Title: A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate in support of the peaceful democratic and economic aspirations of the Sir Lankan people.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution supports the peaceful democratic and economic aspirations of the people of Sri Lanka, urges Sri Lankan security forces to respect the rights of Sri Lankans, and supports the implementation of recommendations in a report issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 757 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 757

     Expressing the sense of the Senate in support of the peaceful 
     democratic and economic aspirations of the Sri Lankan people.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 13, 2022

   Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Leahy, and Mr. Booker) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                          on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
     Expressing the sense of the Senate in support of the peaceful 
     democratic and economic aspirations of the Sri Lankan people.

Whereas Sri Lanka gained its independence peacefully in 1948, bringing an end to 
        British colonial rule;
Whereas, more than 100,000 Sri Lankans died or went missing in subsequent 
        decades of ethnic conflict, most acutely at the end of the civil war in 
        May 2009;
Whereas the roots of the conflict, including historical inequalities, remain 
        largely unresolved;
Whereas the period of peace, which began in 2009, contributed to Sri Lanka's 
        high growth and economic development, building on a tourism-based 
        economy;
Whereas Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected as Sri Lanka's President on November 16, 
        2019, and on November 21, 2019, he appointed his brother, Mahinda 
        Rajapaksa, as Prime Minister;
Whereas Sri Lanka's governance under President Rajapaksa was highly corrupt, 
        nepotistic, and lacked transparency;
Whereas, on August 8, 2020, Human Rights Watch described President Rajapaksa's 
        rule in 2020 as ``a campaign of fear and intimidation against human 
        rights activists, journalists, lawyers, and others challenging 
        government policy'';
Whereas the Government of Sri Lanka declined $480,000,000 in United States 
        assistance in 2020 in the form of a grant from the Millennium Challenge 
        Corporation, which was designed to reduce poverty through economic 
        growth;
Whereas, the Government of Sri Lanka, under the rule of President Rajapaksa--

    (1) devoted state resources for personal political purposes with little 
transparency;

    (2) implemented misguided agricultural policies; and

    (3) borrowed billions of dollars from China to develop economically 
unviable mega projects;

Whereas, since 2019, Sri Lanka has faced an economic crisis, only further 
        exacerbated by predatory loans from the People's Republic of China as 
        part of its debt trap diplomacy;
Whereas Sri Lanka's economic crisis caused millions of Sri Lankan citizens to 
        live in extremely dire conditions, with severe shortages of medicine, 
        food, and fuel;
Whereas many Sri Lankans have immigrated in search of income to support their 
        families as a result of the ongoing crises, often separating spouses and 
        parents from children;
Whereas, beginning in March 2022, the citizens of Sri Lanka courageously 
        exercised their fundamental freedoms of speech and assembly to 
        peacefully protest the government's failed economic policies and 
        repression;
Whereas, the Government of Sri Lanka failed to make its bond and loan payments 
        in April 2022, resulting in the country's first financial default in May 
        2022;
Whereas tens of thousands of Sri Lankan citizens rallied in largely peaceful 
        protests on July 9, 2022, to which the government responded with live 
        fire and tear gas;
Whereas the events of July 9, 2022, demonstrated that President Gotabaya 
        Rajapaksa has lost the confidence of the Sri Lankan people;
Whereas, on July 20, 2022, the parliament of Sri Lanka elected Ranil 
        Wickremesinghe as President of Sri Lanka;
Whereas the current Government of Sri Lanka has thus far failed to respond to 
        public concerns, including establishment of transparent investigations 
        into credible allegations of corruption;
Whereas, on July 13, 2022, amid mounting public protests, Gotabaya Rajapaksa 
        fled Sri Lanka for Singapore where he formally resigned as president, 
        only to return to Sri Lanka on September 3, 2022;
Whereas the Government of Sri Lanka has used the country's Prevention of 
        Terrorism Act to target peaceful political opposition;
Whereas the United States cosponsored United Nations Human Rights Council 
        resolution, HRC 46/1 (2021), includes strengthening the capacity of the 
        Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to collect, analyze, 
        and preserve information and evidence for future accountability 
        processes for gross violations of human rights in Sri Lanka;
Whereas the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle 
        Bachelet, issued a report on February 25, 2022, noting setbacks in 
        efforts to hold individuals accountable for human rights violations in 
        Sri Lanka and highlighting the need for ``deeper institutional and 
        security sector reforms that will end impunity and prevent the 
        recurrence of violations of the past'';
Whereas the September 2022 Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights 
        Report on Sri Lanka stated, ``[f]or sustainable improvements to take 
        place, however, it is vital to recognize and address the underlying 
        factors which have contributed to the economic crisis, including 
        embedded impunity for past and present human rights violations, economic 
        crimes, and endemic corruption'';
Whereas the United Nations Human Rights Council will discuss the human rights 
        situation in Sri Lanka at its upcoming 51st regular session in September 
        2022; and
Whereas President Wickremesinghe announced that Sri Lanka--

    (1) would restart bailout negotiations with the International Monetary 
Fund in August 2022; and

    (2) had reached an initial agreement on September 1, 2022: Now, 
therefore, be it

    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) supports the peaceful democratic and economic 
        aspirations of the Sri Lankan people;
            (2) urges Sri Lankan security forces to respect the 
        legitimate rights of Sri Lankans, including to protest 
        peacefully;
            (3) urges Sri Lankan President Wickremesinghe to work with 
        opposition parties on behalf of all Sri Lankans, including 
        Tamils, Muslims, and other religious and ethnic minorities;
            (4) commends the United States Agency for International 
        Development for announcing more than $92,000,000 in economic 
        and humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka since June 2022;
            (5) commends the International Monetary Fund for calling 
        for structural reforms to address corruption vulnerabilities 
        that hamper Sri Lanka's long-term potential growth;
            (6) commends the Government of India for providing more 
        than $3,500,000,000 in lines of credit to the Government of Sri 
        Lanka for food, medicine, and fuel;
            (7) commends the Government of Japan and the Government of 
        Australia for providing urgent medicine, food, and health care 
        assistance for the Sri Lankan people;
            (8) calls on the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue nations to 
        mobilize additional humanitarian assistance, provide 
        desperately needed fuel, and offer economic support and advice 
        to the Government of Sri Lanka;
            (9) urges the United Nations Human Rights Council and the 
        Government of Sri Lanka to implement the recommendations 
        detailed in the United Nations High Commissioner for Human 
        Right's report that was published on February 25, 2022; and
            (10) calls on the United National Human Rights Council to 
        extend and reinforce the Office of the High Commissioner for 
        Human Rights' mandate from HRC 46/1 (2021) for an additional 2 
        years and to fully resource the Sri Lanka Accountability 
        Project.
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