IV

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. CON. RES. 85

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 21, 1998

Referred to the Committee on International Relations

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Calling for an end to the violent repression of the people

of Kosovo.

Whereas ethnic Albanians constitute 90 percent of the population of the province of Kosovo;

Whereas the human rights situation in Kosovo has recently

deteriorated, culminating in the killing of more than 70

ethnic Albanians, including innocent women and children,

by Serbian police and paramilitary forces controlled by

Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic;

Whereas Serbian authorities controlled by Milosevic have attempted to thwart efforts by international forensic experts to determine the cause of death of recent victims

by burying the dead against the wishes of their families;

Whereas the current conflict in Kosovo threatens to reignite

war in the Balkans, and is thereby a potential threat to

regional peace and security;
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Whereas the six-nation Contact Group established to monitor

the situation in the former Yugoslavia has requested that

the Serbian authorities controlled by Milosevic grant

International Red Cross personnel access to areas where

recent violence and killing have been reported;

Whereas the Contact Group has called upon Milosevic to

withdraw special police units from Kosovo and enter into

unconditional negotiations with ethnic Albanian political

leaders in order to find a peaceful political solution to the

conflict or face additional international sanctions; and

Whereas a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Kosovo must

respect the rights of members of all ethnic and religious

groups in Kosovo, all of whose representatives should be

involved in negotiations about the resolution of that conflict: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives

2 concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress—

3 (1) the United States should condemn the Ser4 bian government controlled by Slobodan Milosevic in

5 the strongest possible terms for the gross human

6 rights violations against its citizens, including the in7 discriminate use of Serbian paramilitary police units

8 against the Albanian population of Kosovo;

9 (2) the United States should condemn any ter10 rorist actions by any group or individual in Kosovo;

11 (3) the international community should respond

12 affirmatively to the call of the Contact Group for the

13 imposition of broad-based sanctions against the gov-
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1 ernment of Serbia if it fails to prevent additional

2 atrocities by the police and paramilitary units under

3 its control or does not otherwise comply immediately

4 with the terms set forth by the Contact Group;

5 (4) the United States should freeze funds of the

6 governments of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

7 and Serbia if the government of Serbia fails to com8 ply by March 25, 1998, with the terms set forth by

9 the Contact Group;

10 (5) pursuant to the terms set forth by the Con11 tact Group, the United States should demand that

12 the Serbian government and the ethnic Albanian

13 leadership and the representatives of all ethnic and

14 religious groups in Kosovo immediately begin uncon15 ditional talks to achieve a peaceful resolution to the

16 conflict in Kosovo and to provide for the exercise of

17 the legitimate civil and political rights of all persons

18 in Kosovo; and

19 (6) the United States should demand that inter20 national human rights monitors, especially personnel

21 of the International Red Cross who were forced to

22 withdraw from Kosovo, be allowed to return imme-
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1 diately to Kosovo in order to be able to report on all

2 human rights violations.

Passed the Senate March 18, 1998.

Attest: GARY SISCO,

Secretary.