I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2315
Terminating the United States arms embargo of the Government of Bosnia-
Hercegovina.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 27, 1993
Mr. HYDE (for himself, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. GIL-
MAN, Mr. FISH, Mr. WILSON, and Mr. GINGRICH) introduced the follow-
ing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
A BILL
Terminating the United States arms embargo of the
Government of Bosnia-Hercegovina.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bosnia-Hercegovina
Self-Defense Act of 1993’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) On July 10, 1991, the United States adopt-
ed a policy suspending all licenses and other approv-
als to export or otherwise transfer defense articles
and defense services to Yugoslavia.
(2) On September 25, 1991, the United Na-
tions Security Council adopted Resolution 713,
which imposed a mandatory international embargo
on all deliveries of weapons and military equipment
to Yugoslavia.
(3) The United States considered the policy
adopted July 10, 1991, to comply fully with Resolu-
tion 713 and therefore took no additional action in
response to that resolution.
(4) On January 8, 1992, the United Nations
Security Council adopted Resolution 727, which de-
cided that the mandatory arms embargo imposed by
Resolution 713 should apply to any independent
states that might thereafter emerge on the territory
of Yugoslavia.
(5) On February 29 and March 1, 1992, the
people of Bosnia-Hercegovina voted in a referendum
to declare independence from Yugoslavia.
(6) On April 7, 1992, the United States recog-
nized the Government of Bosnia-Hercegovina.
(7) On May 22, 1992, the Government of
Bosnia-Hercegovina was admitted to full member-
ship in the United Nations.
(8) Consistent with Resolution 727, the United
States has continued to apply the policy adopted
July 10, 1991, to independent states that have
emerged on the territory of the former Yugoslavia,
including Bosnia-Hercegovina.
(9) Subsequent to the adoption of Resolution
727 and Bosnia-Hercegovina’s independence referen-
dum, the siege of Sarajevo began and fighting
spread to other areas of Bosnia-Hercegovina.
(10) The Government of Serbia intervened di-
rectly in the fighting by providing significant mili-
tary, financial, and political support and direction to
Serbian-allied 
irregular 
forces 
in 
Bosnia-
Hercegovina.
(11) In statements dated May 1 and May 12,
1992, the Conference on Security and Cooperation
in Europe declared that the Government of Serbia
and the Serbian-controlled Yugoslav National Army
were committing aggression against the Government
of Bosnia-Hercegovina and assigned to them prime
responsibility for the escalation of bloodshed and de-
struction.
(12) On May 30, 1992, the United Nations Se-
curity Council adopted Resolution 757, which con-
demned the Government of Serbia for its continued
failure to respect the territorial integrity of Bosnia-
Hercegovina.
(13) Serbian-allied irregular forces have, over
the last year, occupied approximately 70 percent of
the territory of Bosnia-Hercegovina, committed
gross violations of human rights in the areas they
have occupied, and established a secessionist govern-
ment committed to eventual unification with Serbia.
(14) The military and other support and direc-
tion provided to Serbian-allied irregular forces in
Bosnia-Hercegovina constitutes an armed attack on
the Government of Bosnia-Hercegovina by the Gov-
ernment of Serbia within the meaning of Article 51
of the United Nations Charter.
(15) Under Article 51, the Government of
Bosnia-Hercegovina, as a member of the United Na-
tions, has an inherent right of individual or collective
self-defense against the armed attack from the Gov-
ernment of Serbia until the United Nations Security
Council has taken measures necessary to maintain
international peace and security.
(16) The measures taken by the United Nations
Security Council in response to the armed attack on
Bosnia-Hercegovina have not been adequate to
maintain international peace and security.
(17) Bosnia-Hercegovina has been unable suc-
cessfully to resist the armed attack from Serbia be-
cause it lacks the means to counter heavy weaponry
that Serbia obtained from the Yugoslav National
Army upon the dissolution of Yugoslavia, and be-
cause the mandatory international arms embargo
has prevented Bosnia-Hercegovina from obtaining
from other countries the means to counter such
heavy weaponry.
(18) On December 18, 1992, with the affirma-
tive vote of the United States, the United Nations
General Assembly adopted Resolution 47/121, which
urged the United Nations Security Council to ex-
empt Bosnia-Hercegovina from the mandatory arms
embargo imposed by Resolution 713.
(19) In the absence of adequate measures to
maintain international peace and security, continued
application 
to 
the 
Government 
of 
Bosnia-
Hercegovina of the mandatory international arms
embargo imposed by the United Nations Security
Council prior to the armed attack on Bosnia-
Hercegovina undermines that government’s right of
individual or collective self-defense and therefore
contravenes Article 51 of the United Nations
Charter.
(20) Bosnia-Hercegovina’s right of self-defense
under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter in-
cludes the right to ask for military assistance from
other countries and to receive such assistance if
offered.
SEC. 3. UNITED STATES ARMS EMBARGO OF THE GOVERN-
MENT OF BOSNIA-HERCEGOVINA.
(a) TERMINATION.—The President shall terminate
the United States arms embargo of the Government of
Bosnia-Hercegovina upon receipt from that government of
a request for assistance in exercising its right of self-de-
fense under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.
(b) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the term
‘‘United States arms embargo of the Government of
Bosnia-Hercegovina’’ means the application to the Gov-
ernment of Bosnia-Hercegovina of—
(1) the policy adopted July 10, 1991, and pub-
lished in the Federal Register of July 19, 1991 (58
Fed. Reg. 33322) under the heading ‘‘Suspension of
Munitions Export Licenses to Yugoslavia’’; and
(2) any similar policy being applied by the
United States Government as of the date of receipt
of the request described in subsection (a) pursuant
to which approval is routinely denied for transfers of
able without reimbursement to the Department of
Defense except to the extent that funds are appro-
priated pursuant to subparagraph (B).
(B) There are authorized to be appropriated to
the President such sums as may be necessary to re-
imburse the applicable appropriation, fund, or ac-
count for the value (as defined in section 664(m) of
the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961) of defense arti-
cles, defense services, or military education and
training provided under this subsection.
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