III 

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 


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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; 


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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 


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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 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) recognizes March 10, 2018, as ‘‘Tibetan 

3 Rights Day’’; 

4 (2) affirms its recognition of His Holiness the 

5 14th Dalai Lama for his outstanding contributions 

6 to peace, nonviolence, human rights, and religious 

7 understanding; 

8 (3) affirms its support for the Tibetan people’s 

9 fundamental human rights and freedoms, including 

10 their right to self-determination and the protection 

11 of their distinct religious, cultural, linguistic, and 

12 national identity; 

13 (4) expresses its sense that the identification 

14 and installation of Tibetan Buddhist religious lead15 ers, including a future 15th Dalai Lama, is a matter 

16 that should be determined solely within the Tibetan 

17 Buddhist faith community, in accordance with the 

18 inalienable right to religious freedom; 

19 (5) expresses its sense that any attempt by the 

20 Government of the People’s Republic of China to 


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1 identify or install its own candidate as a Tibetan 

2 Buddhist religious leader, including a future 15th 

3 Dalai Lama, is invalid interference in the right to 

4 religious freedom of Tibetan Buddhists around the 

5 world, including in Tibet as well as the United 

6 States and elsewhere; and 

7 (6) calls on the Secretary of State to fully im8 plement the provisions of the Tibetan Policy Act of 

9 2002 (subtitle B of title VI of Public Law 107–228; 

10 22 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.), in cooperation with like11 minded states where appropriate, including that— 

12 (A) representatives of the United States 

13 Government in exchanges with officials of the 

14 Government of the People’s Republic of China 

15 should call for and otherwise promote the ces16 sation of all interference by the Government of 

17 the People’s Republic of China or the Chinese 

18 Communist Party in the religious affairs of the 

19 Tibetan people; 

20 (B) the United States Ambassador to the 

21 People’s Republic of China should meet with 

22 the 11th Panchen Lama, who was arbitrarily 

23 detained on May 17, 1995, and otherwise ascer24 tain information concerning his whereabouts 

25 and well-being; and 


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1 (C) the Secretary of State should make 

2 best efforts to establish an office in Lhasa, 

3 Tibet, to monitor political, economic, and cul4 tural developments in Tibet. 

Æ 


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