In His address to members of the United States Congress on 21 September 1987, His Holiness proposed the following peace plan, which contains five basic components:

1. Transformation of the whole of Tibet into a zone of peace.
2. Abandonment of China's population transfer policy which threatens the very existence of the Tibetan people.
3. Respect for the Tibetan people's fundamental human rights and democratic freedoms.
4. Restoration and protection of Tibet's natural environment and the abandonment of China's use of Tibet for the production of nuclear weapons and dumping of nuclear waste.
5. Commencement of earnest negotiations on the future status of Tibet and of relations between the Tibetan and Chinese people.

On 9 October 1991, during an address at Yale University in the United States, His Holiness said that he wanted to visit Tibet to personally assess the political situation. He said, "I am extremely anxious that, in this explosive situation, violence may break out. I want to do what I can to prevent this.... My visit would be a new opportunity to promote understanding and create a basis for a negotiated solution."

In August of 2001, The Dalai Lama informed the elected representatives of the Assembly of Tibetan People’s Deputies that the Tibetan exiles must directly elect the next Kalon Tripa (Chairman of the Tibetan Cabinet). for the first time in Tibet’s history, the Tibetan exiles directly elected Samdhong Rinpoche as the new Kalon Tripa by a margin of over 84% of the total votes cast.