Sec. 3. Statement of policy regarding the succession or reincarnation of the Dalai Lama

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Congress finds the following: Tibetan Buddhism is practiced in many countries including the People’s Republic of China, Bhutan, Nepal, Mongolia, India, the Russian Federation, and the United States. No single political entity encompasses the territory in which Tibetan Buddhism is practiced. The Dalai Lama is widely revered by Tibetan Buddhists and those who practice Tibetan Buddhism around the world, including those in the United States, as their spiritual leader. Under the Tibetan Buddhist belief system, there have been 14 persons recognized as the Dalai Lama, each a manifestation of the Bodhisattva of Compassion, selected according to the spiritual traditions and practices of Tibetan Buddhism.

The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, issued a statement on September 24, 2011, explaining the traditions and spiritual precepts of the selection of Dalai Lamas, setting forth his views on the considerations and process for selecting his successor, and providing a response to the Chinese government’s claims that only the Chinese government has the ultimate authority in the selection process of the Dalai Lama. The 14th Dalai Lama said in his statement that if a decision to continue the institution of the Dalai Lama is made, that the responsibility shall primarily rest with the Dalai Lama’s Gaden Phodrang Trust, who will be informed by the written instructions of the 14th Dalai Lama.

Since 2011, the 14th Dalai Lama has reiterated publicly on numerous occasions that decisions on the succession or reincarnation of the next Dalai Lama belongs to the Tibetan Buddhist faith community alone. The Government of the People’s Republic of China has interfered in the process of recognizing a successor or reincarnation of Tibetan Buddhist leaders, including in 1995 by arbitrarily detaining Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, a 6-year old boy who was identified as the 11th Panchen Lama, and purporting to install its own candidate as the Panchen Lama.

During his confirmation hearings to be Secretary of State, Michael Pompeo testified to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that If confirmed, I will press the Chinese government to respect the legitimacy of Tibetan Buddhists’ religious practices. This includes the decisions of Tibetan Buddhists in selecting, educating, and venerating the lamas who lead the faith, such as the Dalai Lama. . The Department of State’s Report on International Religious Freedom for 2017 reported on policies and efforts of the Government of the People’s Republic of China to exert control over the selection of Tibetan Buddhist religious leaders, including reincarnate lamas, and stated that U.S. officials underscored that decisions on the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama should be made solely by faith leaders. .

In July 2015, Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights, Sarah Sewall, serving concurrently as United States Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, testified to Congress that the basic and universally recognized right of religious freedom demands that any decision on the next Dalai Lama be reserved to the current Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhist leaders, and the Tibetan people . On June 8, 2015, the United States House of Representatives unanimously approved House Resolution 337 which calls on the United States Government to underscore that government interference in the Tibetan reincarnation process is a violation of the internationally recognized right to religious freedom, and that matters related to reincarnations in Tibetan Buddhism are of keen interest to Tibetan Buddhist populations worldwide .

On April 25, 2018, the United States Senate unanimously approved Senate Resolution 429 which expresses its sense that the identification and installation of Tibetan Buddhist religious leaders, including a future 15th Dalai Lama, is a matter that should be determined solely within the Tibetan Buddhist faith community, in accordance with the inalienable right to religious freedom . It is the policy of the United States that— decisions regarding the identification and installation of Tibetan Buddhist religious leaders, including a future 15th Dalai Lama, 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 religious practitioners and the instructions of the 14th Dalai Lama; and interference by the Government of the People’s Republic of China or any other government in the process of recognizing a successor or reincarnation of the Dalai Lama would represent a clear violation of the fundamental religious freedoms of Tibetan Buddhists and the Tibetan people.

Section 901(b) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1990 and 1991 ( Public Law 101–246 ; 104 Stat. 80) is amended— by redesignating paragraphs (7), (8), and

(9)as paragraphs (8), (9), and (10), respectively; and by inserting after paragraph

(6)the following: protecting the internationally recognized right to the freedom of religion and belief, including ensuring that the identification and installation of Tibetan Buddhist religious leaders, including a future 15th Dalai Lama, is a matter determined solely within the Tibetan Buddhist faith community, based on instructions of the 14th Dalai Lama, without interference by the Government of the People’s Republic of China; . It is the policy of the United States— to consider any effort by the Government of the People’s Republic of China to identify or install its own candidate as the future 15th Dalai Lama of Tibetan Buddhism to be— a serious human rights abuse as such term is used in Executive Order 13818 (2017); and a particularly severe violation of religious freedom for purposes of applying section 212(a)(2)(G) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)(G) ); and to consider any official of the Government of the People’s Republic of China determined to be complicit in identifying or installing a government-approved candidate as the future 15th Dalai Lama, contrary to the instructions provided by the 14th Dalai Lama, and one not recognized by the faith community of Tibetan Buddhists globally to be subject to sanctions described in Executive Order 13818

(2017)and to inadmissibility into the United States under section 212(a)(2)(G) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2) ). Consistent with section 401 of the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act ( Public Law 114–281 ; 130 Stat. 1436), of the funds available to the Department of State for international religious freedom programs, the Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom should provide funding to vigorously protect and promote international religious freedom in China and for programs to protect Tibetan Buddhism in China and elsewhere.

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