SPECIAL ISSUE: Tibet at the UNCHR's 52nd Session in Geneva (18 March - 26 April, 1996)

Self-Determination

On 22 March, Society for Threatened Peoples in a statement under item 7 (right to self- determination) asked: "Why would Tibetans, whose land and people have suffered so much under Chinese rule, consider the regime in Biejing as representing their interests? The Chinese government can attempt to prevent a discussion of the Tibetan people's call for an implementation of their right to self-determination in this forum and others, but it is that government's own actions towards Tibetans--whom they don't even allow to choose their own religious leaders according to age-old traditions--that strengthens that people's determination to free themselves."

Racial Discrimination

As the Commission discussed racial discrimination on its agenda (item 12), The African Association of Education For Development statement said: "The Russian war against the people of Chechenya continues and now includes attacks upon the people of Ingushetia. The situation in Burundi threatens to become another Rwanda. In Tibet, the Tibetan people continue to suffer under Chinese oppression. Earlier this week we heard some distressing words from a few speakers who objected to the political nature of Commission discussions. I would suggest to you that racial discrimination is very much a political questions because it goes to the heart of a government's responsibility to protect all of its citizens."

On 28 March, World Conference on Religion and Peace, speaking under item 14 (human rights and economic development) said that land confiscation; looting by military; extortion; extortionate and arbitrary taxation; punitive crop procurement; displacements; forced relocation; deliberate ecological damage; and other measures were being taken by government and local authorities. They had been used to remove the civilian support base for resistance groups, as in Burma or East Timor; to change the ethnic composition of particular territories, such as Tibet, the outlying islands of Indonesia, or in Bhutan; and in the context of inept or shortsighted development projects such as the Narmada Dam in India or the Three Gorges Dam in China.

Religious Freedom

As the Commission began discussing religious freedom (item 18) on 29 March, International Association of Educators for World Peace said:"What is more, China is not content with violating the religious liberty of adults, and is now arresting even children when it considers them religiously dangerous. Thus, the most prominent religious prisoner in China at the moment is a six-year-old, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, who is the Panchen Lama. This six-year old boy is under arrest by the Chinese government and is being held, together with his family, at a secret location merely because of his religious beliefs, and those of his family and of his fellow Buddhists."

Similarly, United Towns Agency for North-South Cooperation made a detailed oral statement on the situation of religious freedom in Tibet, highlighting that the Government of China had prohibited Tibetans from exercising their rights to chose freely their most important religious personality. Through threats, China had compelled the religious masters and political cadres of Tibet to support the Government's interference. The Chinese authorities choice of a Lama was imposed by force against the will of the Tibetans and those who resisted the intervention had been imprisoned, the statement said. The Chinese authorities had deliberately inflicted on Tibetans a trauma which affected their beliefs, dignity and identity. But despite 40 years of persecution and religious discrimination, the Tibetans continued to exist with their Buddhist culture and identity.

Under the same agenda item, Liberation said:"In Tibet, the Chinese government has imprisoned the Panchen Lama and put a pretender in his place. Not content with the active policy of attempting to wipe out Tibetan Buddhism, it is now waging its battles with children."

On 1 April, Ms. Anne Anderson, the Irish Ambassador in her statement said: "Last year, my delegation spoke about the situation in the People's Republic of China, in the context of the report of the Special Rapporteur on his visit in November '94, which devoted particular attention to the situation in Tibet. Developments in the interim have added to rather than allayed the concerns of the international community; my delegation continues to urge implementation of the specific legal, administrative and other measures recommended by the Special Rapporteur."

On the same day, Mr. Marino Busdachin, speaking on behalf of Transnational Radical Party said: "In 1995, the Chinese authorities have once again acted against the practice of Tibetan Buddhism, undertaking massive measures to suppress religious freedom in Tibet. Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the new Panchen Lama who was recognised by the Dalai Lama on 14 May 1995 is one clear example...the Chinese authorities choose to define religion as "opium" at one stage and then claim to have "religious authority" to recognise the second-highest spiritual leader of the Tibetan people."

Later in the afternoon, Mrs. Tsering Norzom, speaking on behalf of Society for Threatened Peoples told the Commission: "Mr. Chairperson, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima is today recognised, unfortunately, as the world's youngest political prisoner. Society for Threatened Peoples, therefore, calls upon the Chinese delegation in this room to immediately declare public the whereabouts of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, his parents and other Tibetans detained since May 1995. Over the last 10 months, governments, parliaments, UN officials, human rights organisations, religious leaders and individuals have repeatedly urged Beijing to release Gedhun Choekyi Nyima from incommunicado detention. These calls by the international community have received no positive response. The Chinese authorities have refused to give any information about the well- being of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima. Naturally, our organisation is deeply concerned about this boy's fate."

As Mr. Abdellfattah Amor, the Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance concluded the debate on religious freedom, he noted the fact that China has "failed" to respond to two important urgent appeals (both concerned Tibet). Earlier in the day, the Irish Ambassador in her statement (mentioned above) had pointed out that "it is disquieting to note that urgent appeals - one to Egypt and two to China - have not received replies."

Human Rights of Detainees

On 2 April, as the Commission began Item 8 (human rights of detainees; Torture; Enforced Disappearance; fair trial; independence of judiciary and lawyers), Transnational Radical Party said use of torture in Kosovo and in China has increased in recent years...In China, the situation was particularly serious in Tibet, where torture and ill-treatment of persons arrested for political reasons was pervasive, and reportedly included beatings, electric shock, deprivation of good and drink, exposure to cold and denial of medical treatment. The Commission should consider these abuses in its thematic resolutions and should back a resolution and appointment of a Special Rapporteur to investigate the human rights situation in China."

In a joint statement by Pax Romana and 14 other Asian-Pacific human rights NGOs present at the Commission said: "The United States is not the only government to remain silent on such crimes against humanity. There is also the government of China in Asia, a government which violates the rights, not only of the Chinese, but also of the Tibetans. It is an open secret that China was behind the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), which was responsible for the killing of thousands of people in Burma. These super powers have justified their unjust actions in the name of national, regional or global security."

On 3 April, as various Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups presented their reports under item 8, Mr. Louis Joinet, Chairman of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said that as for China, a verbal agreement had been reached regarding a possible visit. He heard there had been tension in the corridors concerning this agenda item. But the Working Group position was clear: no deals, no hostages. The Group was outside such political games, and hoped that an invitation for a visit would be forthcoming from the Chinese authorities.

Mr. Alain Guidetti, speaking on behalf of Switzerland under item 8, called on the governments of China, Mexico and Turkey to "respond positively" to repeated requests by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture for visits to their countries. This was the best way to investigate, clearly, he added.

On the same evening, Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace said: "Afghanistan, Cambodia, China, Nepal, The Philippines and Sri Lanka are among those who have ratified the Convention Against Torture, yet all of them find honourable mention in the dispatches of the Special Rapporteur [on Torture]."

On 3 April, International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism highlighted the case of Mongolian intellectuals arrested in Hohhot in Inner Mongolia on the suspicion of being "national separatists" for having established a "Southern Mongolian Democratic Alliance". The statement appealed to the Chinese authorities to permit the detainees to communicate with their relatives or at least inform them of their present situation.

On 4 April, Liberation said: "The Special Rapporteur [on Torture] also transmitted information according to which the torture and ill-treatment of persons arrested for political reason in Tibet was particularly pervasive."

On the same day, International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) said: "The ICFTU notes with concern that despite the request made by the Special Rapporteur on Torture, the Government of China has not yet invited him to visit the country. Likewise, we expect that the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention will eventually be formally invited to visit China this year. On several occasion we have protested to the Chinese authorities about the ill-treatment against trade unionists held in detention centres, prisons and labour camps."

The International League for the Rights and Liberation of Peoples (LIDLIP), in a written statement on Tibet (E/CN.4/ 1996/NGO 10) submitted to the Commission said: "As the People's Republic of China is a party to human rights instruments such as the conventions on racial discrimination, torture and genocide, the International League for the Rights and Liberation of Peoples is confident that China will want to set an example as a permanent member of the Security Council by complying with its treaty obligations and honouring and respecting the fundamental rights and freedoms of the Tibetan people." This statement raised the following human rights issues in the statement: freedom of expression; economic rights; political rights; religious freedom; racial discrimination; education; social ostracism; censorship; cultural rights; propaganda, indoctrination and freedom of movement.

In the second NGO written statement on Tibet (E/CN.4/1996/NGO/55) which was released by the UN Secretariat on 1 April, Transnational Radical Party highlighted the issue of freedom of expression in Tibet. The statement provided detailed case-examples of the denial of such rights in Tibet under the Chinese authorities.

Conference on Self-Determination

Inspite of tremendous pressure from certain governments, a two-day conference at the United Nations here, on the "Question of Self-Determination: Comparative Studies on East Timor, Tibet and Western Sahara", concluded as planned by the representatives of the three Nations with the support of four ECOSOC NGOs and UNPO. This conference was initiated by representatives of the three Nations during a meeting in Geneva on 9 March 1995. In August 1995, UNPO was requested to be the coordinator.

The conference strongly reaffirmed Tibet's inalienable right to self-determination with all the of the four Expert-speakers giving detailed legal interpretations on behalf of the Tibetan people. Both Senator Michael O'Kennedy of Ireland (former Irish Foreign Minister) and Prof. Richard Falk of Princeton University dealt with the case of Tibet's right to self-determination in their presentations. "The case of East Timor, Tibet and Western Sahara are three extreme failures of the international community to uphold the right to self-determination," said Prof. Falk in his presentation on 25 March.

Mr. J. M. Mukhi (former legal advisor to Ministry of External Affairs, India), one of the expert speakers, called China's atrocities in Tibet as being worst than those committed by Hitler in Nazi Germany. He finally urged the conference: "Ultimately what the world should work for are Zone of Peace. The Tibetan Plateau like Switzerland is an ideal zone of peace and neutrality. It can be a zone of Ahimsa, universal benediction and compassion, in keeping with the principles of Lord Buddha and later the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi. It can be a de-militarised area under international guarantee, free of nuclear wastes, ecologically sound and pure...Does the world have the will and ability to bring this about?."

Mr. Sulak Sivaraksa (form Thailand, 1995 Recipient of Right Livelihood Award) in his statement said: "His Holiness the Dalai Lama has provided an inspiring model for many of us to continue to oppose evil and oppression while cultivating, internal seeds of peace and maintaining love for our enemies. I am convinced that one day Tibet will be free from Chinese domination and destruction. At that time perhaps it will offer us an example of Buddhist democracy or Dhammic Socialism."

Kasur Lodi G. Gyari speaking on behalf of Tibet concluded his statement by saying:"The Tibetan Government in Exile is the sole legitimate representative of the Tibetan people's will and aspirations. This legitimacy is borne from the fact that the current government is the continuation of the one that existed in independent Tibet in 1959. His Holiness the Dalai Lama is undeniably the most popular Tibetan leader and continues to find ways "to resolve the issue of Tibet in a spirit of reconciliation, compromise and understanding." On 26 March, due to Chinese pressure on the UN Secretariat, Kasur Lodi Gyari, was referred to as Special Envoy (of His Holiness the Dalai Lama was taken out of the programme) and President of International Campaign for Tibet.

Mr. Jose Ramos Horta of East Timor ended his statement in the "hope that one day, in our life time, I will be able to climb up to the roof top of the world, to the abode of peace and wisdom, and meet again my good friend, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, restored to his temporal seat in his monastery in Lhasa."

"The message of His Holiness the Dalai Lama on the need to peacefully resolve conflicts through dialogue was strongly imbued in the spirit of this conference," said Dr. Michael van Walt, the Secretary-General of Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation (UNPO). The conference was attened by diplomats, NGOs, scholars and UN officials.