IV
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. RES. 161
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the condition
and humanitarian needs of refugees within Kosovo.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 6, 1999
Mr. BRADY of Texas submitted the following resolution; which was referred
to the Committee on International Relations
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regard-
ing the condition and humanitarian needs of refugees
within Kosovo.
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 refugees 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 ref-
•HRES 161 IH
ugees 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,
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 refugees 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 Nation’s 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 and protec-
tion, food, security, nutrition, health, water and sanita-
tion, and condition of the civilian population, and also
•HRES 161 IH
seeks to accurately determine the number, location, and
requirements of the people in Kosovo and the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia needing immediate and future hu-
manitarian aid; and
Whereas this humanitarian mission is working diligently to
depart for Kosovo and others sectors of Yugoslavia on
May 8, 1999, if appropriate security assurances are pro-
vided by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia: Now, there-
fore, be it
Resolved, That—
(1) it is the sense of the House of Representa-
tives that Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic
should provide the necessary security assurances to
the United Nations interagency mission to the Fed-
eral Republic of Yugoslavia to permit them to safely
and accurately provide the international community
with an objective, first-hand assessment of the con-
dition of refugees inside of Kosovo and all sectors of
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; and
(2) the House of Representatives encourages
member nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Orga-
nization (NATO) to weigh the value of this humani-
tarian mission toward ending human suffering in
Kosovo, and to consider reasonable measures to en-
hance the safety of this international delegation dur-
•HRES 161 IH
ing its brief humanitarian mission within the Fed-
eral Republic of Yugoslavia.
Æ