IV 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 596 
Condemning ethnic violence in Kosovo. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 2, 2004 
Mr. BURTON
of Indiana (for himself, Mr. BELL, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. 
TANCREDO, Mr. LEACH, and Mr. EMANUEL) submitted the following res-
olution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations 
RESOLUTION 
Condemning ethnic violence in Kosovo. 
Whereas ethnic violence erupted in Kosovo on March 17, 
2004, claiming the lives of 20 individuals, including 8 
Kosovo Serbs, 8 Kosovo Albanians, and 4 unidentified 
victims, injuring more than 600 others, and displacing 
more than 4,000 Kosovo Serbs and other minorities; 
Whereas the violence also resulted in the destruction of more 
than 500 homes belonging to Kosovo Serbs, Ashkali, and 
other minorities, and in the destruction of, or damage to, 
more than 30 churches and monasteries belonging to the 
Serbian Orthodox Church; 
Whereas historic mosques in Belgrade and Nis, and an Is-
lamic center in Novi Sad, were also destroyed or dam-
aged;
•HRES 596 IH 
Whereas in response to the violence, Commander in Chief of 
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Allied 
Forces South, Admiral Gregory Johnson, concluded, 
‘‘This kind of activity, which essentially amounts to eth-
nic cleansing, cannot go on.’’; 
Whereas Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, General 
James Jones ordered the deployment of NATO’s Stra-
tegic Reserve Force on March 19, 2004, to calm the vio-
lence and end the destruction; 
Whereas Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and 
Foreign Minister of Serbia and Montenegro Goran 
Svilanovic met in Washington on March 19, 2004, and 
called for an immediate end to the violence, concurring 
that no party in Kosovo can be allowed to profit or ad-
vance a political agenda through violent measures; 
Whereas a stable, secure, and functioning multiethnic society 
is in the best interest of all people of Kosovo, the broader 
region of Southeast Europe, and the world; 
Whereas it is essential that political leaders in Kosovo sup-
port efforts to establish an environment in which all peo-
ple in Kosovo have freedom of movement and the ability 
to live free from fear; 
Whereas the United States and members of the international 
community have called on the people of Kosovo to imple-
ment 8 standards outlined by the United Nations Interim 
Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK), which are to be met 
prior to the consideration of the question of final status 
for Kosovo, including: the existence of effective, rep-
resentative, and functioning democratic institutions; en-
forcement of the rule of law; freedom of movement; sus-
tainable returns of refugees and displaced persons, and
•HRES 596 IH 
respect for the rights of communities; creation of a sound 
basis for a market economy; fair enforcement of property 
rights; normalized dialogue with Belgrade; and trans-
formation of the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC) in line 
with its mandate; and 
Whereas it is in the long-term interest of all people of Kosovo 
that the UNMIK standards are achieved in order to pro-
mote peace, stability, and economic development, and to 
ensure a better future for all people in Kosovo: Now, 
therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) urges all people in Kosovo to immediately 
stop the violence that erupted on March 17, 2004, 
that has claimed the lives of over 20 individuals and 
injured more than 600, end the destruction of 
homes, churches, and other cultural and religious 
sites, and cooperate with the North Atlantic Treaty 
Organization’s Kosovo Force (KFOR), the United 
Nations 
Interim 
Administration 
in 
Kosovo 
(UNMIK), and the Kosovo Police to identify for 
prosecution the perpetrators of violence and the de-
struction of property; 
(2) expresses its deep condolences to the fami-
lies of those who have been killed in the recent vio-
lence; 
(3) strongly condemns the destruction of per-
sonal and religious property in Kosovo, including
•HRES 596 IH 
more than 500 homes belonging to Kosovo Serbs, 
Ashkali, and other minorities, and of 30 churches 
and monasteries belonging to the Serbian Orthodox 
Church, adding to the more than 100 churches that 
have been destroyed since June 1999; 
(4) strongly condemns the destruction of his-
toric mosques in the cities of Belgrade and Nis, and 
of an Islamic center in Novi Sad; 
(5) recognizes the commitment made by the 
Kosovo Assembly to establish a fund for the recon-
struction of property, including homes and churches, 
destroyed during the attacks; 
(6) recognizes the commitment made by Ser-
bian officials to provide funds for the reconstruction 
of mosques in Belgrade and Nis, and an Islamic cen-
ter in Novi Sad; 
(7) urges political leaders to fulfill their com-
mitment to rebuild what has been destroyed and to 
take all possible action to allow the more than 4,000 
Kosovo Serbs and other minorities displaced during 
the violence to return quickly and safely to their 
homes and communities; 
(8) encourages all political leaders in Kosovo to 
renounce the use of violence, and to proceed with ef-
forts to establish a secure, peaceful, multiethnic soci-
•HRES 596 IH 
ety, which protects the rights of all people in 
Kosovo, and to take action to proceed with the im-
plementation of the standards, or ‘‘benchmark 
goals’’, outlined by UNMIK; 
(9) strongly recommends that the United Na-
tions review the structure and organization of 
UNMIK; and 
(10) urges reinvigoration of dialogue between 
Belgrade and Pristina in an effort to move toward 
the establishment of a peaceful and secure environ-
ment guaranteeing freedom of movement and human 
rights for all people in Kosovo. 
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