4 1 SEC. 2. POLICY TOWARD THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC: 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 It is the policy of the United States (1) to promote the development in the Slovak Republic of a market-based economy and a democratic government that respects the rights of all of its citizens, regardless of ethnic background; and (2) to support the eventual integration of the Slovak Republic into pan-European and trans-Atlantic economic and security institutions. 10 SEC. 3. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS. It is the sense of the Congress that (1) the Government of the Slovak Republic formed after the elections of September 1998 is to be commended (A) for its efforts to address the issue of proper treatment of its citizens, regardless of ethnic background, particularly those of ethnic Hungarian background; (B) for its efforts to improve the economic situation in the Slovak Republic and for its ef forts to accelerate the privatization of stateowned enterprises in a fair and transparent process; and (C) for its support for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the recent conflict in Kosovo; •HCON 165 IH 5 (2) the Government of the Slovak Republic should continue to implement programs that may qualify the Slovak Republic for entrance into the European Union and NATO and is to be commended for its continued support of the NATO effort to ensure stability and democratization across Europe; and (3) the United States should support efforts for the eventual integration of the Slovak Republic into pan-European and trans-Atlantic institutions and should view such integration as an important factor in consolidating democratic government and economic stability in the Slovak Republic. 106TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 206 Expressing grave concern regarding armed conflict in the North Caucasus region of the Russian Federation which has resulted in civilian casualties and internally displaced persons, and urging all sides to pursue dialog for peaceful resolution of the conflict. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 25, 1999 Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. WOLF, and Mr. FORBES) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Expressing grave concern regarding armed conflict in the North Caucasus region of the Russian Federation which has resulted in civilian casualties and internally displaced persons, and urging all sides to pursue dialog for peaceful resolution of the conflict. Whereas during the Russo-Chechen War of 1994–1996, Russian Federation military forces used massive force against civilians in Chechnya, causing immense human casualties, gross human rights violations, large-scale displacement of individuals, and destruction of property; Whereas Chechnya has been the site of internal lawlessness and numerous kidnapings, including that of United N 2 States citizen Fred Cuny, whose exact fate is still unknown; Whereas in recent months, extremist forces based in Chechnya have mounted armed incursions into the adjacent Russian Federation Republic of Dagestan; Whereas the United States recognizes the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation; Whereas Russian Federation armed forces have conducted armed attacks against Chechnya and positioned forces with the stated intention of sealing Chechnya's borders and creating a security zone in the region; Whereas such attacks, including indiscriminate bombing and strafing of civilians in Chechnya, have given rise to over 100,000 internally displaced persons, most of whom have escaped into neighboring regions of Russia; Whereas such indiscriminate attacks are a violation of paragraph 19 of the Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security, approved at the 1994 Summit of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, held in Budapest, Hungary, which states that in the event of armed conflict, participating States "will seek to create conditions favorable to the political solution of the conflict. They will cooperate in support of humanitarian assistance to alleviate suffering among the civilian population, including facilitating the movement of personnel and resources to such tasks", and paragraph 36, which states, "If recourse to force cannot be avoided in performing internal security missions, each participating State will ensure that its use must be commensurate with the needs for enforcement. The armed forces will take due care to avoid injury to civilians or their property."; 3 Whereas the conflict in the North Caucasus may threaten democratic development, the rule of law, and respect for human rights throughout Russia; Whereas almost 300 persons have died as a result of unsolved terrorist bombings in Russia that coincided with the armed incursions into Dagestan; Whereas authorities in Moscow and other cities of the Russian Federation have used terrorist bombings as a pretext to intensify a campaign against individuals from the North Caucasus region, including the detention and foreible expulsion of such individuals from these cities; and Whereas in response to Russian attacks the elected Government of Chechnya has declared its solidarity with renegade Chechen forces in opposing Russian attacks: Now, therefore, be it 1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 2 concurring), That the Congress 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 (1) urges the Government of the Russian Federation to cease the indiscriminate use of force against the civilian population in Chechnya, in accordance with commitments of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe; (2) urges the Government of the Russian Federation to enter into negotiations on the North Caucasus conflict with legitimate political represent atives of the region, including President Maskhadov and his Government, and to avail itself of the con flict prevention and crisis management capabilities •HCON 206 IH |