Statement of policy

It is the policy of the United States— (1) to affirm the commitment of the United States to a resolution of the dispute between Tibet and the People’s Republic of China as a matter of strategic interest to the United States; (2) to support the Tibetan people’s free exercise of their fundamental and universal human rights under international law, including the right to self-determination as provided by Article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 1 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; (3) to maintain engagement with the Tibetan people directly and through their democratically elected leadership and through their religious and cultural leaders in order to promote their aspirations with regard to their distinct historical, cultural, religious, and linguistic identity; (4) that the Central Tibetan Administration represents continuity of governance of the Tibetan people as established by the Dalai Lama; and (5) to support the Central Tibetan Administration in its effort to carry out the responsibilities for which it has been empowered by the Dalai Lama and legitimized by the Tibetan people through their exercise of a genuine democratic process.