,,iv  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,h4 ,,res4 #bdg  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of
 ,,representatives  ,june #d1 #bjac ,mr4
 ,grimm 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,johnson of  
,ohio1 ,mr4 ,mc,govern1 ,mr4 ,holt1 ,mr4
 ,lance1 and ,mr4 ,danny ,k4 ,davis of  
,illinois7 submitted the following      
resolution2 which was referred to the   
,committee on ,foreign ,affairs         
,,resolution  ,expressing support for   
internal rebuilding1 resettlement1 and  
reconciliation within ,sri ,lanka that  
are necessary to ensure a lasting peace4
  ,whereas it has been #d years since   
the end of the #bf-year long conflict   
between the ,liberation ,tigers of      
,tamil ,eelam 7,,ltte71 which was       
declared a foreign terrorist            
organization in #aiig1 and the          
,government of ,sri ,lanka2 ,whereas the
 people of ,sri ,lanka suffered greatly 
as a result of this conflict1 the       
impact1 and aftermath of which has been 
felt especially by women1 children1 and 
families2 ,whereas the ,government of   

,sri ,lanka established a ,lessons      
,learnt and ,reconciliation ,commission 
7,,llrc7 to report whether any person1  
group1 or institution directly or       
indirectly bears responsibility for     
incidents that occurred between         
,february #bjjb and ,may #bjji1 and to  
recommend measures to prevent the       
recurrence of such incidents in the     
future and promote further national     
unity and reconciliation among all      
communities2 ,whereas the ,,llrc report 
was presented to the ,sri ,lankan       
,parliament on ,december #af1 #bjaa1 and
 officially translated into ,sinhala and
 ,tamil on ,august #af1 #bjab1 and took 
note of the ,,llrc report's possible    
contribution to the process of national 
reconciliation in ,sri ,lanka2 ,whereas 
the ,,llrc report acknowledges important
 events and grievances that have        
contributed to decades of political     
violence and civil war in ,sri ,lanka   
and makes constructive recommendations  
on a wide range of issues1 including the

 need to credibly investigate widespread
 allegations of extrajudicial killings1 
enforced disappearances1 and intentional
 targeting of civilians and             
noncombatants1 demilitarizing the north 
and the country as a whole1 reaching a  
political settlement with minority      
communities on the meaningful devolution
 of power1 and promoting and protecting 
the right to freedom of expression for  
all through the enactment of a right to 
information law and additional rule of  
law reforms2 ,whereas the ,united       
,states1 ,canada1 the ,united ,kingdom1 
,india1 and other governments and       
intergovernmental organizations have    
called on the ,government of ,sri ,lanka
 to implement the recommendations of its
 own ,,llrc ,report2 ,whereas the       
,government of ,sri ,lanka expressed its
 commitment to address the needs of all 
ethnic groups1 notably the ,tamils and  
,muslims1 and has recognized1 in the    
past1 the necessity of a political      
settlement and reconciliation for a     

peaceful and just society2 ,whereas the 
,government of ,sri ,lanka has developed
 the ,national ,plan of ,action to      
implement some of the #bhe              
recommendations of the ,,llrc2 ,whereas 
the ,government of ,sri ,lanka has made 
progress on rehabilitation1 resettlement
 of displaced persons1 and improvement  
of infrastructure in the north and east2
 ,whereas the ,,llrc noted that the     
failure of successive governments to    
implement the critical recommendations  
of past commissions gives rise to       
understandable criticism and skepticism 
regarding ,government appointed         
,commissions from which the ,,llrc has  
not been spared2 ,whereas progress on   
investigations into reports of war      
crimes1 crimes against humanity1 and    
other human rights violations during the
 conflict and promoting reconciliation  
would facilitate enhanced ,united       
,states engagement1 bilateral trade1 and
 investment in ,sri ,lanka and coincide 
with ,united ,states policy that such   

commissions of inquiry have been        
instrumental in providing accountability
 and redressing wrongdoing during       
periods of internal strife2 ,whereas the
 ,government of ,sri ,lanka's failure to
 conduct a credible investigation into  
alleged war crimes and human rights     
abuses committed by all sides and to    
implement its own stated priorities of  
post-conflict reconciliation1           
accountability1 and reform as set forth 
by the ,,llrc precludes a lasting       
settlement and encourages continued     
national strife that has the potential  
to further destabilize a region vital to
 ,united ,states diplomatic and         
strategic interests2 ,whereas a firm    
statement advocating for truth1 justice1
 and accountability into continued      
reports of militarization1 kidnapping   
and intimidation1 and extrajudicial     
killings since the cessation of conflict
 in #bjji comports with statements and  
recommendations by key figures1 experts1
 and institutions in the international  

community as exemplified by the ,united 
,nations ,high ,commissioner for ,human 
,rights ,navi ,pillay's ,february #aa1  
#bjac1 report calling for an independent
 and credible international             
investigation into alleged violations of
 international human rights and         
humanitarian law1 and also reaffirms    
central rhetorical and institutional    
commitments supported by the ,united    
,states and its allies1 particularly the
 ,march #ba1 #bjac1 ,united ,nations    
,human ,rights ,council resolution      
echoing the conclusions of ,commissioner
 ,pillay's report and advocating for the
 establishment of a truth-seeking       
mechanism as an integral part of a more 
comprehensive and inclusive approach to 
transitional justice2 ,whereas a        
statement urging the ,government of ,sri
 ,lanka to follow through on its own    
recommendations in a transparent1 timely
 manner conforms with the obligations of
 the ,united ,states and all nations to 
advocate for peace and stability in the 

international community without         
infringing upon the sovereignty of the  
,government of ,sri ,lanka or expressing
 a sense of support for any party in the
 conflict2 and ,whereas the ,united     
,states is home to a large community of 
ethnic ,sri ,lankans and expatriates    
outside of ,sri ,lanka1 many of which   
have a salient1 emotional interest in a 
meaningful resolution to the country's  
violence and political turmoil3 ,now1   
therefore1 be it  ,that the ,house of   
,representatives--  7#a7 calls on the   
,government of ,sri ,lanka to build on  
its establishment of the ,lessons       
,learnt and ,reconciliation ,commission 
7,,llrc7 and that ,commission's         
constructive recommendations on issues  
of paramount importance to ,sri ,lanka  
in a credible1 transparent1 and         
expeditious manner2  7#b7 recognizes    
that the ,,llrc report did not          
adequately address issues of            
accountability for both the ,government 
of ,sri ,lanka and the ,liberation      

,tigers of ,tamil ,eelam 7,,ltte71 for  
credible allegations of war crimes and  
crimes against humanity2  7#c7 calls for
 the establishment of a credible1       
international1 independent              
accountability mechanism to look into   
allegations of war crimes1 crimes       
against humanity1 and other human rights
 violations committed by all sides      
during and after the war in ,sri ,lanka1
 and to make recommendations regarding  
accountability2  7#d7 encourages the    
,government of ,sri ,lanka to allow for 
greater media freedoms and ensure the   
protection of journalists2  7#e7 urges  
the ,government of ,sri ,lanka to allow 
humanitarian organizations and          
international human rights groups       
greater access to the war-affected1     
including rehabilitated ex-,,ltte       
cadres1 and those detained2  7#f7       
acknowledges the end of the war and     
calls on the ,government of ,sri ,lanka 
to prioritize a process of              
demilitarization throughout the country2

 and  7#g7 acknowledges the importance  
for parties to reach a political        
settlement on the meaningful            
decentralization of power and           
power-sharing4