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[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 11 Introduced in House (IH)]

108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 11

 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United 
States should declare its support for the independence of Kosova after 
        it develops and consolidates democratic self-government.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 7, 2003

     Mr. Lantos (for himself and Mr. Hyde) submitted the following 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United 
States should declare its support for the independence of Kosova after 
        it develops and consolidates democratic self-government.

Whereas the United States and the international community recognize that a right 
        to self-determination exists as a fundamental right of all people;
Whereas Kosova was constitutionally defined as a sovereign territory in the 
        First National Liberation Conference for Kosova on January 2, 1944, and 
        this status was confirmed in the Constitution of the Socialist Federal 
        Republic of Yugoslavia adopted in 1946, and the amended Yugoslav 
        constitution adopted in 1974 preserved the autonomous status of Kosova 
        as a de facto republic;
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, municipal and national government, school 
        system, judicial and legal system, hospitals and other independent 
        organizations;
Whereas Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic rose to power in 1987 on a platform 
        of ultranationalism and anti-Albanian racism, advocating violence and 
        hatred against all non-Slavs and specifically targeting the Albanians of 
        Kosova;
Whereas Slobodan Milosevic subsequently stripped Kosova of its self-rule, 
        without the consent of the people of Kosova;
Whereas the elected Assembly of Kosova, faced with these intolerable acts, 
        adopted a Declaration of Independence on July 2, 1990, proclaimed the 
        Republic of Kosova, and adopted a constitution on September 7, 1990, 
        based on the international legal principles of self-determination, 
        equality, and sovereignty;
Whereas in recognition of the de facto dissolution of the Yugoslav federation, 
        the European community established principles for the recognition of the 
        independence and sovereignty of the republics of the former Socialist 
        Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Kosova fully satisfied those 
        principles as a de facto republic within the federation;
Whereas a popular referendum was held in Kosova from September 26-30, 1991, in 
        which 87 percent of all eligible voters cast ballots and 99.87 percent 
        voted in favor of declaring Kosova independent of the Socialist Federal 
        Republic of Yugoslavia;
Whereas, from the occupation of Kosova until the North Atlantic Treaty 
        Organization (NATO) military action against the Milosevic regime in 
        1999, the human and civil rights of the Albanian residents were 
        routinely violated by the Milosevic regime, forcing approximately 
        400,000 Albanians to flee to Western Europe and the United States;
Whereas in the spring of 1999 nearly 1,000,000 Kosovar Albanians were driven out 
        of Kosova and at least 10,000 were murdered by the Serbian paramilitary 
        and military forces;
Whereas Slobodan Milosevic was indicted by the International War Crimes Tribunal 
        and extradited to The Hague in June 2001 to stand trial for war crimes, 
        crimes against humanity, and genocide in Kosova, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 
        and Croatia;
Whereas the United Nations established Kosova as a protectorate under Resolution 
        1244, which created a framework for addressing the future status of 
        Kosova, ending the decade long Serbian occupation of Kosova and 
        Milosevic's aggression against its ethnic Albanian residents;
Whereas Kosovar Albanians have held municipal and general elections in 2000 and 
        2001, which were judged substantially free and fair;
Whereas ethnically motivated violence against the Serbian residents of Kosova 
        appears to be subsiding and the participation of the Serb minority in 
        the political life of Kosova has been increasing;
Whereas a new assembly for Kosova was elected in 2002, of which 22 members are 
        ethnic Serbs, which in turn elected a president and prime minister as 
        part of a coalition government; and
Whereas the elected leaders of Kosova understand that they must build 
        representative institutions, ensure the rule of law, respect the rights 
        of all minorities, guarantee freedom of movement and a right to return 
        to all communities and develop constructive relations with its 
        neighbors: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that 
the United States should--
            (1) work with the United Nations and European Union to 
        establish effective self-governance and democracy in Kosova in 
        which human rights are respected, including the rights of 
        ethnic and religious minorities, as the first step toward 
        sovereignty;
            (2) encourage the leaders of Kosova to build stable 
        relations with its neighbors;
            (3) work to end the assistance by all residents of Kosova 
        to parties using violent means to further separatist aims in 
        the region, including organized crime;
            (4) recognize that a lack of progress in the resolution of 
        Kosova's final status creates political and economic 
        instability in Kosova and in Southeast Europe;
            (5) work in conjunction with the United Nations, European 
        Union, and other organizations to facilitate an orderly 
        transition to the independence of Kosova; and
            (6) provide its share of assistance to encourage 
        development of democracy and a free market economic system in 
        Kosova.
                                 <all>
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