In anticipation of China’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) by the UN Human Rights Council in January 2024, both the International Campaign for Tibet and the International Federation for Human Rights have presented a comprehensive dossier, illuminating the ongoing human rights transgressions in Tibet, according to Phayul.
The dossier discloses systematic and widespread maltreatment, undermining the integral characteristics of Tibetan culture and identity. Moreover, it proposes a catalogue of suggestions to be presented to the Chinese government during its fourth UPR cycle. These proposals are centered around challenging China’s policies on Tibet that have gradually eroded Tibetan culture and associated rights, thereby jeopardizing the indigenous and autonomous Tibetan way of life.
The report underscores three notably distressing areas, indicating an evolution towards a more repressive and destructive regimen. One key area in the spotlight is the issue of “residential boarding schools,” where Tibetan children are forcefully separated from their families and placed into educational institutions that provide instruction solely in Han Chinese.
This policy subjects the students, potentially numbering up to one million and aged between four to 18 years, to relentless political indoctrination. Consequently, as Mandarin predominates their linguistic skills, they lose their proficiency in Tibetan reading and writing, thus resulting in a significant detachment from their cultural heritage. This report suggests this initiative forms part of a wider strategy to extinguish Tibetan identity by disrupting the primary channel of cultural inheritance across generations.
Additionally, the report brings to light the compulsory and enforced displacement of nomadic and rural Tibetan agrarians from their ancestral lands since 2001, impacting at least 1.8 million individuals. The dispossessed Tibetans are often left with scarce options, and devoid of any compensation or assurances for their future livelihood or employment.
The Chinese government’s assertion of obtaining “consent” from the affected individuals starkly contrasts with research revealing that families are pressured into compliance through various measures, including closing local schools, regular official visits, and explicit threats from authorities.
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