GENEVA, March 9 (AFP) - Tibetans and rights activists from across Europe staged a demonstration Sunday in front of UN headquarters here to demand an end to China's "colonisation" of Tibet.

A crowd of 2,000 joined in the protest on the eve of the 53rd annual session of the UN Commission on Human Rights, which this year coincides with the 38th anniversay of a national revolt against Chinese rule in Tibet in 1959.

Demonstrators urged UN delegates to denounce Beijing's "colonisation" of Tibet, demanded the release of political prisoners and called for an end to China's policy of resettling ethnic Chinese citizens in Tibet.

China has managed for six successive years to prevent the 53-nation UN commission from passing a resolution condemning its policies in the country it annexed in 1951.