Federal

Recognizing the Kingdom of Bhutan as responsible for the oppression and forced eviction of more than 100,000 Bhutanese citizens during the late 1980s and 1990s.

Source: Congress.gov · 773 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This resolution declares that the Kingdom of Bhutan is responsible for the oppression and forced eviction of more than 100,000 Nepali-speaking Bhutanese citizens during the late 1980s and 1990s. The House of Representatives makes this declaration and calls on the Bhutanese government to take specific actions to address past wrongs and prevent future oppression.

Who It Affects

The Nepali-speaking Lhotshampas and Sharchops who were displaced from Bhutan in the 1980s and 1990s, political prisoners currently held in Bhutanese prisons, people who remain in refugee camps in Nepal, Nepali-speaking Lhotshampas still in Bhutan who lost citizenship, and the Royal Government of Bhutan.

Key Provisions

• The House of Representatives declares that the Royal Government of Bhutan is responsible for the political, cultural, and ethnic oppression of Nepali-speaking Lhotshampas and Sharchops during the late 1980s and 1990s (Resolution Section 1) • The House urges the Bhutanese government to rapidly and unconditionally release all political prisoners whose crime was demanding democracy and human rights, with restitution and reparations (Resolution Section 2) • The House urges the Bhutanese government to resume discussions with the Government of Nepal about the status of individuals in Nepal who claim Bhutan citizenship or residency (Resolution Section 3) • The House requests the Bhutanese government restore citizenship for all Nepali-speaking Lhotshampas who had it arbitrarily revoked (Resolution Section 4) • The House urges the Bhutanese government to enter into a peace-building and reconciliation process and establish an independent Truth Commission to investigate human rights violations from the 1990s (Resolution Section 6)

Important Definitions

None defined in bill text.

IV 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 228 Recognizing the Kingdom of Bhutan as responsible for the oppression and forced eviction of more than 100,000 Bhutanese citizens during the late 1980s and 1990s. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 14, 2023 Mr. KHANNA submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Recognizing the Kingdom of Bhutan as responsible for the oppression and forced eviction of more than 100,000 Bhutanese citizens during the late 1980s and 1990s. Whereas the Kingdom of Bhutan was responsible for the op- pression and forced displacement of more than 100,000 Nepali language-speaking Bhutanese citizens, Lhotshampas and Sharchops, in the 1990s due to their identity, culture, language, religion, and political opinion; Whereas many of these individuals experienced unjust deten- tion, torture, and other forms of human rights abuses; Whereas many political prisoners continue to be held in Bhu- tanese prisons for protracted sentences; VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:35 Mar 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR228.IH HR228 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 228 IH Whereas persecuted Bhutanese were forced to cross into Nepal, where some remained for nearly two decades in refugee camps; Whereas thousands of Bhutanese refugees remain in refugee camps in Nepal, and the Government of Bhutan con- tinues to deny dignified repatriation to those who desire it; Whereas more than 250,000 Nepali-speaking Lhotshampa Bhutanese still inside Bhutan suffer political, social, and economic oppression as the Government of Bhutan has continuously refused to reinstate the citizenships that were stripped during the 1990s; Whereas such incidences of human rights violations and abuses and extreme acts of violence perpetrated by any individual actor or State should be condemned; Whereas the majority of the Nepali-speaking Lhotshampa, who were refugees in Nepal, have now resettled in other countries, including Australia, Canada, Denmark, Neth- erlands, New Zealand, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States; Whereas, although Bhutan and the United States have not established diplomatic relations, the two countries main- tain warm and productive unofficial ties; Whereas the Kingdom of Bhutan transitioned to democracy in 2008 and has held successive free and fair elections and transitions of power since that time; Whereas the Kingdom of Bhutan has been a leader in the global fight against climate change and is the only carbon negative country; VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:35 Mar 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR228.IH HR228 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 228 IH Whereas the Kingdom of Bhutan has stood with the United States and other like-minded countries as the United Na- tions to condemn Russian aggression in Ukraine; and Whereas, the Kingdom of Bhutan is a close Indo-Pacific part- ner of the United States committed to upholding the rules-based international order: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) declares that the Royal Government of Bhu- 2 tan is responsible for the political, cultural, and eth- 3 nic oppression of Nepali-speaking Lhotshampas and 4 Sharchops in Bhutan during the late 1980s and 5 1990s; 6 (2) urges the Royal Government of Bhutan to 7 conduct a rapid and unconditional release of all po- 8 litical prisoners, whose crime was demanding democ- 9 racy and human rights, with due restitution and rep- 10 arations; 11 (3) in a spirit of friendship, urges the Royal 12 Government of Bhutan to resume discussions with 13 the Government of Nepal on the status of individ- 14 uals in Nepal who assert a claim to Bhutan citizen- 15 ship or residency; 16 (4) requests the Royal Government of Bhutan 17 to restore citizenship for all Nepali-speaking 18 Lhotshampas that have had it arbitrarily revoked; 19 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:35 Mar 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR228.IH HR228 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 228 IH (5) requests the Royal Government of Bhutan 1 to accept the voluntary return of its citizens from 2 the refugee camps in Nepal; and 3 (6) urges the Royal Government of Bhutan to 4 enter into a holistic peace building and reconciliation 5 process and institute an independent Truth Commis- 6 sion to publicly investigate any human rights viola- 7 tions and abuses committed during the 1990s, pub- 8 lish its findings, and follow through on its rec- 9 ommendations to ensure no future displacement or 10 oppression of Nepali-speaking Lhotshampas and 11 other minorities in Bhutan. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:35 Mar 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR228.IH HR228 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS

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