[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 161 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 161

  Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the 
      condition and humanitarian needs of refugees within Kosovo.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 6, 1999

   Mr. Brady  of Texas submitted the following resolution; which was 
          referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the 
      condition and humanitarian needs of refugees within Kosovo.

Whereas international humanitarian organizations such as the International 
        Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations High Commissioner for 
        Refugees provide a vital role in assessing and responding to the 
        humanitarian needs of refugees around the world and, most recently, of 
        the hundreds of thousands who have fled Kosovo;
Whereas, according to unconfirmed reports, hundreds of thousands of refugees 
        remain in Kosovo at risk for their lives and requiring immediate food, 
        shelter, and medicine;
Whereas it is the belief of the House of Representatives that the safety and 
        lives of these undetermined legions of refugees within Kosovo are equal 
        to the safety and lives of the many refugees who have fled the region;
Whereas the international community is committed to providing humanitarian 
        assistance to current and future Kosovo refugees, while uncertain of how 
        vast that need may be;
Whereas during an April 19, 1999, interview in Belgrade with Dr. Ron Hatchett of 
        the University of St. Thomas, Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic 
        agreed to and subsequently permitted representatives of the 
        International Committee of the Red Cross to meet with and examine the 
        condition of the three captured American prisoners of war;
Whereas in the same interview, President Milosevic agreed to permit 
        representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the 
        United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees into Kosovo to provide aid 
        and assess the humanitarian needs of refugees within Kosovo and the 
        Federal Republic of Yugoslavia;
Whereas on May 4, 1999, with the assent of the United Nations Security Council, 
        of which the United States is a member, United Nation's Secretary 
        General Kofi Annan initiated a United Nations interagency assessment 
        mission to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to assess emergency relief 
        and rehabilitation needs within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and 
        to identify the means for providing such critical relief and 
        rehabilitation assistance;
Whereas this humanitarian mission seeks to objectively assess critical needs in 
        the areas of human rights and protection, food, security, nutrition, 
        health, water and sanitation, and condition of the civilian population, 
        and also seeks to accurately determine the number, location, and 
        requirements of the people in Kosovo and the Federal Republic of 
        Yugoslavia needing immediate and future humanitarian aid; and
Whereas this humanitarian mission is working diligently to depart for Kosovo and 
        others sectors of Yugoslavia on May 8, 1999, if appropriate security 
        assurances are provided by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That--
            (1) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that 
        Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic should provide the 
        necessary security assurances to the United Nations interagency 
        mission to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to permit them to 
        safely and accurately provide the international community with 
        an objective, first-hand assessment of the condition of 
        refugees inside of Kosovo and all sectors of the Federal 
        Republic of Yugoslavia; and
            (2) the House of Representatives encourages member nations 
        of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to weigh the 
        value of this humanitarian mission toward ending human 
        suffering in Kosovo, and to consider reasonable measures to 
        enhance the safety of this international delegation during its 
        brief humanitarian mission within the Federal Republic of 
        Yugoslavia.
                                 <all>