Whereas the United States has enduring national interests
in the peace and security of southeastern Europe, and in the greater
integration of the region into the Euro-Atlantic community of democratic,
well-governed states;
Whereas, in March 1999, the United States, along with
other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), commenced
military action aimed at ending Slobodan Milosevic’s brutal campaign of ethnic
cleansing against the people of Kosovo;
Whereas that military action resulted in the defeat of
Serb forces and the creation of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, an
interim United Nations administration that governs Kosovo, and which ended, de
facto, the sovereignty that was previously exercised by the Government of the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia over Kosovo;
Whereas the men and women of the Armed Forces of the
United States have served bravely in Kosovo since 1999, and their presence and
participation in the NATO-led Kosovo Force has been indispensable in protecting
the people of Kosovo and stabilizing the region;
Whereas United Nations administration was never intended
nor understood as a permanent solution to the political status of
Kosovo;
Whereas, in light of NATO’s military intervention in
Kosovo and the United Nations trusteeship established in Kosovo pursuant to
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999), the international
community has recognized the political circumstances in Kosovo as unique, and
the settlement of Kosovo’s status therefore does not establish a precedent for
the resolution of other conflicts;
Whereas continuing uncertainty about the status of Kosovo
is unacceptable to the overwhelming majority of the inhabitants of Kosovo,
inhibits economic and political development in Kosovo, and contributes to
instability and radicalism in both Kosovo and Serbia;
Whereas, in 2005, the United Nations Secretary-General
appointed the former President of Finland, Martti Ahtisaari, as United Nations
Special Envoy for Kosovo to develop a comprehensive settlement proposal to
resolve the political status of Kosovo;
Whereas, in March 2007, after 14 months of intensive
diplomacy, Special Envoy Ahtisaari submitted to the Security Council a
comprehensive settlement proposal that would result in supervised independence
for Kosovo, with robust protections for the rights of minorities; and
Whereas Special Envoy Ahtisaari has explored every
reasonable avenue for compromise in the course of his diplomacy and has stated
that further negotiations would be counterproductive: Now, therefore, be
it
That it is the sense of the Senate
that—
(1)the United States
should support the independence of Kosovo in accordance with its currently
constituted borders, a resolution that represents the only just, sustainable
solution for an economically viable and politically stable Kosovo;
(2)the United States
should, in consultation and cooperation with its allies, vigorously and
promptly pursue a United Nations Security Council resolution that endorses the
recommendations of United Nations Special Envoy for Kosovo Martti
Ahtisaari;
(3)in the absence of
timely action by the United Nations Security Council, the United States should
be prepared to act in conjunction with like-minded democracies to confer
diplomatic recognition on, and establish full diplomatic relations with, Kosovo
as an independent state, much as the United States worked in cooperation with
like-minded democracies to protect the people of Kosovo in 1999;
(4)the United States
should oppose any delay in the resolution of the political status of Kosovo as
counterproductive, potentially dangerous, and likely to make the achievement of
a lasting settlement more difficult;
(5)the United States
should work together with the European Union as a full partner in supporting
the political and economic development of an independent Kosovo;
(6)the United States
should support the integration of Kosovo into international and Euro-Atlantic
institutions, including its timely admission to the Partnership for Peace
program of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), with the ultimate
goal of full membership in NATO;
(7)the United States
should reaffirm its commitment to southeastern Europe, including the
continuation of the military mission in Kosovo to deter and disrupt any efforts
by any party to destabilize the region through violence;
(8)the Government of
Kosovo should exercise responsible leadership under supervised independence and
thereby accelerate the transition to full independence, taking particular care
to reassure, protect, and ensure the full political and economic rights of Serb
and other minority communities in Kosovo;
(9)the Government of
Kosovo should make every reasonable effort to develop a cooperative
relationship with the Government of Serbia, in recognition of its legitimate
interests in the safety of the Serb population in Kosovo and in the protection
and preservation of the patrimonial sites of the Serbian Orthodox Church in
Kosovo; and
(10)the Government
of Serbia should exercise responsible leadership and seize the opportunity and
the imperative presented by the independence of Kosovo to end the dark chapter
of the 1990s and focus its energies toward achieving a prosperous and peaceful
future through regional cooperation and integration into Euro-Atlantic
institutions, including NATO and the European Union, and toward the
establishment of open, constructive relations with the government of
Kosovo.