[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 384 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 384

     Expressing the sense of the Senate on the development of self-
                         government in Kosovo.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 18, 2004

 Mr. Lugar (for himself, Mr. Voinovich, Mr. Allen, Mr. Smith, and Mr. 
    Biden) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
     Expressing the sense of the Senate on the development of self-
                         government in Kosovo.

Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 of June 10, 1999, 
        mandates an international civil presence and an international security 
        presence in Kosovo, ending a brutal conflict in Kosovo;
Whereas during and immediately after the conflict, the people of Kosovo suffered 
        from ethnic cleansing, war crimes, and crimes against humanity;
Whereas more than 4 years after the end of the Kosovo conflict, the incidence of 
        ethnic strife in Kosovo remains unacceptably high, and the need for the 
        fundamental work of ethnic reconciliation in Kosovo remains great;
Whereas the ethnic violence that erupted in Kosovo on March 17, 2004, claiming 
        the lives of 19 people, displacing more than 4,000 Kosovo Serbs and 
        other minorities, and resulting in the destruction of more than 500 
        homes and at least 30 churches belonging to Kosovo minorities, serves as 
        a reminder of serious challenges that remain in Kosovo;
Whereas the United States and the international community strongly condemned the 
        ethnic violence that erupted in Kosovo on March 17, 2004;
Whereas the Senate adopted a resolution on April 8, 2004, urging political 
        leaders to fulfill their commitment to rebuild property that was 
        destroyed in the violence of mid-March 2004 in Kosovo, and to take all 
        possible action to allow the more than 4,000 people displaced during the 
        violence to return quickly and safely to their homes and communities;
Whereas ethnic crimes and violent reprisals against Kosovo citizens of all 
        ethnic groups harm the victims, their families, and their communities, 
        and impair their common future;
Whereas the integration of Kosovo into Europe, and into the international 
        community, depends on the ability of the people of Kosovo to overcome 
        the divisions which have too often marked the past in Kosovo;
Whereas an important goal of the international civil presence in Kosovo 
        established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 is to 
        facilitate a political process to determine the future status of Kosovo, 
        taking into account the Rambouillet accords of 1999;
Whereas ``Standards'' of democratic self governance and a multiethnic society in 
        Kosovo are embodied in the goals enunciated by the Special 
        Representative of the United Nations Secretary General in April 2002, to 
        include the effective functioning of democratic institutions, the rule 
        of law, the sustainable return of displaced persons, dialogue with 
        Serbia and Montenegro, freedom of movement, a stable free-market 
        economy, property rights, and the further development of the Kosovo 
        Protection Corps;
Whereas the people of Kosovo have made some important progress toward the 
        fulfillment of these goals while continuing to face challenges, 
        particularly on issues of refugee return and freedom of movement of 
        Kosovo minorities;
Whereas the United Nations Security Council, in its Presidential statement of 
        December 12, 2003, endorsed the elaboration by UNMIK (the United Nations 
        Interim Administration in Kosovo) of the ``Standards'' in the 
        ``Standards for Kosovo'' document and welcomed the plan to periodically 
        review the progress in Kosovo in implementing the standards;
Whereas UNMIK has drafted a comprehensive ``Standards Implementation Plan'' to 
        give Kosovo precise guidance on the actions that must be taken to 
        achieve the standards;
Whereas the United States and UNMIK are currently working together with the 
        Provisional Institutions of Self-Government of Kosovo (PISG) to help 
        Kosovo meet the standards with a view to carry out a comprehensive 
        review of the progress in Kosovo ``around mid-2005''; and
Whereas considerable further progress toward the realization of the standards 
        remains to be accomplished before the process of determining the future 
        status of Kosovo can begin: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that the United States 
should--
            (1) intensify its efforts to help Kosovo achieve the 
        ``Standards'', as set out by the Special Representative of the 
        United Nations Secretary General in Kosovo in October 2002, and 
        as further elaborated in the UNMIK (the United Nations Interim 
        Administration in Kosovo) ``Standards For Kosovo'' paper of 
        December 10, 2003, to bring about a stable, multiethnic, and 
        democratic society in Kosovo by carrying out the steps called 
        for in the Kosovo Standards Implementation Plan drafted by 
        UNMIK;
            (2) further encourage Kosovo to become a factor for 
        stability in the region by having good relations with its 
        neighbors, and in particular, by engaging in dialogue with 
        Belgrade in an effort to secure a peaceful, long-term solution 
        for peace in the region;
            (3) encourage Belgrade to support the standards 
        implementation process in Kosovo, including by constructive 
        participation in the direct technical talks launched October 
        14, 2003;
            (4) enhance efforts to provide support to KFOR (the North 
        Atlantic Treaty Organization-led international security force 
        in Kosovo), and to call upon the PISG (Provisional Institutions 
        of Self-Government of Kosovo) to ensure the security and 
        freedom of movement for all the people of Kosovo, and the 
        return of refugees and internally displaced persons;
            (5) urge all people in Kosovo to reject the ethnic violence 
        that erupted in Kosovo on March 17, 2004, and work with UNMIK 
        and KFOR to apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators of the 
        violence, to rebuild property destroyed during the violence, 
        and to work to ensure that displaced persons are able to return 
        safely to their homes and communities;
            (6) promote steps to foster the development of the Kosovo 
        economy through strengthened cooperation with the South Central 
        Europe region and Euro-Atlantic institutions, without prejudice 
        to its future political status; and
            (7) call upon the leaders of the PISG, and upon the leaders 
        of all political parties and communities of Kosovo, to renew 
        and enhance their efforts in cooperation with UNMIK, KFOR, and 
        the international community to achieve the matters described in 
        paragraphs (1) through (6).
                                 <all>