H. Res. 161
In the House of Representatives, U.S.,
May 18, 1999.
Whereas international humanitarian organizations such as
the International Committee of the Red Cross and the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees provide
a vital role in assessing and responding to the humani-
tarian needs of refugees around the world and, most re-
cently, of the hundreds of thousands who have fled
Kosovo;
Whereas, according to unconfirmed reports, hundreds of
thousands of internally displaced persons remain in
Kosovo at risk for their lives and requiring immediate
food, shelter, and medicine;
Whereas it is the belief of the House of Representatives that
the safety and lives of these undetermined legions of in-
ternally displaced persons within Kosovo are equal to the
safety and lives of the many refugees who have fled the
region;
Whereas the international community is committed to pro-
viding humanitarian assistance to current and future
Kosovo refugees, while uncertain of how vast that need
may be;
Whereas during an April 19, 1999, interview in Belgrade
with Dr. Ron Hatchett of the University of St. Thomas,
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Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic agreed to and sub-
sequently permitted representatives of the International
Committee of the Red Cross to meet with and examine
the condition of the three captured American prisoners of
war;
Whereas in the same interview, President Milosevic agreed to
permit representatives of the International Committee of
the Red Cross and the United Nations High Commis-
sioner for Refugees into Kosovo to provide aid and assess
the humanitarian needs of internally displaced persons
within Kosovo and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia;
Whereas on May 4, 1999, with the assent of the United Na-
tions Security Council, of which the United States is a
member, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan
initiated a United Nations interagency assessment mis-
sion to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to assess
emergency relief and rehabilitation needs within the Fed-
eral Republic of Yugoslavia and to identify the means for
providing such critical relief and rehabilitation assistance;
Whereas this humanitarian mission seeks to objectively assess
critical needs in the areas of human rights protection,
food, security, nutrition, health, water and sanitation,
and condition of the civilian population, and also seeks to
accurately determine the number, location, and require-
ments of the people in Kosovo and the Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia needing immediate and future humani-
tarian aid;
Whereas on May 14, 1999, the United Nations Security
Council adopted Security Council Resolution 1239 by a
vote of 13–0, inviting the United Nations High Commis-
sion for Refugees and other international humanitarian
relief organizations to extend relief assistance to the in-
•HRES 161 EH
ternally displaced persons in Kosovo, the Republic of
Montenegro, and other parts of the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia; and
Whereas the brief United Nations humanitarian mission that
was initiated on May 4, 1999, subsequently departed for
Kosovo and other sectors of the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia on May 15, 1999: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That—
(1) it is the sense of the House of Representatives
that Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic provide
the necessary security assurances and freedom of access
to the United Nations interagency mission to the Fed-
eral Republic of Yugoslavia so the international commu-
nity can be provided with an accurate, objective, first-
hand assessment of the condition of the internally dis-
placed persons inside of Kosovo and all sectors of the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; and
(2) the House of Representatives encourages mem-
ber nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO) to weigh the value of this humanitarian mission
toward ending human suffering in Kosovo, and to con-
sider reasonable measures to enhance the safety of this
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international delegation during its brief humanitarian
mission within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Attest:
Clerk.