[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 48 (Wednesday, March 15, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S804]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 108--RECOGNIZING THE KINGDOM OF BHUTAN AS RESPONSIBLE 
 FOR THE OPPRESSION AND FORCED EVICTION OF MORE THAN 100,000 BHUTANESE 
                CITIZENS DURING THE LATE 1980S AND 1990S

  Mr. BROWN (for himself and Mr. Casey) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 108

       Whereas the Kingdom of Bhutan was responsible for the 
     oppression and forced displacement of more than 100,000 
     Nepali language-speaking Bhutanese citizens, Lhotshampas and 
     Sharchops, in the1990s due to their identity, culture, 
     language, religion, and political opinion;
       Whereas many of these individuals experienced unjust 
     detention, torture, and other forms of human rights abuses;
       Whereas many political prisoners continue to be held in 
     Bhutanese prisons for protracted sentences;
       Whereas persecuted Bhutanese were forced to cross into 
     Nepal, where some remained for nearly two decades in refugee 
     camps;
       Whereas thousands of Bhutanese refugees remain in refugee 
     camps in Nepal, and the Government of Bhutan continues to 
     deny dignified repatriation to those who desire it;
       Whereas more than 250,000 Nepali-speaking Lhotshampa 
     Bhutanese still inside Bhutan suffer political, social, and 
     economic oppression as the Government of Bhutan has 
     continuously refused to reinstate the citizenships that were 
     stripped during the 1990s;
       Whereas such incidences of human rights violations and 
     abuses and extreme acts of violence perpetrated by any 
     individual actor or state should be condemned;
       Whereas the majority of the Nepali-speaking Lhotshampa, who 
     were refugees in Nepal, have now resettled in other 
     countries, including Australia, Canada, Denmark, Netherlands, 
     New Zealand, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United 
     States;
       Whereas, although Bhutan and the United States have not 
     established diplomatic relations, the two countries maintain 
     warm and productive unofficial ties;
       Whereas the Kingdom of Bhutan transitioned to democracy in 
     2008 and has held successive free and fair elections and 
     transitions of power since that time;
       Whereas the Kingdom of Bhutan has been a leader in the 
     global fight against climate change and is the only carbon 
     negative country;
       Whereas the Kingdom of Bhutan has stood with the United 
     States and other likeminded countries as the United Nations 
     to condemn Russian aggression in Ukraine; and
       Whereas, the Kingdom of Bhutan is a close Indo-Pacific 
     partner of the United States committed to upholding the 
     rules-based international order: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) declares that the Royal Government of Bhutan is 
     responsible for the political, cultural, and ethnic 
     oppression of Nepali-speaking Lhotshampas and Sharchops in 
     Bhutan during the late 1980s and 1990s;
       (2) urges the Royal Government of Bhutan to conduct a rapid 
     and unconditional release of all political prisoners, whose 
     crime was demanding democracy and human rights, with due 
     restitution and reparations;
       (3) in a spirit of friendship, urges the Royal Government 
     of Bhutan to resume discussions with the Government of Nepal 
     on the status of individuals in Nepal who assert a claim to 
     Bhutan citizenship or residency;
       (4) requests the Royal Government of Bhutan to restore 
     citizenship for all Nepali-speaking Lhotshampas that have had 
     it arbitrarily revoked;
       (5) requests the Royal Government of Bhutan accept the 
     voluntary return of its citizens from the refugee camps in 
     Nepal; and
       (6) urges the Royal Government of Bhutan to enter into a 
     holistic peace building and reconciliation process and 
     institute an independent Truth Commission to publicly 
     investigate any human rights violations and abuses committed 
     during the 1990s, publish its findings, and follow through on 
     its recommendations to ensure no future displacement or 
     oppression of Nepali-speaking Lhotshampas and other 
     minorities in Bhutan.

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