Dharamshala: Accusing China of committing “cultural genocide” in Tibet, the Central Tibetan Administration on Sunday urged the UNHRC to hold a special session on “human right violations” by China in Tibet and other regions under it.
Dharamshala-based Central Tibetan Administration, also known as Tibetan government-in-exile, asked the international community too to “unite and ensure that China fulfils its obligations under international laws including human rights obligations before it is too late”.
“We strongly urge the UNHRC and member states to hold a special session to evaluate the human rights violations being carried out by China and to establish a country mandate of UN Special Rapporteur on China to monitor, analyze and report annually on the human rights situation in Tibet and other regions under the People’s Republic of China,” CTA president Lobsang Sangay said in a statement here.
“The CTA and Tibetans from both inside and outside Tibet strongly support the call of the UN experts on the United Nations Human Rights Council to take urgent measures against the Chinese human rights violations,” said Sangay, the premier of the Tibetan government-in-exile.
Sangay also accused China of committing rampant human right violations in Tibet and other places under it.
“In the last six decades and more, Tibetans within Tibet are suffering under the authoritarian rule of the government of China. The Chinese government has stripped off Tibetans of their basic human rights guaranteed under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, annihilating the distinct identity of Tibetans and denying them their inherent dignity of being human,” he said.
“The tortures, enforced disappearances, and destructions of monasteries carried out by the government of China against Tibetans are acts of crimes against humanity and do not fall short of being categorized as ‘cultural genocide’,” he added.
“The persecution and suppression via high-tech surveillance by China have forced 154 Tibetans from different walks of life in Tibet to self-immolate as a mark of peaceful protest against the Chinese authorities since 2009,” alleged Sangay.
The CTA president quoted a recent demand by UN independent experts to examine the alleged human right violations in Tibet by China.
“The CTA said that Tibetans from both inside and outside Tibet would like to thank the UN experts for their timely intervention and welcome their call for urgent decisive measures against the government of China,” said Sangay.
PTI