,,iii  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #bhc  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,june #ag1
 #bjbe,mr4 ,merkley 7for himself1 ,mr4  
,young1 ,mrs4 ,shaheen1 ,mr4 ,curtis1   
,ms4 ,rosen1 ,mr4 ,ricketts1 ,mr4       
,crapo1 and ,mr4 ,sullivan7 submitted   
the following resolution2 which was     
referred to the ,committee on the       
,judiciary  ,,resolution  ,commemorating
 the #ijth birthday of ,his ,holiness   
the #adth ,dalai ,lama on ,july #f1     
#bjbe1 as ,a ,day of ,compassion and    
expressing support for the human rights 
and distinct religious1 cultural1       
linguistic1 and historical identity of  
the ,tibetan people4  ,whereas ,july #f1
 #bjbe1 marks the #ijth birthday of ,his
 ,holiness the #adth ,dalai ,lama2      
,whereas the #adth ,dalai ,lama was born
 in northeastern ,tibet in #aice1 was   
enthroned as the #adth incarnation in   
#aidj1 and was called upon to assume    
temporal leadership of ,tibet in #aiej  
in response to a tumultuous time as the 

newly established ,people's ,republic of
 ,china sent its military to seize      
control of ,tibet2 ,whereas the leader  
of the ,people's ,republic of ,china1   
,mao ,zedong1 assured the ,dalai ,lama  
that the ,tibetan people have the right 
of exercising national regional autonomy
 under ,chinese rule and conveyed to the
 ,dalai ,lama that ,tibet's distinct    
religious and cultural traditions would 
be respected1 as reflected in the       
,seventeen ,point ,agreement of #aiea2  
,whereas the ,government of the         
,people's ,republic of ,china1 led by   
the ,chinese ,communist ,party1 steadily
 eroded the ,tibetan autonomy to which  
it committed in the ,seventeen ,point   
,agreement through repressive political 
and military actions1 leading to        
tension1 resistance1 and ultimately the 
,dalai ,lama's exile in #aiei2 ,whereas1
 in ,march #aiei1 the ,dalai ,lama fled 
,tibet after ,chinese ,communist forces 
began shelling ,lhasa and has since been
 residing in ,india1 along with tens of 

thousands of ,tibetan refugees2         
,whereas1 for more than #g decades1 ,his
 ,holiness the #adth ,dalai ,lama has   
significantly advanced greater          
understanding1 tolerance1 harmony1 and  
respect among the religious faiths of   
the world2 ,whereas the ,dalai ,lama has
 led the effort to preserve the rich and
 distinct cultural1 religious1          
historical1 and linguistic heritage of  
the people of ,tibet while working to   
safeguard other endangered cultures     
throughout the world2 ,whereas the      
,dalai ,lama has been gravely concerned 
by the degraded state of the environment
 of ,tibet and the unchecked            
exploitation of the natural resources of
 ,tibet1 including fresh water1 because 
they have implications not only for     
,tibetans1 but also for the whole of    
,asia2 ,whereas1 beginning in #aigi1 the
 ,dalai ,lama has visited various parts 
of the ,united ,states and subsequently 
gained the admiration of all levels of  
society in the ,united ,states2 ,whereas

 the people of the ,united ,states have 
consistently expressed their            
appreciation for the culture and        
religion of ,tibetan ,buddhists1        
including through their support of its  
preservation1 and political and         
diplomatic support for the ,dalai ,lama 
in his capacity as a spiritual leader2  
,whereas there is strong bipartisan     
support from successive ,congresses and 
,administrations for the ,dalai ,lama's 
vision for ,tibet and the world and for 
a negotiated resolution that leads to   
meaningful autonomy for ,tibetans that  
ensures they are able to freely practice
 their religion1 culture1 and language2 
,whereas1 on ,october #ag1 #bjjg1       
,congress awarded the ,congressional    
,gold ,medal to the ,dalai ,lama1       
finding in the ,fourteenth ,dalai ,lama 
,congressional ,gold ,medal ,act        
7,public ,law #aji-bhg2 #abj ,stat4     
#abca7 that he is recognized around the 
world as 8a leading figure of moral and 
religious authority0 and is 8the        

unrivaled spiritual and cultural leader 
of the ,tibetan people02 ,whereas1      
wherever followers of ,tibetan ,buddhism
 reside1 including ,tibet1 the ,united  
,states1 ,bhutan1 ,india1 ,mongolia1    
,nepal1 the ,russian ,federation1 and   
other countries around the world1 those 
followers look to the ,dalai ,lama for  
religious leadership and spiritual      
guidance2 ,whereas the ,universal       
,declaration of ,human ,rights holds    
that 8everyone has the right to freedom 
of thought1 conscience and religion10   
including the freedom to change religion
 or belief and to practice it in private
 or public2 ,whereas at least #aei      
,tibetans in ,tibet are known to have   
self-immolated1 with statements or      
records left by many of them calling for
 freedom for ,tibet and the return of   
the ,dalai ,lama2 ,whereas1 in #aiia1   
section #cee of the ,foreign ,relations 
,authorization ,act1 ,fiscal ,years     
#aiib and #aiic 7,public ,law #ajb-ach2 
#aje ,stat4 #gac7 expressed the sense of

 ,congress that ,tibet 8is an occupied  
country under the established principles
 of international law0 and that         
8,tibet's true representatives are the  
,dalai ,lama and the ,tibetan government
 in exile as recognized by the ,tibetan 
people02 ,whereas1 in #aifa1 with the   
support of the ,united ,states1 ,united 
,nations ,general ,assembly ,resolution 
#agbc called for 8the cessation of      
practices which deprive the ,tibetan    
people of their fundamental human rights
 and freedoms1 including their right to 
self-determination02 ,whereas the       
,government of the ,people's ,republic  
of ,china has interfered in the         
identification and installation of      
reincarnated leaders of ,tibetan        
,buddhism as part of its efforts to     
maintain control over ,tibet1 including1
 in #aiie1 arbitrarily detaining the    
then-recently identified #aath ,panchen 
,lama1 ,gedhun ,choekyi ,nyima1 then a  
#f-year-old boy1 and installing ,china's
 own candidate1 ,gyaltsen ,norbu1 as    

,panchen ,lama2 ,whereas1 in #bjaa1 the 
#adth ,dalai ,lama declared that the    
responsibility for identifying a future 
#aeth ,dalai ,lama will 8primarily rest0
 with officials of ,gaden ,phodrang1 the
 ,dalai ,lama's office1 and that 8apart 
from the reincarnation recognized       
through such legitimate methods1 no     
recognition or acceptance should be     
given to a candidate chosen for         
political ends by anyone1 including     
those in the ,people's ,republic of     
,china02 ,whereas1 in #bjaa1 the #adth  
,dalai ,lama initiated a historic       
devolution of power to the ,central     
,tibetan ,administration1 in which he   
formally renounced his political role1  
transferring full democratic governance 
to an elected ,tibetan leadership1      
thereby ensuring a democratic and       
secular political system for ,tibet2    
,whereas1 on ,december #ba1 #bjbj1 the  
,tibetan ,policy and ,support ,act of   
#bjbj 7subtitle ,e of title ,,iii of    
division ,k of ,public ,law #aaf-bfj2   

#acd ,stat4 #caai7 was passed1          
strengthening the landmark ,tibetan     
,policy ,act of #bjjb 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4    
#fija note71 including by-- 7#a7        
addressing the issue of water security  
and environmental destruction in ,tibet2
  7#b7 providing humanitarian assistance
 and support for ,tibetans in ,tibet and
 in exile2  7#c7 stipulating that the   
objectives of the ,united ,states       
,special ,coordinator for ,tibet include
 promoting substantive dialogue without 
preconditions1 between the ,government  
of the ,people's ,republic of ,china and
 the ,dalai ,lama1 his or her           
representatives1 or democratically      
elected leaders of the ,tibetan         
community2  7#d7 stating that it is the 
policy of the ,united ,states that      
decisions regarding the selection1      
education1 and veneration of ,tibetan   
,buddhist religious leaders are         
exclusively spiritual matters that      
should be made by the appropriate       
religious authorities within the        

,tibetan ,buddhist tradition and in the 
context of the will of practitioners of 
,tibetan ,buddhism and that the wishes  
of the #adth ,dalai ,lama should play a 
key role in the selection1 education1   
and veneration of a future #aeth ,dalai 
,lama2 and  7#e7 stating that it is the 
policy of the ,united ,states to hold   
accountable1 including through the      
imposition of sanctions1 any officials  
of the ,people's ,republic of ,china or 
the ,chinese ,communist ,party who      
directly interfere with the             
identification and installation of a    
future ,dalai ,lama2 ,whereas1 on ,july 
#ab1 #bjbd1 the ,promoting a ,resolution
 to the ,tibet-,china ,dispute ,act     
7,public ,law #aah-gj2 #ach ,stat4      
#adhh7 was signed into law1 with the    
,act affirming that it is the policy of 
the ,united ,states that the ,tibet     
issue must be resolved in accordance    
with international law by peaceful      
means1 through dialogue without         
preconditions1 and that the ,people's   

,republic of ,china should cease        
propagating disinformation about        
,tibet's history1 and stating that it is
 the sense of ,congress that the        
,people's ,republic of ,china's claims  
that ,tibet has been part of the        
,people's ,republic of ,china since     
8ancient times0 are 8historically       
inaccurate02 ,whereas the ,central      
,tibetan ,administration1 the           
institution that represents and reflects
 to the greatest extent the aspirations 
of the ,tibetan diaspora around the     
world1 has officially decided to        
celebrate the #adth ,dalai ,lama's #ijth
 birth year as the ,year of ,compassion2
 and ,whereas the #adth ,dalai ,lama has
 highlighted the oneness of humanity and
 has dedicated his life to the promotion
 of compassion and human values and is  
considered a leader of compassion by the
 international community3 ,now1         
therefore1 be it ,that the ,senate--    
7#a7 recognizes ,july #f1 #bjbe1 as a   
,day of ,compassion2  7#b7 congratulates

 ,his ,holiness the #adth ,dalai ,lama  
on his #ijth birthday and affirms its   
recognition of his outstanding          
contributions to peace1 nonviolence1    
human rights1 and mutual respect within 
and across faiths2  7#c7 affirms the    
,tibetan people's human rights and      
fundamental freedoms1 including their   
right to exercise regional autonomy and 
to protect the distinct religious1      
cultural1 linguistic1 and historical    
identity of the ,tibetan people2  7#d7  
reiterates1 as outlined in the ,tibetan 
,policy and ,support ,act of #bjbj      
7subtitle ,e of title ,,iii of division 
,k of ,public ,law #aaf-bfj71 that the  
identification and installation of      
,tibetan ,buddhist religious leaders1   
including a future #aeth ,dalai ,lama1  
is a matter that should be determined by
 the present #adth ,dalai ,lama and     
within the ,tibetan ,buddhist faith     
community1 in accordance with the       
inalienable right to religious freedom2 
7#e7 reiterates that any attempt by the 

,government of the ,people's ,republic  
of ,china or any other government to    
recognize a successor or reincarnation  
of the #adth ,dalai ,lama and any future
 ,dalai ,lamas not selected by the      
,tibetan people would represent a clear 
abuse of the right to religious freedom 
of ,tibetan ,buddhists and the ,tibetan 
people2 and  7#f7 requests that a copy  
of this resolution be presented to ,his 
,holiness the ,dalai ,lama as an        
expression of its esteem and respect4