IV

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 265

Condemning the continued detention of Kosovar Albanians removed to Serbia

at the end of the 1999 Kosova conflict and calling for their release.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 6, 2000

Mr. ENGEL (for himself, Mr. KING, Mr. OLVER, Mrs. KELLY, Mr. GEJDENSON, Mr. HOYER, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. LANTOS,

Mr. PORTER, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. NCNULTY, Mr. WOLF, Mrs. LOWEY, and Mr. FROST) submitted

the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee

on International Relations

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Condemning the continued detention of Kosovar Albanians

removed to Serbia at the end of the 1999 Kosova conflict

and calling for their release.

Whereas at the conclusion of the NATO campaign to halt the

Serbian and Yugoslav ethnic cleansing in Kosova, a large,

but undetermined number of Kosovar Albanians held in

Serbian and Yugoslav prisons in Kosova were taken from

Kosova before and during the withdrawal of Serbian and

Yugoslav police and military forces from Kosova;

Whereas the Serbian Justice Ministry has admitted that

roughly 2,000 prisoners were brought to Serbia from
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Kosova in June 1999, while Serbian and Yugoslav police

and military forces were withdrawing from Kosova;

Whereas the number of Kosovar Albanians still held in Serbian or Yugoslav prisons is unclear as a full list of names

of those in detention has not been released, but estimates

have ranged from just over 1,000 to several thousand

still in detention;

Whereas on July 10, 1999, the Parliamentary Assembly of

the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe,

comprised of parliamentarians from across Europe, the

United States, and Canada, adopted a resolution calling

upon Serbia and Yugoslavia, in accordance with international humanitarian law, to grant full, immediate and

ongoing International Committee of the Red Cross

(ICRC) access to all prisoners held in relation to the

Kosova crisis, to ensure the humane treatment of such

prisoners, and to arrange for the release of all such prisoners;

Whereas on July 21, 1999, the House of Representatives

passed an amendment by a unanimous vote of 424–0

which called upon the Governments of Serbia and Yugoslavia to immediately account for all Kosovar Albanians

in their custody and return them to Kosova;

Whereas Dr. Flora Brovina, a Kosovar pediatrician and activist held by Serbia whose clinic provided medical services to women and children, was sentenced to 12 years

in prison based, according to Amnesty International, ‘‘on

self-incriminating statements which she signed under duress’’ and charges which Amnesty International characterized as ‘‘without foundation’’;
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Whereas on December 10, 1999, the Department of State

‘‘condemn[ed] the proceedings against Dr. Brovina’’ and

‘‘insist[ed] that the Belgrade authorities account for, release, and return the thousands of Kosovar Albanians

that they are continuing to hold to Kosova and to their

families’’; and

Whereas to date, only a few hundred Kosovar Albanians have

been released from Serb and Yugoslav prisons: Now,

therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

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

3 (1) the Serbian and Yugoslav Governments

4 should immediately account for all Kosovar Alba5 nians held in their prisons and treat them in accord6 ance with all applicable international standards;

7 (2) the International Committee of the Red

8 Cross (ICRC) should be given full, immediate, and

9 ongoing access to all Kosovar Albanians held in Ser10 bian and Yugoslav prisons;

11 (3) all Kosovar Albanians now held in Serbian

12 or Yugoslav prisons should be released and any evi13 dence against them turned over to the United Na14 tions Interim Administration Mission in Kosova

15 (UNMIK) for legal processing because neither the

16 Serbian nor Yugoslav judicial systems have jurisdic17 tion over Kosova; and
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1 (4) the United Nations Security Council should

2 condemn the continued detention of Kosovar Alba3 nians in Serbian and Yugoslav prisons and call for

4 their return to Kosova.

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