March 2, 2026
Mr. Khanna (for himself and Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
Acknowledging oppression, forced eviction, and suffering experienced by tens of thousands of Bhutanese citizens during the late 1980s and early 1990s, and encouraging steps toward justice, reconciliation, and lasting peace.
Whereas, during that time, more than 100,000 Nepali language-speaking Bhutanese citizens, including Lhotshampas and Sharchops, were subjected to oppression and forced displacement due to their identity, culture, language, religion, and political dissent;
Whereas many of these individuals experienced unjust detention, torture, and other forms of human rights abuses;
Whereas many political prisoners continue to be held in Bhutanese prisons for protracted sentences;
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 Royal Government of Bhutan continues 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 Royal 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, the Netherlands, 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 maintain warm and productive unofficial ties;
Whereas the Kingdom of Bhutan transitioned to democracy in 2008 and has held successive 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;
Whereas the Kingdom of Bhutan has stood with the United States and other like-minded countries as the United Nations to condemn Russian aggression in Ukraine; and
Whereas the Kingdom of Bhutan is a close Indo-Pacific partner of the United States committed to upholding the rules-based international order: Now, therefore, be it
That the House of Representatives—
(1)
declares that the Royal Government of Bhutan is responsible for the political, cultural, and ethnic oppression of Nepali-speaking Lhotshampas, Sharchops, and other minorities in Bhutan during the late 1980s and 1990s;
(2)
urges the Royal Government of Bhutan to conduct a rapid and unconditional release of all political prisoners, whose crime was demanding democracy and human rights, with due restitution and reparations;
(3)
in a spirit of friendship, urges the Royal Government of Bhutan to resume discussions with the Government of Nepal on the status of individuals in Nepal who assert a claim to Bhutanese citizenship or residency;
(4)
requests the Royal Government of Bhutan to restore citizenship for all Nepali-speaking Lhotshampas that have had it arbitrarily revoked;
(5)
requests the Royal Government of Bhutan to accept the voluntary return of its citizens from the refugee camps in Nepal; and
(6)
urges the Royal Government of Bhutan to enter into a holistic peace building and reconciliation process and institute an independent Truth Commission to publicly investigate any human rights violations and abuses committed during the 1990s, publish its findings, and follow through on its recommendations to ensure no future displacement or oppression of minority citizens in Bhutan.