Geneva: On 23 January this year, 24 United Nations Member States mentioned Tibet and Tibetans in their oral statements during China’s fourth Universal Periodic Review (UPR) cycle. Among these, 21 countries raised serious concerns regarding the human rights situation in Tibet, resulting in 23 recommendations.

China’s human rights record was the major focus of intense scrutiny over its treatment of Tibetans, Uyghurs, and dissidents in Hong Kong. The States that raised Tibet at China’s review were Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Lithuania, Montenegro, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The statements by the Member States offered a wide-ranging look at China’s human rights violations in Tibet, urging a review of Beijing’s rights record to focus on its cultural genocide and political indoctrination. The major focus was particularly on China’s repression of cultural and religious rights. The Member States expressed concerns over human rights violations in Tibet and in particular called for the abolition of the colonial boarding schools that separated over 1 million Tibetan children from their families, language, religion and culture. The States also called for the authorisation of private schools, the release of arbitrarily detained Tibetans and unhindered access for UN representatives to Tibet.

As usual, the PRC government has portrayed boarding schools in Tibet as a means of bridging the gap between urban and rural populations for equal education access; however, it has failed to provide evidence that the curriculum in the schools does not undermine Tibetan language or culture among young Tibetan students. The Chinese delegation maintained that Tibetans enjoy religious freedom and cultural rights based on a variety of statistics that provide little support for their claim. Relocation policies were outlined by the Chinese delegation as operating with the consent of Tibetans. The Chinese ambassador refuted criticism and denounced allegations as smears, lies, and defamatory attacks on China.

Karma Choeying, Secretary of the Department of Information and International Relations, applauded the substantial increase in the number of States raising Tibet at the UN China Review and said: “We are grateful to all states that raised Tibet’s grave human rights situation under the unlawful rule of the PRC government. Considering the severity of the situation within Tibet, China should be attentive to the Universal Periodic Review and comply with the recommendations provided by Member States of the UN. In addition to complying with its obligations to respect the protected rights of Tibetans and others, China must immediately cease its assimilationist practices that undermine Tibetan identity.”

Several months before China’s review by the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Tibetan Bureau Geneva, together with the Central Tibetan Women’s Association and the Tibetan Community of Switzerland and Liechtenstein, have already submitted a report in July 2023 detailing systematic and widespread patterns of human rights violations in Tibet. Aside from providing recommendations to the international community, the report also highlights aspects of Chinese government’s repressive policies on Tibetan culture, including colonial boarding schools, Sinicization of Tibetan identity and language, crackdown on religious freedom, transnational repression, surveillance system, destruction of Tibetan environment, and arbitrary arrests.

China underwent its third cycle of the UN Convention on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights implementation review before the Universal Periodic Review in February last year. The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights concluded its review of China with its concluding observations noting widespread violations by the country. It requested that the PRC government immediately cease its operation of colonial boarding schools in Tibet, and its program of mass relocation of Tibetans, and called to allow Tibetans to exercise their cultural and religious rights without interference.

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a process through which all UN Member States are provided the opportunity to review the human rights records of all other Member States every five years. The UPR aims to offer constructive criticism and to ensure scrutiny of every country’s human rights record and recommendations for compliance with international human rights law. China’s previous UPR was held on 6 November 2018.

-Filed by the UN, EU, and the Human Rights Desk, Tibet Advocacy Section, DIIR