As the world marks the 71st anniversary of the International Human Rights Day, the UN, EU & Human Rights Desk, Department of Information and International Relations, Central Tibetan Administration releases a commemorative video titled, “China’s Human Rights Commitments: A Sham”.
Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10th December – the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948. The UDHR along with two major covenants: International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) constitute the “International Bill of Human Rights”, setting the ideal standard for human rights globally.
In the case of ICESCR, China took only four years to ratify however, it has been 21 years and it has not yet ratified the ICCPR. On economic-related rights, China takes an active role and tries to redefine and manipulate the human rights discourse. On the other hand, when it comes to civil and political rights, China evades its responsibilities. Moreover, it is a common practice of China to politicize everything from economic and social to cultural and religious rights making China’s preposterous commitments to human rights cause as nothing but a sham.
China, although a party to many international human rights instruments, its records of human rights violations through repressive policies in Tibet shed light on the Chinese government’s failure to adhere to its commitments. Several cases highlighted in the 4-minute video are just a glimpse of the grave situation of Tibetans in Tibet.
“Through this video, we aim to impart knowledge and awareness about the existence of international human rights treaties and their mechanisms,” said Ms. Tenzin Dhadon of Human Rights Desk, DIIR.
– Filed by UN, EU & Human Rights Desk, DIIR-