Dharamshala: US Secretary of the State Anthony Blinken expressed concern on Wednesday over the reports of a mass DNA collection drive in Tibet that has taken over DNA samples from as many as 1.2 million Tibetans including children as young as five. This public concern was raised by Secretary Blinken at Freedom House’s annual Freedom Awards and has made him the senior-most US official to highlight the concern.
“We’re also concerned by reports of the spread of mass DNA collection to Tibet as an additional form of control and surveillance over the Tibetan population”, stated US Secretary.
In an effort to socially control the Tibetans, the Chinese authority has incessantly resorted to surveillance and over-policing including arbitrary collection of DNA samples from Tibetans.
A report released by Human Rights Watch in September 2022 stated that blood samples for DNA collection were being systematically collected from children at kindergartens and from other local residents. A report from a Tibetan township in Qinghai province in December 2020 stated that DNA was being collected from all boys aged 5 and above.
It further stated such mass DNA collection drives were carried out in all seven prefectures or municipalities in the TAR, which covers the western part of the Tibetan plateau. The report uncovered collection drives are part of ongoing efforts by Chinese authorities to establish police presence at the grassroots level throughout the region and further indicated obscurity surrounding the conditions under which a resident could refuse to provide a sample.
As per the investigation of HRW, it was found that the drives were implemented in 14 distinct localities (1 prefecture, 2 counties, 2 towns, 2 townships, and 7 villages) across the seven prefecture-level areas of the region, indicating that drives are taking place, or are due to take place, throughout the region.
“DNA information is highly sensitive and can facilitate a wide array of abuses if collected or shared non-consensually. Any compelled collection or use by the government is a serious intrusion on the right to privacy. While the government’s collection of DNA is sometimes justified as a permissible investigative tool, this type of interference with the right to privacy must be comprehensively regulated, narrow in scope, and proportionate to meeting a legitimate security goal”.
“Yet the Chinese government data collection drives collect DNA information from everyone, regardless of whether they are in any way linked to a criminal investigation, and do not appear to require informed consent or explanation of why DNA samples are sought”, stated the report.
