•HRES 11 IH 
Whereas prior to the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia, 
Kosova was a separate political and legal entity with sep-
arate and distinct financial institutions, police force, mu-
nicipal and national government, school system, judicial 
and legal system, hospitals and other independent organi-
zations; 
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 in-
tolerable 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 estab-
lished 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 federa-
tion; 
Whereas a popular referendum was held in Kosova from Sep-
tember 26–30, 1991, in which 87 percent of all eligible 
voters cast ballots and 99.87 percent voted in favor of de-
claring Kosova independent of the Socialist Federal Re-
public of Yugoslavia;
•HRES 11 IH 
Whereas, from the occupation of Kosova until the North At-
lantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military action 
against the Milosevic regime in 1999, the human and 
civil rights of the Albanian residents were routinely vio-
lated 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 Al-
banians 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 protec-
torate 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 substan-
tially free and fair; 
Whereas ethnically motivated violence against the Serbian 
residents of Kosova appears to be subsiding and the par-
ticipation 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 elect-
•HRES 11 IH 
ed 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 free-
dom of movement and a right to return to all commu-
nities and develop constructive relations with its neigh-
bors: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that the United States should—
(1) work with the United Nations and Euro-
pean Union to establish effective self-governance and 
democracy in Kosova in which human rights are re-
spected, 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 res-
olution of Kosova’s final status creates political and 
economic instability in Kosova and in Southeast Eu-
rope; 
(5) work in conjunction with the United Na-
tions, European Union, and other organizations to
•HRES 11 IH 
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 eco-
nomic system in Kosova.
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