DHARAMSHALA: The US Congressional Executive Commission on China on Thursday released its 2013 Annual Report on human rights and rule of developments in China, including the situation in Tibet.

The Commission documented the status of Sino-Tibetan Negotiations, Tibetan self-immolations and the Chinese government’s repression on fundamental human rights of Tibetans in Tibet, including religious freedom and Tibetan political prisoners.

On the Sino-Tibetan negotiations, the Commission noted with optimism the views of a senior official of the Central Party School, Professor Jin Wei, who said the Chinese government should resume talks with the representatives of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. “In June 2013, Professor Jin Wei, with the Central Party School, stated in an interview that, if the Party ‘‘can use creative ideas to break the impasse’’ in dialogue, it would ‘‘promote social stability and prevent the creation of long-lasting nationality wounds.’’ Jin noted that the Party ‘‘cannot simply treat [the Dalai Lama] as an enemy,’’ recommended ‘‘restarting the talks,’’ and suggested discussing that the Dalai Lama visit Hong Kong ‘‘in his capacity as a religious leader,’’ the report said.

There was a significant rise in the number of self-immolation protests by Tibetans in the reporting year, the report said, adding that the Chinese government failed to address the grievances of Tibetans and its policy of repression and blame game worsened the prevailing situation. “Instead of addressing the grievances, the Chinese authorities strengthened a security crackdown based on the premise of ‘‘stability maintenance’’ that infringed on Tibetans’ freedoms of expression, association, and movement, and curtailed their ability to communicate or share information,” the report said.

The report noted the efforts made by the then US Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues Maria Otero, who urged the Chinese government to ‘‘engage in dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his representatives without preconditions.’’  Ms Otero, in December 2012, pointed out that severe government controls on Tibetans, undermining of the Tibetan language, intensive surveillances and forced disappearances of peaceful Tibetan protesters and intellectuals, as some of the reasons for Tibetans’ resentment.

The report also documented the forced resettlement of Tibetan nomads and the exploitation of Tibet’s natural resources through illegal mining. It said the Tibet Autonomous Region government would settle 460,000 farmers and herders in 2013, and that ‘‘nearly 2.1 million’’ had been settled (or resettled) during 2006–2012. It pointed out illegal mining activities carried out in Tibet resulting in disastrous consequences like the landslide disaster at a gold mine near Lhasa in March 2013.

Assessing the situation of Tibetan political detention and imprisonment, it noted that as of September 1, 2013, the Political Prisoner Database (PPD) contained records of 642 Tibetan political prisoners believed or presumed currently detained or imprisoned.  Of these, 314 are Tibetan Buddhist monks, nuns and teachers or Trulkus. About 88 percent of the Tibetan political prisoners are male, 7 percent are female, and the remaining are of unknown gender.

“The report noted ongoing and tragic self-immolations in Tibetan areas of China and some of the most severe unrest in Xinjiang since 2009 and urged Chinese officials to adopt a more inclusive, democratic approach that fully takes into account the views of Tibetans and Uyghurs and respects their culture, language, and religion,” Commission Chairman Sherrod Brown and Cochairman Christopher Smith said in a statement.

“The report recommended that Members of Congress and the Administration urge China to commit to a specific timetable to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and to raise this issue at the UN Human Rights Council’s  Universal Periodic Review of China’s human rights record on October 22, 2013. ” the statement noted.