IV 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 309 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States 
should support independence for Kosovo. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 17, 2007 
Mr. ENGEL (for himself and Mr. KIRK) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 
the United States should support independence for Kosovo. 
Whereas the United States has enduring national interests in 
the peace and security of southeastern Europe, and in 
the greater integration of the region into the Euro-Atlan-
tic community of democratic, well-governed states; 
Whereas, in March 1999, the United States, along with other 
members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization 
(NATO), commenced military action aimed at ending 
Slobodan Milosevic’s brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing 
against the people of Kosovo; 
Whereas that military action resulted in the defeat of Serb 
forces and the creation of the United Nations Mission in 
Kosovo, an interim United Nations administration that 
governs Kosovo, and which ended, de facto, the sov-
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•HRES 309 IH 
ereignty that was previously exercised by the Government 
of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia over Kosovo; 
Whereas the men and women of the Armed Forces of the 
United States have served bravely in Kosovo since 1999, 
and their presence and participation in the NATO-led 
Kosovo Force has been indispensable in protecting the 
people of Kosovo and stabilizing the region; 
Whereas United Nations administration was never intended 
nor understood as a permanent solution to the political 
status of Kosovo; 
Whereas, in light of NATO’s military intervention in Kosovo 
and the United Nations trusteeship established in Kosovo 
pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 
1244 (1999), the international community has recognized 
the political circumstances in Kosovo as unique, and the 
settlement of Kosovo’s status therefore does not establish 
a precedent for the resolution of other conflicts; 
Whereas continuing uncertainty about the status of Kosovo 
is unacceptable to the overwhelming majority of the in-
habitants of Kosovo, inhibits economic and political devel-
opment in Kosovo, and contributes to instability and 
radicalism in both Kosovo and Serbia; 
Whereas, in 2005, the United Nations Secretary General ap-
pointed the former President of Finland, Martti 
Ahtisaari, as United Nations Special Envoy for Kosovo to 
develop a comprehensive settlement proposal to resolve 
the political status of Kosovo; 
Whereas, in March 2007, after 14 months of intensive diplo-
macy, Special Envoy Ahtisaari submitted to the Security 
Council a comprehensive settlement proposal that would 
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result in supervised independence for Kosovo, with robust 
protections for the rights of minorities; and 
Whereas Special Envoy Ahtisaari has explored every reason-
able avenue for compromise in the course of his diplo-
macy and has stated that further negotiations would be 
counterproductive: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that— 
(1) the United States should support the inde-
pendence of Kosovo in accordance with its currently 
constituted borders, a resolution that represents the 
only just, sustainable solution for an economically 
viable and politically stable Kosovo; 
(2) the United States should, in consultation 
and cooperation with its allies, vigorously and 
promptly pursue a United Nations Security Council 
resolution that endorses the recommendations of 
United Nations Special Envoy for Kosovo Martti 
Ahtisaari; 
(3) in the absence of timely action by the 
United Nations Security Council, the United States 
should be prepared to act in conjunction with like- 
minded democracies to confer diplomatic recognition 
on, and establish full diplomatic relations with, 
Kosovo as an independent state, much as the United 
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States worked in cooperation with like-minded de-
mocracies to protect the people of Kosovo in 1999; 
(4) the United States should oppose any delay 
in the resolution of the political status of Kosovo as 
counterproductive, potentially dangerous, and likely 
to make the achievement of a lasting settlement 
more difficult; 
(5) the United States should work together with 
the European Union as a full partner in supporting 
the political and economic development of an inde-
pendent Kosovo; 
(6) the United States should support the inte-
gration of Kosovo into international and Euro-Atlan-
tic institutions, including its timely admission to the 
Partnership for Peace program of the North Atlan-
tic Treaty Organization (NATO), with the ultimate 
goal of full membership in NATO; 
(7) the United States should reaffirm its com-
mitment to southeastern Europe, including the con-
tinuation of the military mission in Kosovo to deter 
and disrupt any efforts by any party to destabilize 
the region through violence; 
(8) the Government of Kosovo should exercise 
responsible leadership under supervised independ-
ence and thereby accelerate the transition to full 
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independence, taking particular care to reassure, 
protect, and ensure the full political and economic 
rights of Serb and other minority communities in 
Kosovo; 
(9) the Government of Kosovo should make 
every reasonable effort to develop a cooperative rela-
tionship with the Government of Serbia, in recogni-
tion of its legitimate interests in the safety of the 
Serb population in Kosovo and in the protection and 
preservation of the patrimonial sites of the Serbian 
Orthodox Church in Kosovo; and 
(10) the Government of Serbia should exercise 
responsible leadership and seize the opportunity and 
the imperative presented by the independence of 
Kosovo to end the dark chapter of the 1990s and 
focus its energies toward achieving a prosperous and 
peaceful future through regional cooperation and in-
tegration into Euro-Atlantic institutions, including 
NATO and the European Union, and toward the es-
tablishment of open, constructive relations with the 
government of Kosovo. 
Æ 
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