Focus on China’s HR Abuses at UN Council

By Meghna Prakash / June 27, 2016;

The 32nd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) has begun, and China is at the forefront of the debate. In his opening statement Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, voiced his concerns about China’s worsening human rights record. He gave numerous examples, from the detainment and interrogation of lawyers, to the harassment of government critics and the intimidation of NGO (non government organsation) workers.

The free Tibet movement was discussed at length. During the second week of sessions the Society for Threatened Peoples sponsored a side event coordinated by the Tibet Bureau in Geneva and the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) in Berlin.

It was led by two panellists, Tienchi Martin, President of the Independent Chinese PEN Centre, and Kai Müller, a prominent member of ICT, and addressed China’s human rights issues. Ngodup Dorjee, a representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama was also present to moderate it.

Mrs Martin raised numerous issues about human rights violations in Tibet. Attention was drawn to the many cases in recent years, for example, of established artists and leaders being detained and sentenced for allegedly promoting anti-nationalistic behaviour.

Chinese freelance writers including Zhao Changqing, Zhang Baocheng, and the well revered poet Liang Taiping, together with a number of human rights lawyers, have been prosecuted by the Chinese government. The wife of Nobel Laureate Liu Xiabo was put under house arrest.

Mrs Martin also referred to the violations of religious freedom in Tibet. China is well known for controlling and interfering in religious practices and has demolished thousands of holy buildings.

The issue of the forced disappearance of the 11th Panchen Lama was raised. He has been missing since 1995; it is widely believed that the Chinese government abducted him and is detaining him and his family in China. The case of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, a revered Tibetan Buddhist leader who died in prison recently, was also discussed.

Mrs Martin urged the Chinese government to release religious and political prisoners and to resume dialogue with the Dalai Lama’s representatives, saying that the best strategy to achieve this would be for the EU to step in and set up a liaison office for the two parties in Lhasa.

It was widely agreed that in order to achieve real stability in Tibet, laws in China must be written and enforced in accordance with international human rights standards.