IV 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 743 
Expressing support for the human rights and religious freedom of the Tibetan 
people and the Tibetan Buddhist faith community, and for the designa-
tion of a ‘‘Tibetan Rights Day’’. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 16, 2018 
Mr. MCGOVERN (for himself and Mr. HULTGREN) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing support for the human rights and religious free-
dom of the Tibetan people and the Tibetan Buddhist 
faith community, and for the designation of a ‘‘Tibetan 
Rights Day’’. 
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 with-
drawal 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 Govern-
ment 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 rec-
ognized 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, in-
cluding the right to self-determination’’; 
Whereas, on October 18, 2007, Congress awarded the Con-
gressional 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 spir-
itual 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 fol-
lowers of Tibetan Buddhism reside look to the Dalai 
Lama for religious leadership and spiritual guidance; 
Whereas, in its 2017 annual report, the United States Com-
mission 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 pur-
ports 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 re-
incarnated 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 re-
sponsibility 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 in-
clude the freedom to ‘‘train, appoint, elect or designate 
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by succession appropriate leaders called for by the re-
quirements and standards of any religion or belief’’; 
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; and 
Whereas because of its historical significance for the Tibetan 
people, the date of March 10th would be a good date to 
designate as ‘‘Tibetan Rights Day’’: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) supports the designation of a ‘‘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 lead-
ers, including a future 15th Dalai Lama, is a matter 
that should be decided solely within the Tibetan 
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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 im-
plement 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 ces-
sation 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 
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the 11th Panchen Lama, who was arbitrarily 
detained on May 17, 1995, and otherwise ascer-
tain 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 cul-
tural developments in Tibet. 
Æ 
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