[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 115 (Wednesday, September 14, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10046-S10048]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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 SENATE RESOLUTION 237--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE ON REACHING 
              AN AGREEMENT ON THE FUTURE STATUS OF KOSOVO

  Mr. VOINOVICH (for himself, Mr. Lugar, and Mr. Biden) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations:

                              S. Res. 237

       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
       Resolved, 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

[[Page S10048]]

     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.

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