[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 408 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 408

    Commemorating the 59th anniversary of Tibet's 1959 uprising as 
``Tibetan Rights Day'', and expressing support for the human rights and 
religious freedom of the Tibetan people and the Tibetan Buddhist faith 
                               community.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 15, 2018

  Mr. Leahy (for himself, Mrs. Feinstein, and Mr. Cruz) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
    Commemorating the 59th anniversary of Tibet's 1959 uprising as 
``Tibetan Rights Day'', and expressing support for the human rights and 
religious freedom of the Tibetan people and the Tibetan Buddhist faith 
                               community.

Whereas March 10, 2018, marks the 59th anniversary of the 1959 uprising in 
        Tibet, during which the people of Lhasa, fearing for the life of the 
        Dalai Lama, surrounded his residence, organized a guard, and called for 
        the withdrawal of Chinese forces from Tibet and the restoration of 
        Tibet's freedom;
Whereas Chinese statistics estimate 87,000 Tibetans were killed, arrested, or 
        deported to labor camps during the suppression of the 1959 uprising, 
        which also forced the Dalai Lama and tens of thousands of other Tibetans 
        to flee into exile;
Whereas March 10, 2018, also marks the 10th anniversary of a series of protests 
        in Lhasa, which spread across Tibet, and which were suppressed by 
        Chinese forces;
Whereas, according to the Department of State, the Government of the People's 
        Republic of China is engaged in the severe repression of Tibet's unique 
        religious, cultural, and linguistic heritage, and is engaged in gross 
        violations of human rights in Tibet, including extrajudicial detentions, 
        disappearances, and torture;
Whereas, in the ten years since the 2008 protests, at least 152 Tibetans in 
        Tibet are known to have self-immolated, with statements or records left 
        by these self-immolators calling for freedom for Tibet and the return of 
        the Dalai Lama;
Whereas, in 1991, Congress resolved its sense that Tibet is an occupied country 
        under the established principles of international law whose true 
        representatives are the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile 
        as recognized by the Tibetan people;
Whereas, in 1961, with the support of the United States, the United Nations 
        General Assembly recognized the Tibetan people's ``fundamental human 
        rights and freedoms, including the right to self-determination'';
Whereas, on October 18, 2007, Congress awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to 
        the Dalai Lama, finding that he is recognized around the world as a 
        leading figure of moral and religious authority, and is the unrivaled 
        spiritual and cultural leader of the Tibetan people;
Whereas Buddhists in Tibet, the United States, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Mongolia, 
        Russia, and other countries where followers of Tibetan Buddhism reside 
        look to the Dalai Lama for religious leadership and spiritual guidance;
Whereas, in its 2017 annual report, the United States Commission on 
        International Religious Freedom noted that ``[t]he Chinese government 
        claims the power to select the next Dalai Lama with the help of a law 
        that grants the government authority over reincarnations,'' which 
        purports to require all Tibetan Buddhist leaders to obtain the approval 
        of the Government of the People's Republic of China in order to 
        reincarnate;
Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China has interfered in the 
        identification and installation of reincarnated leaders of Tibetan 
        Buddhism, as part of its efforts to maintain control over Tibet, 
        including in 1995 arbitrarily detaining the recently identified 11th 
        Panchen Lama, then a six-year-old boy, and purporting to install China's 
        own candidate as Panchen Lama;
Whereas, in 2011, the 14th Dalai Lama declared that the responsibility for 
        identifying a future 15th Dalai Lama will rest with officials of the 
        Dalai Lama's private office and that ``apart from the reincarnation 
        recognized through such legitimate methods, no recognition or acceptance 
        should be given to a candidate chosen for political ends by anyone, 
        including those in the People's Republic of China'';
Whereas, in 1981, the United Nations General Assembly passed the Declaration on 
        the Elimination of all Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based 
        on Religion or Belief, which provides that freedom of religion shall 
        include the freedom to ``train, appoint, elect or designate by 
        succession appropriate leaders called for by the requirements and 
        standards of any religion or belief''; and
Whereas Congress has long held that the right to freedom of religion undergirds 
        the very origin and existence of the United States, and that freedom of 
        religious belief and practice is a universal human right and fundamental 
        freedom: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes March 10, 2018, as ``Tibetan Rights Day'';
            (2) affirms its recognition of His Holiness the 14th Dalai 
        Lama for his outstanding contributions to peace, nonviolence, 
        human rights, and religious understanding;
            (3) affirms its support for the Tibetan people's 
        fundamental human rights and freedoms, including their right to 
        self-determination and the protection of their distinct 
        religious, cultural, linguistic, and national identity;
            (4) expresses its sense that the identification and 
        installation of Tibetan Buddhist religious leaders, including a 
        future 15th Dalai Lama, is a matter that should be determined 
        solely within the Tibetan Buddhist faith community, in 
        accordance with the inalienable right to religious freedom;
            (5) expresses its sense that any attempt by the Government 
        of the People's Republic of China to identify or install its 
        own candidate as a Tibetan Buddhist religious leader, including 
        a future 15th Dalai Lama, is invalid interference in the right 
        to religious freedom of Tibetan Buddhists around the world, 
        including in Tibet as well as the United States and elsewhere; 
        and
            (6) calls on the Secretary of State to fully implement the 
        provisions of the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (subtitle B of 
        title VI of Public Law 107-228; 22 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.), in 
        cooperation with like-minded states where appropriate, 
        including that--
                    (A) representatives of the United States Government 
                in exchanges with officials of the Government of the 
                People's Republic of China should call for and 
                otherwise promote the cessation of all interference by 
                the Government of the People's Republic of China or the 
                Chinese Communist Party in the religious affairs of the 
                Tibetan people;
                    (B) the United States Ambassador to the People's 
                Republic of China should meet with the 11th Panchen 
                Lama, who was arbitrarily detained on May 17, 1995, and 
                otherwise ascertain information concerning his 
                whereabouts and well-being; and
                    (C) the Secretary of State should make best efforts 
                to establish an office in Lhasa, Tibet, to monitor 
                political, economic, and cultural developments in 
                Tibet.
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