H. Res. 161

In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

May 18, 1999.

Whereas international humanitarian organizations such as

the International Committee of the Red Cross and the

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees provide

a vital role in assessing and responding to the humanitarian needs of refugees around the world and, most recently, of the hundreds of thousands who have fled

Kosovo;

Whereas, according to unconfirmed reports, hundreds of

thousands of internally displaced persons remain in

Kosovo at risk for their lives and requiring immediate

food, shelter, and medicine;

Whereas it is the belief of the House of Representatives that

the safety and lives of these undetermined legions of internally displaced persons within Kosovo are equal to the

safety and lives of the many refugees who have fled the

region;

Whereas the international community is committed to providing humanitarian assistance to current and future

Kosovo refugees, while uncertain of how vast that need

may be;

Whereas during an April 19, 1999, interview in Belgrade

with Dr. Ron Hatchett of the University of St. Thomas,
2

•HRES 161 EH

Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic agreed to and subsequently permitted representatives of the International

Committee of the Red Cross to meet with and examine

the condition of the three captured American prisoners of

war;

Whereas in the same interview, President Milosevic agreed to

permit representatives of the International Committee of

the Red Cross and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees into Kosovo to provide aid and assess

the humanitarian needs of internally displaced persons

within Kosovo and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia;

Whereas on May 4, 1999, with the assent of the United Nations Security Council, of which the United States is a

member, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan

initiated a United Nations interagency assessment mission to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to assess

emergency relief and rehabilitation needs within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and to identify the means for

providing such critical relief and rehabilitation assistance;

Whereas this humanitarian mission seeks to objectively assess

critical needs in the areas of human rights protection,

food, security, nutrition, health, water and sanitation,

and condition of the civilian population, and also seeks to

accurately determine the number, location, and requirements of the people in Kosovo and the Federal Republic

of Yugoslavia needing immediate and future humanitarian aid;

Whereas on May 14, 1999, the United Nations Security

Council adopted Security Council Resolution 1239 by a

vote of 13–0, inviting the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and other international humanitarian

relief organizations to extend relief assistance to the in-
3

•HRES 161 EH

ternally displaced persons in Kosovo, the Republic of

Montenegro, and other parts of the Federal Republic of

Yugoslavia; and

Whereas the brief United Nations humanitarian mission that

was initiated on May 4, 1999, subsequently departed for

Kosovo and other sectors of the Federal Republic of

Yugoslavia on May 15, 1999: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That—

(1) it is the sense of the House of Representatives

that Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic provide

the necessary security assurances and freedom of access

to the United Nations interagency mission to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia so the international community can be provided with an accurate, objective, firsthand assessment of the condition of the internally displaced persons inside of Kosovo and all sectors of the

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; and

(2) the House of Representatives encourages member nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization

(NATO) to weigh the value of this humanitarian mission

toward ending human suffering in Kosovo, and to consider reasonable measures to enhance the safety of this
4

•HRES 161 EH

international delegation during its brief humanitarian

mission within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Attest:

Clerk.