II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2680

To authorize such sums as may be necessary for a Balkan Stabilization

Conference as convened by the United States and to express the sense

of Congress that the President should convene such a conference to

consider all outstanding issues related to the execution of the Dayton

Accords and the peace agreement with Serbia that ended Operation

Allied Force.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 6, 2000

Mrs. HUTCHISON introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

A BILL

To authorize such sums as may be necessary for a Balkan

Stabilization Conference as convened by the United

States and to express the sense of Congress that the

President should convene such a conference to consider

all outstanding issues related to the execution of the

Dayton Accords and the peace agreement with Serbia

that ended Operation Allied Force.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Balkans Peace and

3 Prosperity Act of 2000.’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

5 Congress makes the following findings:

6 (1) The Dayton Peace Accords and the peace

7 agreement that concluded Operation Allied Force in

8 Kosovo halted Serbian aggression towards its neigh9 bors and its own people.

10 (2) Efforts to restore the economy and political

11 structure in Bosnia and Herzegovina have achieved

12 limited success in accordance with the Dayton

13 Agreement.

14 (3) Similar efforts in Kosovo continue with very

15 limited success one year after the conclusion of Op16 eration Allied Force in June 1999.

17 (4) The Dayton Agreement explicitly left cer18 tain issues unresolved, including but not limited to

19 the status of the city of Brcko and other matters.

20 (5) Progress towards democratization and eco21 nomic prosperity in both Bosnia and Kosovo is often

22 hampered by continuing disputes among local au23 thorities and between local authorities and the inter24 national community.

25 (6) There are questions about the equitable al26 location of resources among the European allies and
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1 the United States in the execution of the Operation

2 Allied Force peace agreements.

3 (7) Other issues which are fundamental to the

4 future stability of the Balkan region remain unre5 solved, including but not limited to the future status

6 of Kosovo, the desire of other Serb provinces for

7 greater autonomy and the status of displaced per8 sons who cannot return to pre-war homes.

9 (8) The international community has spent tens

10 of billions of dollars in military and rebuilding funds

11 yet the prospects for long-term peace and self-sus12 tained stability remain distant.

13 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING THE NEED FOR A

14 BALKAN STABILIZATION CONFERENCE.

15 It is the sense of Congress that—

16 (1) the United States should take the lead in

17 convening a Balkan Stabilization Conference to

18 evaluate progress on implementation of the Dayton

19 Peace Accords regarding Bosnia and the peace

20 agreement with Serbia that ended Operation Allied

21 Force;

22 (2) a Balkan Stabilization Conference would

23 serve a critical purpose of reviewing progress to date

24 and considering such modifications to those agree25 ments as may be appropriate to foster stability, self-
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1 sustained peace, improved self-determination by the

2 inhabitants of the region, and the eventual reduction

3 in the levels of outside peacekeepers; and

4 (3) the potential for a successful review con5 ference would be maximized if it included the parties

6 to the Dayton and Operation Allied Force peace

7 agreements, including representatives of NATO, the

8 Balkan ‘‘Contact Group’’, and other affected re9 gional parties.

10 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS FOR A BALKAN STA11 BILITY INITIATIVE.

12 Of the amounts authorized in this Act for operations

13 in the Balkans, such sums as may be necessary not to

14 exceed $10 million are provided for the planning and exe15 cution of the conference described in Section (2).

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