Ahead of China’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the UN Human Rights Council in January 2024, the International Campaign for Tibet and the International Federation for Human Rights jointly submitted a comprehensive report detailing grave human rights violations in Tibet on July 18. The report sheds light on systematic and widespread patterns of rights abuses that endanger the core attributes of Tibetan identity and culture.
The outlines a set of recommendations for governments to raise with the Chinese government during its fourth UPR cycle. The focus of these recommendations is to address China’s policies towards Tibet, which have led to the erosion of Tibetan culture and associated rights, putting the authentic and self-determined Tibetan way of life at serious risk.
Three particularly egregious aspects have been highlighted in the report, pointing towards a shift to a more oppressive and destructive system. The report highlights the issue of “residential boarding schools” where Tibetan children are separated from their families and placed in schools that exclusively instruct in Han Chinese. This policy subjects the students, ranging from four to 18 years old and potentially numbering up to 1 million children, to persistent political indoctrination. As Mandarin becomes their dominant language, these children lose their ability to read and write in Tibetan, causing a profound disconnection from their cultural identity. The report suggests that this is part of an agenda to erase Tibetan identity by breaking the primary conduit of intergenerational cultural transference.
The report also exposes the forcible and coercive expulsion of nomadic and rural agrarian Tibetans from their traditional lands since 2001, affecting at least 1.8 million people. The displaced Tibetans are left with little choice and receive no compensation or assurances for their future income or employment. The Chinese government’s claims of “consent” are contradicted by research showing that families are compelled through the closure of local schools, repeated visits, threats from officials, and other measures.
The recommendations also raises concerns over the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) interference in Tibetan Buddhism. The CCP seeks to co-opt the religion by demanding loyalty to the party and exerting control over religious institutions at all levels. This includes seizing the financial management of monasteries, approving religious leaders, and imposing pervasive surveillance. Minor departures from the CCP’s stringent policies lead to cruel retribution, and Tibetan political prisoners are subjected to routine torture and mistreatment, often resulting in death shortly after their release. Furthermore, the CCP’s efforts to interfere in the reincarnation process of Tibetan spiritual leaders both within and outside Tibet severely violate Tibetan Buddhists’ right to religious freedom.
The upcoming Universal Periodic Review in January 2024, many say, will provide an opportunity for the international community to raise these concerns and advocate for change to protect the rights and cultural heritage of the Tibetan people.