[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 451 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 451

      Calling for lasting peace, justice, and stability in Kosova.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 29, 2000

   Mr. Gilman (for himself, Mr. Lantos, Mr. Engel, Mr. Smith of New 
Jersey, Mr. Rohrabacher, Mr. Traficant, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. Rangel, and 
  Mr. Lewis of Georgia) submitted the following resolution; which was 
          referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
      Calling for lasting peace, justice, and stability in Kosova.

Whereas on June 10, 1999, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military 
        air operation in the former Yugoslavia victoriously concluded with the 
        withdrawal of all Serbian police, paramilitary, and military forces from 
        Kosova;
Whereas, shortly following the NATO victory, nearly 1,000,000 refugees and 
        hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons attempted to 
        return to their homes in Kosova in the belief that a peaceful, stable, 
        and just society would be created through their diligent efforts, 
        supported by the international community;
Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 (June 10, 1999) 
        established the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) as the sole 
        administration of the province until such time as its political status 
        is decided;
Whereas some 2,000 citizens were illegally detained and kidnapped to Serbia by 
        Serbian forces as they withdrew from Kosova in violation of the Geneva 
        Conventions and international humanitarian law;
Whereas a provision requiring the return of these illegally detained citizens of 
        Kosova was dropped from the Military Technical Agreement negotiated 
        between NATO and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in order to end the 
        conflict more expeditiously;
Whereas an additional 5,000 Kosova citizens are believed to be detained in 
        Serbian prisons;
Whereas hundreds of Kosova Albanian citizens have been prevented from returning 
        to their homes in the divided city of Mitrovice by Serb Kosova citizens 
        who are believed to be assisted by Serb paramilitaries who have 
        illegally re-entered Kosova;
Whereas the present international peacekeeping force in Mitrovice has proven 
        inadequate to perform the task of maintaining peace and eliminating wide 
        scale human rights violations in that town, and there have been 
        allegations of partiality to Serb residents by elements of the 
        peacekeeping force;
Whereas recent violence in Mitrovice led to the expulsion of hundreds more 
        Albanians from their homes who have been unable to return;
Whereas more than nine months following the establishment of UNMIK, adequate 
        services such as police, sanitation, telecommunications, electricity, 
        and water supply for the citizens of Kosova still are not reliably 
        available throughout the province;
Whereas Albanian citizens of Kosova have been prevented by the United Nations 
        from utilizing major economic assets in Kosova such as the Trepca mine 
        that could provide needed stimulus to the economy of Kosova;
Whereas persistent deprivation and the creation of an aid economy that is 
        contradictory to development of a flourishing free market economy is 
        fostering criminality;
Whereas, in view of the disproportionate share of the military costs borne by 
        the United States during the NATO operation, the European Union has 
        agreed that it will undertake the major share of the costs for economic 
        reconstruction in Kosova;
Whereas the European Commission and the World Bank have estimated the costs for 
        the reconstruction of Kosova over the next 4 to 5 years at 
        $2,300,000,000, with nearly half that amount available to be spent by 
        the end of 2001;
Whereas the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs 
        Appropriations Act, 2000 (as enacted by section 1000(a)(2) of Public Law 
        106-113) capped United States contributions for economic reconstruction 
        in Kosova at 15 percent of the total; and
Whereas despite its generous pledges, the European Union has been dilatory in 
        actually disbursing urgently required funds for Kosova: Now, therefore, 
        be it
    Resolved, That--
            (1) the European Union should disburse its pledged funds 
        for Kosova more rapidly;
            (2) pledged funds by the European Union required to provide 
        baseline services for Kosova such as police, sanitation, water, 
        telecommunications, and electrical supply should be made 
        available immediately, and the administration of these services 
        should be put in the hands of the people of Kosova at the 
        earliest possible date;
            (3) the strategy for economic reconstruction in Kosova 
        should be focused on utilizing private investment and 
        empowerment of the people of Kosova to take charge of their 
        livelihoods instead of fostering their reliance on donated 
        assistance;
            (4) the United States Government should make it a priority 
        to promote noncorrupt government and business practices in 
        Kosova by providing judicial training and technical advice and 
        assistance to police, border police, and customs officers;
            (5) the United Nations Security Council should demand the 
        immediate and unconditional return of all Kosova citizens from 
        Serbia; and
            (6) a more capable international peacekeeping force should 
        be established in Mitrovice so that all residents are able to 
        return in security to their homes.
                                 <all>