A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States should declare its support for the right of the people of Kosova to determine their political future once Kosova has made requisite progress, as defined by United Nations benchmarks, in developing democratic institutions and human rights protections.

        [Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 144 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

108th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 144

Expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States should
declare its support for the right of the people of Kosova to determine
their political future once Kosova has made requisite progress, as
defined by United Nations benchmarks, in developing democratic
institutions and human rights protections.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

May 14, 2003

Mr. Biden submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States should
declare its support for the right of the people of Kosova to determine
their political future once Kosova has made requisite progress, as
defined by United Nations benchmarks, in developing democratic
institutions and human rights protections.

Whereas paragraph 1 of Article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, to which the United States is a party, recognizes that
all peoples have the right of self-determination;
Whereas Kosova was constitutionally defined as an autonomous region in the First
National Liberation Conference for Kosova on January 2, 1944, this
status was confirmed in the Constitution of the Socialist Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia adopted in 1946, and the autonomous status of
Kosova was preserved in the amended Yugoslav Constitution adopted in
1974;
Whereas prior to the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia, the autonomous
region of Kosova constituted a political and legal entity with its own
distinct financial institutions, police force, municipal government,
school system, judicial and legal system, hospitals, and other
organizations;
Whereas, in 1987, Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic rose to power in
Yugoslavia on a platform of ultranationalism and anti-Albanian racism,
advocating violence and hatred against all non-Slavic peoples and
specifically targeting the ethnic Albanians of Kosova;
Whereas Slobodan Milosevic subsequently stripped Kosova of its political
autonomy without the consent of the people of Kosova;
Whereas the elected Assembly of Kosova, faced with this illegal act, adopted a
Declaration of Independence on July 2, 1990, proclaimed a Republic of
Kosova, and adopted a constitution on September 7, 1990, based on the
internationally accepted principles of self-determination, equality, and
sovereignty;
Whereas in recognition of the de facto dissolution of the Yugoslav federation,
the European Community established principles for the recognition of the
independence and sovereignty of the republics of the former Socialist
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia;
Whereas a popular referendum was held in Kosova from September 26 to 30, 1991,
in which 87 percent of all eligible voters cast ballots and 99.87
percent voted in favor of declaring Kosova independent of the Socialist
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia;
Whereas, during the occupation of Kosova, which began in 1989 and ended with the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military action against the
regime of Slobodan Milosevic in 1999, the ethnic Albanians of Kosova
were subjected to brutal treatment by the occupying forces, and
approximately 400,000 ethnic Albanians were forced to flee to Western
Europe and the United States;
Whereas in the spring of 1999 almost 1,000,000 ethnic Albanians were driven out
of Kosova and at least 10,000 were murdered by Serbian paramilitary and
military forces;
Whereas Slobodan Milosevic was indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal
for the Former Yugoslavia 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 on June 10, 1999, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244
mandated an international civil presence in Kosova, ending the decade-
long Serbian occupation of Kosova and Milosevic's genocidal war there;
Whereas the people of Kosova, including ethnic Albanians, Serbs, Turks, Roma,
Bosniaks, Goranis, and Ashkalis, held free and fair municipal elections
in 2000 and 2002 and a general election in 2001 to elect a Parliament,
which in turn selected a President and Prime Minister in 2002;
Whereas, with 50 percent of the population in Kosova being under the age of 25,
and the unemployment rate currently being between 60 and 70 percent,
there is an increasing likelihood of young people entering criminal
networks, or working abroad in order to survive unless massive job
creation is facilitated by guaranteeing the security of foreign
investments through the establishment of the rule of law and functioning
institutions in Kosova;
Whereas for the first time since the end of the conflict, refugees from ethnic
minority communities in Kosova have started to return to their homes in
substantial numbers, although those refugees are still a small fraction
of the number of people that left in 1999;
Whereas most ethnic Albanian elected authorities in Kosova recognize that
substantial efforts toward reconciliation with ethnic minorities are
needed for the long-term security and participation in government
institutions of all citizens of Kosova;
Whereas leaders of the Kosova Parliament have publicly committed to developing a
western-style democracy in which all citizens, regardless of ethnicity,
are granted full human and civil rights and are committed to the return
of all refugees, whatever their ethnicity, who fled Kosova during and
after the conflict;
Whereas Deputy Prime Minister Nebojsa Covic of Serbia called for the return of
Serbian forces to Kosova and for talks on the status of the province;
Whereas, on February 25, 2003, representatives of a Serbian minority coalition
in the Kosova Parliament called for the establishment of a Serbian Union
in northern Kosova;
Whereas the international community has made clear that it will support neither
monoethnic government institutions, nor the partition of Kosova;
Whereas the tragic assassination in Belgrade of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran
Djindjic on March 12, 2003, underscored that criminal nationalist
elements remain a destabilizing factor in the region and an obstacle to
reform efforts;
Whereas the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General in
Kosova has initiated a dialogue between the authorities in Belgrade and
in Pristina on issues of practical concern;
Whereas the Serbian Government on April 17, 2003, declared as ``unacceptable''
the plan put forward by the Special Representative to devolve powers to
the elected officials in Kosova;
Whereas following his address to the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe Permanent Council on May 8, 2003, the Special Representative
of the United Nations Secretary General stated that ``Kosovo Albanians
are being more assertive about competencies and status issues while at
the same time Kosovo Serbs are concentrating on developing monoethnic
structures'';
Whereas Deputy Prime Minister Covic on May 9, 2003, again dismissed the
assessment that the time has come to begin to discuss the final status
of Kosova;
Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 stated that the main
responsibilities of the international civil presence in Kosova include
facilitating a political process designed to determine Kosova's future
status and, in the final stage, overseeing the transfer of authority
from Kosova's provisional institutions to institutions established under
a political settlement; and
Whereas the only viable option for the future of Kosova is one that reflects
both the needs and aspirations of its entire population: Now, therefore,
be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that the United States
should--
(1) recognize the danger that an unnecessary delay in the
resolution of Kosova's final status would pose for the
political and economic viability of Kosova and the stability of
Southeast Europe;
(2) publicly support the goal of a democratic government in
Kosova in which human rights, including the rights of ethnic
and religious minorities, are respected;
(3) to achieve that goal, call for holding a referendum,
under international supervision, on the future status of
Kosova, once Kosova has made further progress in developing
institutions of democratic self-government, establishing the
rule of law, facilitating the return and reintegration of
refugees into local communities, and protecting ethnic
minorities, in accordance with the benchmarks established by
the United Nations;
(4) work in conjunction with the United Nations, the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization, the European Union, the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and other
international organizations to assist Kosova to meet the United
Nations benchmarks that are the necessary conditions for
holding a referendum on the future status of Kosova and to
facilitate the implementation of the form of government
determined by the people of Kosova; and
(5) continue to provide assistance, trade, and other
programs to encourage the further development of democracy and
a free market economic system in Kosova.
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