NE Dallas News

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Colin Allred (TX-32), a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, introduced a resolution in honor and support of Vasfije Krasniqi-Goodman, a North Texas resident, a survivor of sexual violence during the war in Kosovo and a human-rights activist. The resolution will call on the United States to monitor efforts by the Government of Serbia to investigate and prosecute cases of sexual violence during the Kosovo war and also devote sufficient resources to empower survivors in Kosovo.

“Vasfije’s bravery is so inspiring, and I am honored to re-introduce this resolution during Sexual Assault Awareness Month that helps tell her story and shine a light on the horrific sexual violence committed by the Serbian military and police during the Kosovo War,” said Allred. “Sexual violence in war has a dark history and as we’ve seen in Ukraine, something that continues to happen to do this day. I am committed to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure the U.S. leads the world in condemning sexual violence of any kind.”

The resolution was also cosponsored by Reps. Andriano Espaillat (NY-13), Ritchie Torres (NY-15), Juan Vargas (CA-51) and Marc Veasey (TX-33). 

Read the resolution here. 

 

Background on Vasfije Krasniqi-Goodman and the War in Kosovo:

Following the disintegration of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1991, bloody wars broke out across the Balkans, leading to crimes against humanity, a finding of genocide in Srebenica and one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes in Europe since World War II.

Kosovo was one of the Balkan states that sought to gain their independence from the autocratic rule of war criminal Slobodan Milosevic. A State Department report found that during the Kosovo War, over 1.5 million Kosovar Albanians were forcibly displaced from their homes and Serbian forces and paramilitaries implemented a systematic campaign to ethnically cleanse Kosovo, perpetrating war crimes that included the use of rape as a weapon of war. An estimated 20,000 people were victims of conflict-related sexual violence during the war.

Krasniqi-Goodman was 16 years old during the Kosovo war living in Stanovc I Poshtem, Kosovo when she was abducted from her home and raped by a Serbian police officer and another individual. Krasniqi-Goodman survived that harrowing experience and after the war sought to hold the individuals who assaulted her responsible, but to this day none have been brought to justice. 

Krasniqi-Goodman has become an outspoken advocate for victims of sexual violence during the conflict – the first ever from Kosovo to do so. On April 30, 2019, she testified before the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs for justice on behalf of victims of war crimes, in a hearing titled "Kosovo’s Wartime Victims: The Quest for Justice." 

Original source can be found here.