Numerous countries raise Tibet at the Human Rights Council
28 countries expressed concerns about the human rights situation in Tibet, while Chinese representatives react furiously to Tibetan side event
A group of 28 European countries used the latest United Nations Human Rights Council session to raise concerns about the “dire” human rights situation in Tibet.
In a joint statement at the Council’s 58th session last Thursday, the European Union delegation included an extensive section on Tibet. The statement, read by the Polish representative, raised “very serious” concerns and highlighted political prisoners, the suppression of environmental protests and the colonial boarding school system.
“The human rights situation in Tibet continues to be dire”, begins the statement. “Indicators of this include obligatory boarding schooling and the suppression of protests against hydropower projects. We are deeply concerned over reports that Tibetan schools teaching Tibetan language and culture have been shut down and that Chinese authorities have insisted that all students attend state schools where Tibetan is only taught as a stand-alone subject.”
The statement highlighted scores of political prisoners being held across the People’s Republic of China. The Tibetans named in the list were Anya Sengdra, Chadrel Rinpoche, Go Sherab Gyatso, Golog Palden, Tashi Dorje and Semkyi Dolma.
The statement was read on behalf of EU member states Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. Non-EU member states Liechtenstein and Montenegro also signed onto the statement.
The Geneva Bureau for Tibet also noted that several of the 28 countries, namely the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Lithuania and the Netherlands used their individual member state oral statements to raise concerns about the human rights situation in Tibet, as well as non-EU states Japan and Switzerland.
The statement follows the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, Volker Türk, using his Global Update at the UN Human Rights Council on 3 March to express concerns about education policy and restrictions on freedom of expression and religion in Tibet.
Tenzin Choekyi, Senior Researcher for Tibet Watch, was present during the 58th session in Geneva, appearing at a side event attended by several diplomats. Alongside researchers from the International Campaign for Tibet and Tibet Policy Institute, she presented key concerns about China’s policies towards Tibet’s rivers and its repression in Dege County throughout 2024, where locals have been protesting against the construction of the Kamtok hydropower dam.
A Chinese representative sat in the front row while the panellists spoke, and later angrily rejected the facts that the panellists presented. The representative made several incorrect claims, referred to the panellists as separatists and called events in Tibet an internal matter, referring to Tibet by the name Xizang, a term that is not internationally recognised and which Tibetans reject.
