IV
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. RES. 196
Urging the President to call for the United Nations to resolve the crisis
in Yugoslavia.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 27, 1999
Mr. FARR of California submitted the following resolution; which was referred
to the Committee on International Relations
RESOLUTION
Urging the President to call for the United Nations to resolve
the crisis in Yugoslavia.
Resolved,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
The House of Representatives finds the following:
(1) Yugoslav troops, under the authority of
Slobodan Milosevic, have engaged in a policy of eth-
nic cleansing throughout Kosovo.
(2) Ethnic Albanian Kosovars have been forced
from their homes and separated from their families,
displaced, and forced to leave the country.
•HRES 196 IH
(3) Prior to North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO) air strikes, more than 2,000 ethnic Alba-
nians were killed in Kosovo.
(4) Refugee reports estimate at least 5,000 eth-
nic Albanian civilians have been killed by Serb forces
in Kosovo between the beginning of the NATO air
strikes and May 18, 1999.
(5) The fate of as many as 225,000 ethnic Al-
banian men in Kosovo remains uncertain.
(6) NATO has engaged in an escalating bomb-
ing of Yugoslavia since March 24, 1999.
(7) The Yugoslav Government states that over
1,000 civilians have been killed by the NATO bomb-
ing campaign.
(8) NATO bombing has been successful in de-
grading the Yugoslav military capabilities.
(9) NATO bombing has severely damaged the
Yugoslav infrastructure.
(10) NATO bombing has demoralized Yugoslav
troops, large numbers of which are deserting.
(11) NATO bombing has weakened the author-
ity of Slobodan Milosevic as a national leader.
(12) Slobodan Milosevic is coming under pres-
sure from within Yugoslavia to take action that
would lead to a cessation of the NATO bombing.
•HRES 196 IH
(13) The United Nations is recognized as the
primary international forum to discuss solutions to
international problems or disputes.
(14) The United States has been a member of
the United Nations for 54 years.
(15) Under the United Nations Charter, the
United Nations Security Council has primary re-
sponsibility for maintaining international peace and
security.
(16) The North Atlantic Treaty, the treaty that
established NATO, explicitly acknowledges that the
United Nations has primary responsibility for main-
taining international peace and security.
SEC. 2. DECLARATION OF POLICY.
The House of Representatives declares that—
(1) the United States should work with the
United Nations as the primary conduit for a peace-
ful solution to the crisis in Yugoslavia; and
(2) the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO) should cease air strikes in Yugoslavia in
order to give the United Nations the necessary win-
dow of opportunity to bring peace to the people of
Kosovo.
•HRES 196 IH
SEC. 3. SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES RE-
LATING TO UNITED NATIONS INVOLVEMENT
IN RESOLVING THE CRISIS IN YUGOSLAVIA.
It is the sense of the House of Representatives that
the President should engage the United Nations as an
intermediary in meaningful negotiations between NATO
and Slobodan Milosevic to—
(1) bring an end to the NATO bombing in
Yugoslavia;
(2) end the intimidation and expulsion of the
Kosovo civilian population;
(3) cease all activities of the Yugoslav military
and paramilitary forces in Kosovo and to withdraw
those forces;
(4) facilitate the return of refugees and dis-
placed persons to their homes; and
(5) deploy an international peacekeeping force
to ensure a secure environment for the refugees and
humanitarian aid.
Æ