Germany Calls for Closure of All Compulsory Boarding Schools in Tibet.
Geneva: The Federal government of Germany expressed concern over “increasingly deteriorating” situation in Tibet, and voiced its support to the UN experts’ call to end all compulsory boarding schools and forced relocations of Tibetan nomads in Tibet, in a meeting held with the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid, on 20th April 2023.
A representative from the German federal foreign office shared concerns over systematic violations of human rights in Tibet and expressed its support to the UN experts’ recent findings on the situation in Tibet and called upon China to end compulsory boarding schools and forcible removal of Tibetans nomads in Tibet by the Chinese government. The foreign office representative underscored state-led forced assimilation of Tibetan language, culture and religion, and said the aim of boarding schools in Tibet is “to suppress Tibetan language and culture”.
Detailing gross violations of human rights in Tibet by China, the German foreign office’s representative emphasised Germany ensures the issues of human rights violations are not “lost sight of” by Germany.
Representative Thinlay Chukki of the Tibet Bureau-Geneva welcomed Germany’s firm position to safeguard fundamental rights of the Tibetan people and said this “sends a clear message across Europe that the deplorable situation in Tibet under China can no longer be overlooked”. She urged China to pay heed to international calls to uphold its international human rights obligation and respect the rights of Tibetan people instead of spending billions to whitewash its atrocities in Tibet.
Further information can be found on the German Parliamentary News service, available here.
–Filed by the Office of Tibet, Geneva
