| 118th CONGRESS 1st Session |
H. RES. 427
Recognizing 14 years since the end of the war in Sri Lanka on May 18, 2009, honoring the lives lost, and expressing support for justice, accountability, reconciliation, reconstruction, reparation, and reform in Sri Lanka to ensure a lasting peaceful political solution and a prosperous future for all people of Sri Lanka.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 18, 2023
Ms. Ross (for herself, Mr. Johnson of Ohio, Mr. Nickel, Mr. Davis of North Carolina, Mr. Jackson of North Carolina, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Mr. Davis of Illinois, and Mrs. McBath) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
RESOLUTION
Recognizing 14 years since the end of the war in Sri Lanka on May 18, 2009, honoring the lives lost, and expressing support for justice, accountability, reconciliation, reconstruction, reparation, and reform in Sri Lanka to ensure a lasting peaceful political solution and a prosperous future for all people of Sri Lanka.
- Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(1) acknowledges the 14th anniversary of the end of the war in Sri Lanka and offers its deepest condolences to all those affected by the conflict;
(2) honors the memory of those who died and reaffirms its solidarity with the people of all communities in Sri Lanka in their search for reconciliation, reconstruction, reparation, and reform;
(3) commends the United Nations Human Rights Council for prioritizing the collection and preservation of evidence related to human rights violations, a process that must not be interfered with by the Government of Sri Lanka;
(4) recognizes the bravery and commitment of advocates for justice across all communities in Sri Lanka, including the Tamil families of the disappeared, whose protests and demands for answers have at times been met with threats, intimidation, and harassment by government security forces;
(5) urges the international community to advocate for and protect the political rights and representation of the historically oppressed northeastern region of Sri Lanka and work towards a permanent political solution to address the underlying issues that led to ethnic conflict and ensure nonrecurrence of violence;
(6) encourages the promotion of universally accepted democratic principles and systems on the island of Sri Lanka, including through the use of the referendum process to ensure that peoples of all ethnicities, including the Eelam Tamil people, are democratically and equitably represented on the island;
(7) recommends the United States explore investigations and prosecutions pursuant to the recommendations of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights;
(8) urges the United States to work with the United Nations General Assembly, the United Nations Security Council, and the United Nations Human Rights Council to establish a credible and effective international mechanism for accountability for the grave crimes committed during the war in Sri Lanka; and
(9) encourages the Secretary of State to leverage the United States position on the United Nations Security Council to pursue a referral of Sri Lanka to the International Criminal Court, as outlined in the February 2021 report on Sri Lanka from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, which describes “the referral of the situation in Sri Lanka to the International Criminal Court” as one option to “advance criminal accountability and provide measures of redress for victims”.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-resolution/427/text
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