,,iv  #aacth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,h4 ,,res4 #ehg  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of
 ,,representatives  ,may #ai1 #bjad ,mr4
 ,holt 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,johnson of   
,ohio1 and ,mr4 ,tierney7 submitted the 
following resolution2 which was referred
 to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs1
 and in addition to the ,committee on   
the ,judiciary1 for a period to be      
subsequently determined by the ,speaker1
 in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the           
jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
,,resolution  ,expressing support for   
internal rebuilding1 resettlement1      
accountability1 and reconciliation      
within ,sri ,lanka so that ,sri ,lankans
 from all ethnic and religious          
communities may benefit from the end of 
the country's #bf-year civil war4       
,whereas ,may #ai1 #bjad1 marks the     
#e-year anniversary of the end of the   
#bf-year conflict between the terrorist 
,liberation ,tigers of ,tamil ,eelam    
7,,ltte71 and the ,government of ,sri   

,lanka2 ,whereas the people of ,sri     
,lanka suffered greatly as a result of  
this conflict1 the impact 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 
recommend measures to prevent the       
recurrence of conflict in the future and
 promote further national unity and     
reconciliation among all communities2   
,whereas the ,,llrc report acknowledges 
important events and grievances that    
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 killings  
and enforced disappearances1            
demilitarize the north and the country  
as a whole1 reach a political settlement
 with minority communities on the       
meaningful devolution of power1 promote 

and protect the right to freedom of     
expression for all1 including the       
enactment of a right to information     
law12 ,whereas and enact rule of law    
reforms2 ,whereas implementation of the 
,,llrc report's recommendations would   
contribute to the process of national   
reconciliation in ,sri ,lanka2 ,whereas 
the ,government of ,sri ,lanka1 has     
repeatedly invoked the ,,llrc as a      
domestic mechanism to address issues    
arising from the war's conclusion1 but  
has simultaneously distanced itself from
 many of the ,,llrc's final             
recommendations2 ,whereas in the almost 
#d years since the tabling of the ,,llrc
 report in ,sri ,lanka's ,parliament1   
very few of its recommendations have    
been successfully implemented1 forcing  
the ,united ,nations ,human ,rights     
,council in ,march #bjad1 to pass a     
resolution calling for the ,office of   
the ,high ,commissioner for ,human      
,rights to conduct a comprehensive      
investigation into allegations of       

serious violations and abuses of human  
rights2 ,whereas the ,,llrc noted that  
the failure of successive governments to
 implement the 8critical recommendations
 of past commissions gives rise to      
understandable criticism and skepticism 
regarding ,government appointed         
,commissions from which the ,,llrc has  
not been spared02 ,whereas the          
,government of ,sri ,lanka has made     
progress on resettlement of displaced   
persons and improvements to             
infrastructure in the ,north and ,east2 
,whereas the ,united ,states ,department
 of ,state's #bjab ,human ,rights       
,report on ,sri ,lanka outlines ongoing 
concerns regarding landownership and    
property restitution1 including         
instances where large numbers of persons
 have not received restitution for land 
that remains part of government high    
security zones2 ,whereas the continued  
military presence on private lands is   
preventing the full resettlement of     
internally displaced persons who desire 

a return to peaceful life2 ,whereas the 
,september #ba1 #bjac1 elections in ,sri
 ,lanka for the ,northern1 ,central1 and
 ,north ,western ,provincial ,councils  
were a good first step in devolving     
power to the provinces1 though providing
 all councils with the ability to make  
their own development and policing      
decisions would enhance the impact of   
such elections2 ,whereas the ,president 
of ,sri ,lanka committed to a political 
solution with implementation of the     
country's #acth amendment to bring about
 lasting peace and reconciliation in    
,sri ,lanka as codified in the ,sri     
,lankan ,government supported #bjji     
,united ,nations ,human ,rights ,council
 resolution ,s-#aa_/;,assistance to ,sri
 ,lanka in the ,promotion and           
,protection of ,human ,rights2 ,whereas 
negotiations on a political solution to 
the conflict between officials from the 
,sri ,lanka ,freedom ,party and the     
,tamil ,national ,alliance ended        
unsuccessfully in #bjaa after the       

government walked away2 ,whereas        
reconciliation is a long-term process   
that will need to be led by the ,sri    
,lankan ,government and driven by the   
people of ,sri ,lanka1 including civil  
society and nongovernmental             
organizations2 ,whereas the removal of  
the country's chief justice1 decreasing 
space for dissent1 continued            
militarization throughout the country1  
and intimidation of journalists and     
critics of the government have created a
 sense of impunity and creeping         
authoritarianism within ,sri ,lanka2    
,whereas there have been repeated       
reports of attacks on places of worship 
and those practicing their faith1       
restrictions on the media throughout    
,sri ,lanka1 and few instances in which 
the perpetrators of such attacks have   
been held to account2 ,whereas there    
have been numerous unaddressed          
allegations of arbitrary detention1     
sexual violence1 torture1 and abuse of  
detainees by police and security forces 

in ,sri ,lanka's north and east during  
the end of the war1 and which are       
ongoing and have increased after the    
war2 ,whereas the ,united ,states       
,department of ,state's #bjab ,human    
,rights ,report on ,sri ,lanka also     
includes reports of serious human rights
 violations such as unlawful killings by
 security forces and government-allied  
paramilitary groups2 ,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 wrong doing during      
periods of internal strife2 and ,whereas
 the ,united ,states is home to a large 
,sri ,lankan diaspora1 including        
,sinhalese1 ,tamils1 and ,muslims1 who  

have become an integral part of ,united 
,states society3 ,now1 therefore1 be it 
,that the ,house of ,representatives--  
7#a7 calls on the ,government of ,sri   
,lanka to implement the constructive    
recommendations of the ,lessons ,learnt 
and ,reconciliation ,commission 7,,llrc7
 in a credible1 transparent1 and        
expeditious manner2  7#b7 recognizes    
that the ,,llrc report has not          
adequately addressed issues of          
accountability for possible war crimes  
and crimes against humanity that may    
have been committed by the ,government  
of ,sri ,lanka and the terrorist        
,liberation ,tigers of ,tamil ,eelam    
7,,ltte72  7#c7 commends the            
representatives of the ,united ,states  
on their leadership on ,united ,nations 
,human ,rights ,council ,resolution     
7,,unhrc7 ,a_/,,hrc_/#be_/,l4#a4,rev4#a1
 adopted by the ,,unhrc on ,march #bg1  
#bjad1 establishing an ,office of the   
,high ,commissioner for ,human ,rights  
investigation into allegations of war   

crimes1 crimes against humanity1 and    
other human rights violations committed 
by both sides during and after the war  
in ,sri ,lanka and to make              
recommendations regarding               
accountability2  7#d7 recommends that   
the ,united ,states ,department of      
,state place restrictions on entry to   
the ,united ,states for anyone it       
identifies as responsible for war crimes
 and crimes against humanity2  7#e7     
encourages the ,government of ,sri      
,lanka to work with and accept the      
support of civil society and local and  
foreign agencies that can support the   
causes of reconciliation and            
accountability1 including the ,office of
 the ,united ,nations ,high             
,commissioner for ,human ,rights in its 
investigation2  7#f7 calls for the      
,government of ,sri ,lanka to allow for 
greater media freedoms and ensure the   
freedom and protection of the press and 
of religion2  7#g7 urges the ,government
 of ,sri ,lanka to provide for freedom  

of movement and allow humanitarian      
organizations and international human   
rights groups greater access to         
war-affected individuals1 including     
rehabilitated ex-,,ltte cadres and those
 detained2  7#h7 acknowledges the end of
 the war and calls on the ,government of
 ,sri ,lanka to prioritize the process  
of demilitarization throughout the      
country1 including removing military    
involvement from civilian               
administration2  7#i7 calls on members  
of the ,tamil ,national ,alliance to    
acknowledge past relationships with the 
,,ltte and make a firm commitment to    
reconciliation and a long-term political
 solution that would ensure for a       
peaceful and unified ,sri ,lanka2  7#aj7
 urges the government of the ruling     
party to begin negotiations with the    
,tamil ,national ,alliance on a         
political solution from where those     
talks stopped in #bjaa2 and  7#aa7      
acknowledges the importance for all     
parties to reach a lasting political    

settlement on the meaningful devolution 
of power consistent with the            
recommendations of the ,,llrc and       
acceptable to all sides4