Whereas, on June 10, 1999, the United
Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1244 which authorized the
Secretary-General of the United Nations to establish an interim administration
for Kosovo to assume the supreme legal authority in Kosovo with the task of
promoting substantial autonomy and self-governance
in Kosovo and
facilitating a political process to determine the future status of
Kosovo;
Whereas, on December 10, 2003, the United
Nations interim administration, known as the United Nations Interim
Administration Mission in Kosovo, presented the Standards for Kosovo document
which set out the requirements to be met to advance stability in Kosovo;
Whereas
the Standards for Kosovo require the establishment of functioning democratic
institutions in Kosovo, including providing for the holding of elections,
establishing the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government, and establishing
media and civil society, the establishment of rule of law to ensure equal
access to justice and to implement mechanisms to suppress economic and
financial crime, and the establishment of freedom of movement in Kosovo,
including the free use of language;
Whereas
the Standards for Kosovo further require sustainable returns and the rights of
communities and their members, improvements in economic and financial
institutions, including the prevention of money laundering and the
establishment of an attractive environment for investors, the establishment of
property rights, including the preservation of cultural heritage, and the
development of a sustained dialogue, including a Pristina-Belgrade dialogue and
a regional dialogue;
Whereas
the ethnic violence that occurred in Kosovo from March 17, 2004 through March
19, 2004, represented a severe setback to the progress the people of Kosovo
achieved in implementing the Standards for Kosovo and resulted in 20 deaths and
damage to or destruction of approximately 900 homes and 30 Serbian Orthodox
churches and other religious sites;
Whereas
the bomb attacks against the people and international institutions in Kosovo
that occurred from July 2, 2005 through July 4, 2005, were unacceptable events
that work counter to the interests and efforts of the majority of the people of
Kosovo and signal that more work must be done to promote the implementation of
the Standards for Kosovo;
Whereas
the status of Kosovo, which is neither stable nor sustainable, is a critical
issue affecting the aspirations of Southeast Europe for stability, peace, and
eventual membership in the European Union;
Whereas
the authorities and institutions of Kosovo must be empowered to act
independently to achieve the Standards for Kosovo so that such authorities and
institutions may assume responsibility for any progress or setbacks;
Whereas
2005 must be a year of decision for representatives of Kosovo, Serbia and
Montenegro, and the United Nations to move forward on the status of
Kosovo;
Whereas
the basic values of multi-ethnicity, democracy, and market-orientation must
remain at the heart of any effort to resolve the question of the future status
of Kosovo; and
Whereas
the support of all of the people of Kosovo is required to achieve a successful
outcome that addresses those basic values: Now, therefore, be it
That it is the sense of the Senate
that—
(1)the unresolved status of Kosovo is neither
sustainable nor beneficial to the progress toward stability and peace in
Southeast Europe and its integration with Europe;
(2)the leaders of Kosovo and Serbia and
Montenegro and the representatives of the United Nations should work toward an
agreement on the future status of Kosovo and a plan for transformation in
Kosovo;
(3)such agreement and plan should—
(A)address the claims and satisfy the key
concerns of the people of Kosovo and the people of Serbia and
Montenegro;
(B)seek compromises from both Kosovo and
Serbia and Montenegro to reach an agreement;
(C)promote the integration of Southeast Europe
with the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization;
(D)reinforce efforts to encourage full
cooperation by the governments of Kosovo and of Serbia and Montenegro with the
International Crimes Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia;
(E)promote stability in the region and take
into consideration the stability of democracy in Kosovo and in Serbia and
Montenegro;
(F)promote the active participation of
Serbians in Kosovo in elections and in the government of Kosovo; and
(G)require the fulfillment of the Standards
for Kosovo, the requirements that the United Nations Interim Administration
Mission in Kosovo established to advance stability in Kosovo, in accordance
with prior commitments and in support of the initiation of discussions on
status with particular emphasis on the problem of human rights in minority
communities;
(4)the anticipated discussions of the
long-term status of Kosovo should result in a plan for implementing the
Standards for Kosovo, particularly with regard to minority protections, return
of property, and the development of rule of law as it relates to the
improvement of protection of minorities, the return of internally displaced
persons, the return of property, and the prosecution of human rights
violations; and
(5)Kosovo, Serbia and Montenegro, and the
United Nations, during the negotiations related to the long-term status of
Kosovo, should require—
(A)increased monitoring and reporting of the
progress on the implementation of the Standards for Kosovo and any incidents of
human rights violations, and should broaden the involvement of minorities and
community-level representatives in monitoring, reporting, and publicizing that
progress;
(B)that the authorities and institutions of
Kosovo be given greater authority and independence in fulfilling the Standards
for Kosovo, including assuming the responsibility for any setbacks and progress
and acquiring experience in assuming greater autonomy; and
(C)a broad public awareness campaign to raise
awareness of both the plan to resolve the question of the status of Kosovo and
the requirements for the transition of Kosovo to a permanent status, including
the importance of the progress in implementing the Standards for Kosovo and the
necessity of ensuring peace and suppressing all forms of discrimination and
violence so that the region may move forward toward a future of greater
prosperity, stability, and lasting peace.