IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 309 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States 

should support independence for Kosovo. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 17, 2007 

Mr. ENGEL (for himself and Mr. KIRK) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 

the United States should support independence for Kosovo. 

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 Organization 

(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 sovVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:29 Apr 18, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR309.IH HR309

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•HRES 309 IH 

ereignty 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 


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•HRES 309 IH 

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 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that— 

3 (1) the United States should support the inde4 pendence of Kosovo in accordance with its currently 

5 constituted borders, a resolution that represents the 

6 only just, sustainable solution for an economically 

7 viable and politically stable Kosovo; 

8 (2) the United States should, in consultation 

9 and cooperation with its allies, vigorously and 

10 promptly pursue a United Nations Security Council 

11 resolution that endorses the recommendations of 

12 United Nations Special Envoy for Kosovo Martti 

13 Ahtisaari; 

14 (3) in the absence of timely action by the 

15 United Nations Security Council, the United States 

16 should be prepared to act in conjunction with like17 minded democracies to confer diplomatic recognition 

18 on, and establish full diplomatic relations with, 

19 Kosovo as an independent state, much as the United 


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1 States worked in cooperation with like-minded de2 mocracies to protect the people of Kosovo in 1999; 

3 (4) the United States should oppose any delay 

4 in the resolution of the political status of Kosovo as 

5 counterproductive, potentially dangerous, and likely 

6 to make the achievement of a lasting settlement 

7 more difficult; 

8 (5) the United States should work together with 

9 the European Union as a full partner in supporting 

10 the political and economic development of an inde11 pendent Kosovo; 

12 (6) the United States should support the inte13 gration of Kosovo into international and Euro-Atlan14 tic institutions, including its timely admission to the 

15 Partnership for Peace program of the North Atlan16 tic Treaty Organization (NATO), with the ultimate 

17 goal of full membership in NATO; 

18 (7) the United States should reaffirm its com19 mitment to southeastern Europe, including the con20 tinuation of the military mission in Kosovo to deter 

21 and disrupt any efforts by any party to destabilize 

22 the region through violence; 

23 (8) the Government of Kosovo should exercise 

24 responsible leadership under supervised independ25 ence and thereby accelerate the transition to full 


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•HRES 309 IH 

1 independence, taking particular care to reassure, 

2 protect, and ensure the full political and economic 

3 rights of Serb and other minority communities in 

4 Kosovo; 

5 (9) the Government of Kosovo should make 

6 every reasonable effort to develop a cooperative rela7 tionship with the Government of Serbia, in recogni8 tion of its legitimate interests in the safety of the 

9 Serb population in Kosovo and in the protection and 

10 preservation of the patrimonial sites of the Serbian 

11 Orthodox Church in Kosovo; and 

12 (10) the Government of Serbia should exercise 

13 responsible leadership and seize the opportunity and 

14 the imperative presented by the independence of 

15 Kosovo to end the dark chapter of the 1990s and 

16 focus its energies toward achieving a prosperous and 

17 peaceful future through regional cooperation and in18 tegration into Euro-Atlantic institutions, including 

19 NATO and the European Union, and toward the es20 tablishment of open, constructive relations with the 

21 government of Kosovo. 

Æ 


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