IV

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. RES. 451

Calling for lasting peace, justice, and stability in Kosova.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 29, 2000

Mr. GILMAN (for himself, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. TRAFICANT, Ms. VELA ́

ZQUEZ, Mr. RANGEL,

and Mr. LEWIS of Georgia) submitted the following resolution; which was

referred to the Committee on International Relations

RESOLUTION

Calling for lasting peace, justice, and stability in Kosova.

Whereas on June 10, 1999, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military air operation in the former

Yugoslavia victoriously concluded with the withdrawal of

all Serbian police, paramilitary, and military forces from

Kosova;

Whereas, shortly following the NATO victory, nearly

1,000,000 refugees and hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons attempted to return to their

homes in Kosova in the belief that a peaceful, stable, and

just society would be created through their diligent efforts, supported by the international community;

Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244

(June 10, 1999) established the United Nations Mission
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in Kosovo (UNMIK) as the sole administration of the

province until such time as its political status is decided;

Whereas some 2,000 citizens were illegally detained and kidnapped to Serbia by Serbian forces as they withdrew

from Kosova in violation of the Geneva Conventions and

international humanitarian law;

Whereas a provision requiring the return of these illegally detained citizens of Kosova was dropped from the Military

Technical Agreement negotiated between NATO and the

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in order to end the conflict more expeditiously;

Whereas an additional 5,000 Kosova citizens are believed to

be detained in Serbian prisons;

Whereas hundreds of Kosova Albanian citizens have been prevented from returning to their homes in the divided city

of Mitrovice by Serb Kosova citizens who are believed to

be assisted by Serb paramilitaries who have illegally reentered Kosova;

Whereas the present international peacekeeping force in

Mitrovice has proven inadequate to perform the task of

maintaining peace and eliminating wide scale human

rights violations in that town, and there have been allegations of partiality to Serb residents by elements of the

peacekeeping force;

Whereas recent violence in Mitrovice led to the expulsion of

hundreds more Albanians from their homes who have

been unable to return;

Whereas more than nine months following the establishment

of UNMIK, adequate services such as police, sanitation,

telecommunications, electricity, and water supply for the
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citizens of Kosova still are not reliably available throughout the province;

Whereas Albanian citizens of Kosova have been prevented by

the United Nations from utilizing major economic assets

in Kosova such as the Trepca mine that could provide

needed stimulus to the economy of Kosova;

Whereas persistent deprivation and the creation of an aid

economy that is contradictory to development of a flourishing free market economy is fostering criminality;

Whereas, in view of the disproportionate share of the military

costs borne by the United States during the NATO operation, the European Union has agreed that it will undertake the major share of the costs for economic reconstruction in Kosova;

Whereas the European Commission and the World Bank

have estimated the costs for the reconstruction of Kosova

over the next 4 to 5 years at $2,300,000,000, with nearly

half that amount available to be spent by the end of

2001;

Whereas the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2000 (as enacted by

section 1000(a)(2) of Public Law 106–113) capped

United States contributions for economic reconstruction

in Kosova at 15 percent of the total; and

Whereas despite its generous pledges, the European Union

has been dilatory in actually disbursing urgently required

funds for Kosova: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That—

2 (1) the European Union should disburse its

3 pledged funds for Kosova more rapidly;
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1 (2) pledged funds by the European Union re2 quired to provide baseline services for Kosova such

3 as police, sanitation, water, telecommunications, and

4 electrical supply should be made available imme5 diately, and the administration of these services

6 should be put in the hands of the people of Kosova

7 at the earliest possible date;

8 (3) the strategy for economic reconstruction in

9 Kosova should be focused on utilizing private invest10 ment and empowerment of the people of Kosova to

11 take charge of their livelihoods instead of fostering

12 their reliance on donated assistance;

13 (4) the United States Government should make

14 it a priority to promote noncorrupt government and

15 business practices in Kosova by providing judicial

16 training and technical advice and assistance to po17 lice, border police, and customs officers;

18 (5) the United Nations Security Council should

19 demand the immediate and unconditional return of

20 all Kosova citizens from Serbia; and

21 (6) a more capable international peacekeeping

22 force should be established in Mitrovice so that all

23 residents are able to return in security to their

24 homes.

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