,,iii  #aacth ,,congress  #b;d ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #cdh  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,february 
#f1 #bjad,mr4 ,burr 7for himself1 ,mr4  
,casey1 ,mr4 ,leahy1 ,mr4 ,brown1 ,mrs4 
,boxer1 and ,mr4 ,cornyn7 submitted the 
following resolution2 which was referred
 to the ,committee on ,foreign          
,relations  ,,resolution  ,expressing   
support for the internal rebuilding1    
resettlement1 and reconciliation within 
,sri ,lanka that are necessary to ensure
 a lasting peace4  ,whereas ,may #ai1   
#bjac1 marks the four-year anniversary  
of the end of the #bf-year conflict     
between the ,liberation ,tigers of      
,tamil ,eelam 7,,ltte7 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 report whether any person1  
group1 or institution directly or       
indirectly bears responsibility for     
incidents that occurred between         
,february #bjjb and ,may #bjji 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 #bjab2 ,whereas 
the ,,llrc report acknowledges important
 events and grievances that have        
contributed to decades of political     
violence and war in ,sri ,lanka and     
makes constructive recommendations on a 
wide range of issues1 including the need
 to credibly investigate widespread     
allegations of extrajudicial killings2  
enforced disappearances2 intentional    
targeting of civilians and              
noncombatants2 demilitarizing the north 

and the country as a whole2 reaching a  
political settlement with minority      
communities on the meaningful           
decentralization of power2 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 ,government of ,sri ,lanka         
developed the ,national ,plan of ,action
 to implement just #hb of the #bhe      
recommendations of the ,,llrc in ,august
 #bjaa1 and although the ,government of 
,sri ,lanka has made some progress on   
rehabilitation1 resettlement of         
displaced persons1 and improvements of  
infrastructure in the ,north and ,east1 
there are still many issues of major    
concern2 ,whereas the ,government of    
,sri ,lanka has yet to reasonably       
address issues of reconciliation and    
accountability through internal         
processes2 ,whereas the ,department of  
,state's #bjab ,human ,rights ,report on
 ,sri ,lanka outlines ongoing concerns  

regarding landownership and property    
restitution1 particularly in the ,jaffna
 ,peninsula1 where large numbers of     
persons have not received restitution   
for land that remains part of government
 high security zones1 and while citizens
 generally were able to travel almost   
anywhere in the island1 there continues 
to be police and military checkpoints in
 the north1 and defacto high-security   
zones and other areas remained off      
limits to citizens2 ,whereas the        
,government of ,sri ,lanka has not taken
 tangible steps toward demilitarization 
of civilian functions1 particularly in  
the ,north and ,east1 and continued     
military presence on private lands in   
the ,north is preventing the            
resettlement of internally displaced    
persons who desire a return to peaceful 
life2 ,whereas the ,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 groups1 
often in predominantly ,tamil areas2    
torture and abuse of detainees by police
 and security forces2 and arbitrary     
arrest and detention by authorities2    
,whereas the ,united ,nations ,human    
,rights ,council 7,,unhrc7 resolution   
supported by the ,united ,states and    
adopted by the ,,unhrc on ,march #ba1   
#bjac1 expresses concern at the         
continuing reports of violations of     
human rights in ,sri ,lanka1 including  
enforced disappearances1 extrajudicial  
killings1 torture1 and violations of the
 rights to freedom of expression1       
association1 and peaceful assembly1 as  
well as intimidation of and reprisals   
against human rights defenders1 members 
of civil society and journalists1       
threats to judicial independence and the
 rule of law1 and discrimination on the 
basis of religion or belief2 ,whereas   
the ,government of ,sri ,lanka expressed
 its commitment to addressing the needs 
of all ethnic groups and has recognized1

 in the past1 the necessity of a        
political settlement and reconciliation 
for a peaceful and just society2 and    
,whereas tangible progress on domestic  
and international investigations into   
reports of war crimes1 crimes against   
humanity1 and other human rights        
violations during and after the conflict
 and promoting reconciliation would     
facilitate enhanced ,united ,states     
engagement and investment in ,sri       
,lanka3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that the
 ,senate-- 7#a7 commends the            
representatives of the ,united ,states  
on their leadership on ,united ,nations 
,human ,rights ,council ,resolution     
7,,unhrc7 #bb_/a1 adopted by the ,,unhrc
 on ,march #ba1 #bjac1 which promotes   
reconciliation and accountability in    
,sri ,lanka2  7#b7 calls on the ,united 
,states and the international community 
to establish an independent             
international accountability mechanism  
to evaluate reports of war crimes1      
crimes against humanity1 and other human

 rights violations committed by both    
sides during and after the war in ,sri  
,lanka2  7#c7 urges the ,government of  
,sri ,lanka to allow unimpeded access   
for media1 international aid agencies1  
and human rights groups into all regions
 of the country1 as well as to detention
 sites that may hold political and war  
prisoners2  7#d7 urges the ,government  
of ,sri ,lanka to end its media         
restrictions1 including the obstacles to
 the flow of information in the ,north  
and ,east1 and bring to justice those   
responsible for attacks on journalists  
and newspaper offices2 and  7#e7 calls  
upon the ,president to develop a        
comprehensive policy towards ,sri ,lanka
 that reflects ,united ,states          
interests1 including respect for human  
rights1 democracy and the rule of law1  
economic interests1 and security        
interests4