[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 31 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 31

Expressing support for democratic forces in Serbia and encouraging the 
       people of Serbia to remain committed to a democratic path.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 17, 2007

 Mr. Voinovich (for himself, Mr. Lugar, Mr. Hagel, and Mr. Lieberman) 
 submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing support for democratic forces in Serbia and encouraging the 
       people of Serbia to remain committed to a democratic path.

Whereas, in September 2000, the people of Serbia fought for democracy by going 
        to the streets to hold protests and rallies until President Slobodan 
        Milosevic was removed from power and the Government of Serbia was handed 
        over to democratic forces;
Whereas, in the following years, the democratic leadership of Serbia worked to 
        establish a democratic society, functional rule of law, a free market 
        economy, and respect for human and minority rights;
Whereas the President of Serbia, Boris Tadic, has expressed publicly his 
        commitment to the principles of democracy and the dream of leading 
        Serbia forward on this path;
Whereas Serbia is a member of several international organizations and has voiced 
        its desire to become a member of the European Union (EU);
Whereas Serbia has enacted several military and defense reforms to strengthen 
        ties to its Western allies and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation 
        (NATO) Alliance;
Whereas, on September 7, 2006, Serbia signed a Status of Forces Agreement with 
        the United States Government to facilitate Serbia's participation in 
        joint military exercises and training;
Whereas, on September 8, 2006, President Tadic commemorated the beginning of 
        Serbia's participation in the National Guard State Partnership Program 
        with the Ohio National Guard;
Whereas, on December 14, 2006, Serbia was granted accession to the NATO 
        Partnership for Peace (PfP) program, along with its neighbors, Bosnia 
        and Herzegovina and Montenegro, initiating formal cooperation between 
        NATO and Serbia;
Whereas Serbia has transferred 36 individuals indicted for war crimes to the 
        International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), 
        including Milosevic and some of his top officials, and provided 
        thousands of documents to the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICTY;
Whereas Serbia has taken some additional steps, under the supervision of the 
        ICTY and the international community, to enact judicial reforms and 
        establish special courts to try individuals indicted for war crimes in 
        Kosovo, Bosnia, and Croatia;
Whereas Serbia has failed to arrest war criminal Ratko Mladic for the horrific 
        crimes he committed at Srebrenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which 
        prevented Serbia's earlier participation in the PfP program and its 
        progression in EU accession talks;
Whereas, on January 21, 2007, Serbia will hold democratic parliamentary 
        elections to determine Serbia's future leadership at this critical 
        juncture in Serbia's history;
Whereas Albanian parties in southern Serbia will participate in the 
        parliamentary elections for the first time in over 15 years; and
Whereas a strong, stable, and democratic Serbia is critical to the future of the 
        region: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) the United States should be committed to a strong 
        relationship with a democratic Serbia as Serbia moves toward 
        its goals of membership in the European Union (EU) and 
        cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO);
            (2) the inclusion of Serbia in the NATO Partnership for 
        Peace Program was a critical step in bringing Serbia closer to 
        the Euro-Atlantic Alliance;
            (3) Serbia will now have the opportunity to enact defense 
        reforms and apply for a Membership Action Plan for NATO;
            (4) Serbia should continue its progress on reform, 
        including defense and judiciary reforms and reforms in the area 
        of human and minority rights;
            (5) Serbia should move quickly to fulfill its obligations 
        to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former 
        Yugoslavia, including by immediately arresting Ratko Mladic and 
        transferring him to the Hague because this step is essential 
        for Serbia to be admitted into the EU and NATO;
            (6) as Serbia continues to work toward integration in Euro-
        Atlantic institutions, the United States should continue and 
        increase its defense and security cooperation with the 
        Government of Serbia, including through education, training, 
        and technical cooperation, to assist Serbia in the reform 
        process and in fulfilling the requirements for membership in 
        NATO; and
            (7) the United States should remain a friend to the people 
        of Serbia as they continue on the path of democracy.
                                 <all>