Preamble

The Snowland of Tibet, renowned as the “Roof of the World,” was an independent country for millennia with a rich and profound history. It emerged as a formidable sovereign power in Central Asia, expanding its spiritual and political influence under the governance of the Three Great Dharma Kings and successive Tsenpo rulers. Subsequently governed spiritually and temporally by the Sakya, Phagdru, Rinpung, Depa Tsangpa, and Gaden Phodrang, Tibet was an independent country characterised by its distinctive religion, politics, economy, language, culture and customs.

Around 1949, the Communist government of the People’s Republic of China began its military invasion of Tibet, culminating in the complete occupation of the entire region by 1959 and compelling His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual and temporal leader, along with prominent religious figures from various Tibetan Buddhist traditions and approximately 80,000 Tibetans, to seek refuge in India. The Chinese Communist government’s brutal occupation resulted in the deaths of over 1.2 million Tibetans, the pillaging and destruction of more than 6,000 monasteries, and widespread environmental devastation through aggressive mineral extraction, deforestation, and the damming and diversion of vital waterways across Tibet. Tibetans have been systematically stripped of their fundamental human rights, including freedoms of religion, movement, expression, press, and language. In blatant violation of international human rights law and the moral conscience of humanity, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, detentions, and imprisonments are routinely carried out as the Chinese Communist government continue to enforce repressive policies designed to eradicate Tibetan identity, culture, and language. Tibetans in Tibet continue to endure great suffering akin to a living hell. Over a million Tibetan children have been forcibly enrolled in state-run colonial boarding schools as part of a broader effort to sinicize Tibetan identity, religion, and culture. In May of this year, the Chinese government forcibly removed hundreds of young monks from Kirti Monastery and Taktsang Lhamo Kirti Monastery, compelling them to attend government-run schools while subjecting their families and communities to intimidation. These measures reflect the ongoing policy of the Chinese government to dismantle Tibet’s traditional monastic education system, rendering these generational institutions analogous to a stagnant pond severed from its upstream source.

On July 12 this year, the Ragya Gangjong Norbu Lobling School in Golog, Tibet, was forcefully shut down. The school was established in 1994 after obtaining approval from various departments of the Chinese government. The school had successfully graduated over 2,500 students for over three decades, with hundreds still pursuing their studies. The forced closure of this private school dedicated to fostering educated Tibetan individuals has not only caused deep distress to its teachers, students, and staff but also has caused profound sorrow among Tibetans in and outside Tibet as well as among individuals globally who admire and cherish the Tibetan culture.

Although assessing the actual situation in Tibet remains difficult due to the stringent restrictions imposed by the Chinese government, media reports from 2023 revealed the detention of over thirty six Tibetans, the enforced disappearance of six individuals, the deaths of three, and the sentencing of seven Tibetans within that year alone. The introduction of a new regulation, the “Administrative Measures for Religious Activity Venues,” has further solidified the Chinese government’s control over religious practices, intensifying the repression of the Tibetan people’s religious freedom, human rights, and freedom of expression. Moreover, the Chinese government is actively pursuing policies of forced sinicization and cultural assimilation while intensifying repression under the pretext of social stability and security. Tibetans who voice their opinion on online platforms are subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention, and imprisonment, often without legal representation or protection. They are further subjected to beatings and torture, leading to the deaths of many. The Chinese government’s implementation of repressive policies aimed at eradicating Tibetan religion, culture, and identity have raised serious concerns within the international community.

From June 13 to 15, 2024, a European Union (EU) delegation visited Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, and the Kongpo Nyingtri area. They toured various sites, including monasteries, residential schools, resettled households, and a prison. This visit was followed by the 39th EU-China Human Rights Dialogue on June 16. The EU issued a statement on June 17 urging the Chinese government to protect the religion, cultural heritage, and identity of the Tibetan people. The statement encouraged more visits from the international community and civil society organizations to Tibet. It also called for the immediate release of Go Sherab Gyatso, Tashi Dorje, and all other political prisoners while demanding an end to the ongoing repression of human rights in the region.

On July 4, 2024, a statement concerning the human rights situation in Tibet by the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights was submitted to the 56th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, convened in Geneva, Switzerland. The statement highlighted that multiple UN human rights bodies over the last two years had raised concern over the escalating human rights violations in Tibet, which included the forced enrolment of nearly a million Tibetan children in state-run colonial boarding schools and their separation from their families. It also underscored the dislocation of a large number of Tibetans under the coercive “labour transfer” policy and persecution of Tibetan environmental and human rights advocates, resulting in enforced disappearances and deaths due to torture in custody. The statement emphasised that Tibetans in Tibet are unable to engage freely with the UN mechanism, in particular, the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), due to a pervasive climate of fear perpetuated by decades of oppression. With a peaceful resolution to this dire situation possible through dialogue, the statement urged the Chinese government to take advantage of this opportunity. It further called upon the international community to press China, emphasising that, as a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council, China should fully respect the rights of the Tibetan people and address the root causes of the Sino- Tibet conflict.

Similarly, in the Australian Parliament, MP Lidia Thorpe raised concerns about colonial-style boarding schools in Tibet. On August 19, 2024, MP Deborah O’Neill addressed the Sino-Tibet conflict in the Australian parliament, expressing profound concern over the suffering endured by Tibetans. The parliamentarian condemned the Chinese government for unjustly and unlawfully ruling Tibetan regions through force, systematically oppressing the Tibetan people and denying them their fundamental freedoms and rights. The parliamentarian emphasized that every individual has the right to practice their religion, which must be respected. She then highlighted how the Chinese government’s assimilationist policies in Tibet systematically erode Tibet’s rich cultural heritage, depriving younger Tibetan generations of the opportunity to learn and cherish their tradition, a situation, she added, that must be confronted.

During its annual meeting on August 5, 2024, the American Bar Association (ABA) passed a resolution calling for the protection of human rights and the well-being of the Tibetan people in Tibet. Two days later, on August 7, the ABA urged the United States and UN member states to investigate the ongoing human rights violations in Tibet and to take action to safeguard the fundamental rights of the Tibetan people.

On September 6, 2024, a joint letter signed by 13 independent UN experts was published, addressing the Chinese government’s crackdown on Tibetan protests against the construction of the Kamthok hydropower plant in Kham Derge, Tibet. Initially sent to China on July 8, 2024, the letter criticized the Chinese government for failing to engage in meaningful consultations and obtaining informed consent from the Tibetans affected by the dam project. It also condemned the use of force and the arbitrary arrests of hundreds of Tibetans who peacefully voiced their concerns. Moreover, the letter highlighted that the local Tibetans were prevented from reaching out to the outside world, thus violating their fundamental rights. The experts expressed concern over the irreversible environmental consequences of the dam’s construction, stressing its potential impact on the climate of the Tibetan plateau and China. They called for a comprehensive independent assessment of the project’s environmental and human rights ramifications. In urging a halt to such unlawful projects, the experts also requested a detailed report on the situation, including the human rights implications associated with the construction.

The Friends of Tibet (Hyderabad) convened a meeting centred on the themes “River of Tibet” and “Water Wars in Asia” on July 15, 2024. The meeting discussed how China is intimidating the Southeast Asian region by constructing dams on Tibetan rivers. The meeting emphasized that the Chinese government’s unchecked damming and infrastructure projects in Tibet, referred to as the “Third Pole” and the source of the world’s major rivers, have doubled the glacial melting, contributing to global warming and posing a direct threat to the lives and livelihoods people in neighbouring India and other South Asian countries. Similarly, on August 18, 2024, Chinese climate experts published a research paper indicating that the changing climate of the Tibetan plateau, known as the Water Tower of Asia, contributes to rising temperatures in Tibet. This warming trend could not only disrupt global and Asian monsoon cycles but also exacerbate climate change-related disasters in China.

China’s extensive mining and river damming projects in Tibet have triggered several earthquakes in recent years. Heavy rainfall on June 20, 2024, caused severe flooding in Ngaba Trochu County, damaging homes and roads in Dokha Town and Khalung Village. Vehicles and personal belongings were swept away, resulting in significant property damage. On August 3, a landslide and flood in Rikyil Village, Gudrag Town (Dartsedo), led to casualties and widespread destruction of homes and infrastructure. In early September 2024, intense rainfall in Tsolho claimed the lives of six Tibetans in Serchen County’s Trelnag Township, while landslides in Honaguk village in Minhe County (Tsoshar Prefecture) killed three people. In Malho Tsekhog County, around 400 livestock perished, with extensive damage to roads, bridges, and homes. With mudslides submerging grasslands, many local areas have suffered significant losses of both people and property. Similarly, other areas in Tsoshar, such as Kadho, Tsurghor, Tsawa, and Tsawug, experienced heavy rains, landslides, and floods, leading to similar devastation. China’s aggressive exploitation of Tibet’s natural resources has severely disrupted the region’s ecological balance, resulting in a rising frequency of natural disasters, including heavy rains, storms, floods, earthquakes, and landslides.

The persistent enforcement of repressive policies aimed at eradicating Tibetan identity, culture, and the environment by the Chinese communist government since its invasion of Tibet has led to the March 10 uprising in 1959, a series of peaceful protests throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and the widespread pan-Tibet uprising in 2008. Since 2009, there have been 157 verified cases of Tibetans who have self-immolated in protest.

The Chinese government is not only making misleading assertions about the freedom and happiness that supposedly exist in Tibet but is also propagating disinformation about Tibet’s historical status. On July 12, 2024, the President of the United States signed into law the “Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act,” which received overwhelming bipartisan support in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. This landmark legislation establishes a clear U.S. policy that refutes the Chinese government’s claims that Tibet has historically been an integral part of China. The law affirms the Tibetan people’s right to self- determination, among other critical provisions. In a parallel development, on June 10, 2024, the Canadian Parliament passed a unanimous motion acknowledging the right of Tibetans, as a people and nation, to self-determination and as such, free to practice their religion and culture. The motion also highlights and acknowledges the systematic policy of cultural assimilation being implemented by the Chinese government against the Tibetan people.

To summarize, the Chinese government’s persistent enforcement of repressive policies has perpetuated the critical political situation in Tibet, leading to the deterioration of the well-being of both the people and the environment. Reflecting this reality, it is imperative that the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile once again adopt a resolution of solidarity, as it has consistently done in its past successive sessions, at the 8th session of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile.

Resolution

1. Reaffirms and expresses our utmost respect to the unwavering courage and resolve of the Tibetans in Tibet who have made supreme sacrifices for the cause of Tibet, its people and dharma while under the oppression of the Chinese government. We earnestly pray that under the blessed care of Avalokiteshwara, the Buddha of compassion, they may be reborn in the Land of Snow and achieve outstanding accomplishments for Tibet’s religion, polity, and We also express our profound condolences to their families and relatives.
2. The Chinese government must immediately halt its repressive policies that violate fundamental human rights and ensure that Tibetans in Tibet are guaranteed their rights and freedoms.
3. We firmly oppose the Chinese government’s sinicization policy involving the establishment of an increasing number of colonial style boarding schools that separate Tibetan children from their families, communities, and cultural We also condemn the forced closure of the Golok Ragya Gangjong Norbu School under unjust hardline policies. Tibetans in Tibet must be granted the freedom to practice their religion, culture, and language as per their aspirations.
4. We demand the immediate release of the Eleventh Panchen Lama, Jetsun Tenzin Yeshi Trinley Palsangpo, popularly known as Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, as well as all Tibetan political prisoners suffering under the oppression of the Chinese We call for accountability regarding their well-being and insist that their fundamental rights be guaranteed.
5. Historically, Tibet was never part of China, and was a sovereign independent We stand ready to engage in dialogue to resolve the Sino-Tibet conflict based on the mutually beneficial Middle Way Policy. If the Chinese side does not make genuine attempts toward a resolution, the Chinese government will be solely responsible for any critical situation that may arise in the future.
6. We express our deepest gratitude to the government and people of India for their boundless kindness and steadfast support to Tibetans in We also extend our heartfelt appreciation to governments, parliaments, especially the U.S. government and Congress, as well as to the non- governmental organisations, dignitaries, and individuals who continue to stand in solidarity with the just cause of Tibet during this critical time.
7. We express our solidarity with Tibetans inside Tibet who have endured and continue to endure immense suffering under the Chinese government’s repressive policies since the Chinese Communist government’s occupation of Tibet. We also admire and praise the determination, courage, and invaluable contributions of all brave Tibetans in Tibet, both living and martyred. Tibetans living in free countries must seize every opportunity to strengthen advocacy for Tibet and lobby for support in respective governments while collectively working for the just cause of Tibet and the preservation of its religion, culture, and language. And so be it adopted accordingly with the unanimous approval of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile on September 19, 2024.

*The above resolution was passed unanimously by the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile at its 8th session on September 19, 2024.