IV

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 312

Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding the right of the Albanian

People of Kosova to self-determination and independence from the repressive, authoritarian, and barbaric Serbian regime of Slobodan Milosevic,

and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 28, 1998

Mr. TRAFICANT submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was

referred to the Committee on International Relations

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding the right

of the Albanian People of Kosova to self-determination

and independence from the repressive, authoritarian, and

barbaric Serbian regime of Slobodan Milosevic, and for

other purposes.

Whereas the United States and the international community

recognize that a right to self-determination exists as a

fundamental right of all people, as set forth in numerous

United Nations instruments of which the United States

is a signatory;

Whereas international law recognizes a right to self-determination as a right that must be recognized when a

group or a people are subjected to persistent and system-
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atic denials of political and social equality and severe

deprivations of fundamental human rights;

Whereas in 1987, Slobodan Milosevic came to power on a

platform of extreme nationalism, advocating violence and

hatred and specifically targeting the Albanians of Kosova,

whose self-rule he stripped in violation of the former

Yugoslavia’s 1974 constitution;

Whereas the Albanians of Kosova satisfy the objective requirements for self-determination, in that they comprise

more than 90 percent of the total population of Kosova;

share a common language of Albanian; are descendants

of the Illyrians, the first group to inhabit the Balkans

well before the Common Era; share a common ethnicity,

and are generally referred to as ethnic Albanians; share

a common history in the Kosova region of the Balkans;

and share a common cultural identity as ethnic Albanians

with an unbroken historic bond in the region;

Whereas the Albanians of Kosova satisfy the subjective requirements for self-determination, in that their desire to

secede is predicated on the longstanding principles of

self-rule and is exhibited in their collective overwhelming

belief that they are a people and a nation of Kosovar Albanians; have their own government, manifest their desire to regain self-rule in the form of independence; seek

a democratic form of government with ‘‘free and fair’’

elections; have a defined territory, with a continuous

nexus to the territory, and have established a proven history of self-government prior to the Milosevic regime;

Whereas there is a cognizable connection between human

rights and international peace and security and the right

to self-determination where severe deprivations of fundamental human rights occur, and the loss of any
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participatory role in their governance, coupled with welldocumented human rights violations tantamount to war

crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide (as set

forth in the Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia) that have been perpetrated against the Albanians of Kosova by the repressive and barbaric Milosevic regime is dispositive of the

Kosovar’s right to self-determination;

Whereas the Albanians of Kosova enjoyed the right to participate with a legal and political status equal to the other

6 Republics within the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and an equal right to participate in the rotating

presidency of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia;

until they were stripped of their self-rule, in violation of

the former Yugoslavia Constitution of 1974;

Whereas prior to the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia,

Kosova was a separate political and legal entity with separate and distinct financial institutions, police force, government (municipal and federal), school system, judicial/

legal system, hospital and other such independent organizations, and as the other former Republics declared their

independence, Kosova was forcibly absorbed into Serbia;

Whereas there is reason to believe that independence is the

only viable option for the Albanians of Kosova after autonomy failed time and time again, and only the

Kosovars have the right to determine their legal and political destiny as a people;

Whereas at the onset of the war in Bosnia, the other former

Republics, with equal political and legal status as Kosova

were granted independence, and Kosova’s claims were

summarily and unfairly rejected, in violation of the recognized principles of international law; and
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Whereas the Dayton Accords failed to address the issue of

Kosova and the legal and political rights of the Albanians

of Kosova, the third largest ethnic group in the Balkans,

and that a lasting and secure peace in the Balkans is unlikely unless the question of Kosova’s independence is legitimately addressed: 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 United States should publicly declare

4 that the Albanians of Kosova have a legal right to

5 self-determination and that independence is the only

6 political solution acceptable to the Kosovars;

7 (2) the United States should, in conformity

8 with its principles and beliefs, support and sponsor

9 the right of self-determination for the Albanians of

10 Kosova and this should be a high priority for restor11 ing peace and security to the region;

12 (3) the United States should provide its share

13 of any financial or other resources necessary to fa14 cilitate the independence for Kosova;

15 (4) the United States, in conjunction with

16 members of the United Nations and other multilat17 eral organizations, should convene a working group

18 that deals with the specifics of secession in order to

19 prevent future civil conflict from rising to the level

20 of a breach of international peace and security and
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1 that facilitates constructive dialogue in order to pre2 vent violence; and

3 (5) the United States and others should use

4 any and all means necessary to remove impediments

5 to the Kosovar Albanian’s right to self-determina6 tion.

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