
Whereas, on September 23, 1998, the United Nations Security Council passed 
        Resolution 1199, expressing ``grave concern at recent intense fighting 
        and the flow of refugees from Kosovo and the excessive and 
        indiscriminate use of force by Serbian security forces and the Yugoslav 
        Army''; and
Whereas, on September 24, 1998, the North Atlantic Council approved the issuing 
        of an activation warning for both a limited air option and a phased air 
        campaign in Kosovo, signaling the readiness of the North Atlantic Treaty 
        Organization (NATO) to use force if it becomes a necessity to do so: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that--
            (1) the President should immediately seek NATO agreement to 
        take direct and decisive action against those forces attacking 
        civilian populations in Kosovo in order to halt these attacks 
        and ensure they are not resumed, and to compel the withdrawal 
        of security forces and secure access to the vulnerable 
        population for humanitarian aid; and
            (2) the President should strongly urge the International 
        Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia to pursue actively 
        investigations of the assault taking place in Kosovo for 
        prosecution as war crimes, crimes against humanity, or 
        genocide, including through the provision of all information 
        which could be relevant to such prosecution of Slobodan 
        Milosevic and other Yugoslav and Serbian officials in addition 
        to those comprising the security and military forces present in 
        Kosovo.
    Sec. 2. The Clerk of the House of Representatives shall transmit a 
copy of this resolution to the President.
                                 <all>