For the second consecutive year, Tibet is ranked as the least free country in the world. With a score of 1 out of possible 100, in terms of political rights and civil liberties, Tibet ties Syria and South Sudan as the country with the least freedom, according to Freedom House, a human rights watchdog.
The annual report “Freedom in the World 2022: The Global Expansion of Authoritarian Rule” rates 210 countries and territories according to the level of people’s access to political rights and civil liberties. Tibet scored -2/40 for political rights underscoring the authoritarian rule of governance under the Chinese Communist Party. It also indicates the absence of openness and transparency in the government’s operation and policies. The negative scoring reflects China’s deliberate attempt in assimilating Tibet’s unique culture, language, religion and identity into Chinese society.
Tibet also secured 3/60 for civil liberties, highlighting the continuing deprivation of fundamental human rights of Tibetan people inside Tibet. Lack of free and independent media, restriction on individual’s religious rights, prevalent political indoctrination in the educational system and suppression of individual’s right to express are aggregated to Tibet’s continuing poor scores in the past years.
The report reaffirms the gravity of the situation inside Tibet, which for the last seven years has been one of the least free countries in the world. The full narrative report will be available soon on the Freedom House website.
-Filed by the UN, EU, and the Human Rights Desk, Tibet Advocacy Section, DIIR