GENEVA – In recent interventions at the 54th session of the UN Human Rights Council, the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) shed light on the mounting concerns over enforced disappearances and arbitrary detentions within Tibet.
ICT’s Germany Director, Kai Müller, fervently appealed to the Human Rights Council member states, urging them to question the Chinese government about the troubling disappearance of Tibetans. Müller stated, “The member states of the Human Rights Council should urge the Chinese government in the upcoming China Review (UPR) in January to disclose the whereabouts of ‘disappeared’ Tibetans,” according to the International Campaign for Tibet.
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Highlighting the UN Working Group against Enforced Disappearance’s report, which emphasizes 16 cases of missing Tibetans, Müller continued, “to put an end to this deeply worrying pattern and to hold accountable those responsible for torture and ill-treatment in the Chinese state apparatus.”
Mélanie Blondelle, another representative from ICT, brought attention to the Chinese government’s “labor transfers” and “vocational training” programs in Tibet, which had already garnered concern from the Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery in July 2022. These programs, as noted by the Special Rapporteur, frequently indicate signs of forced labor. Blondelle’s statement, sourced from the International Campaign for Tibet, remarked upon the “indicators of forced labour pointing to the involuntary nature of work rendered by affected communities.” She further stressed that such circumstances “may amount to enslavement as a crime against humanity, meriting a further independent analysis.”
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In addition to the concerns surrounding forced labor, the plight of “disappeared” Tibetans remains equally distressing. An example presented by Müller involves Sherab Dorjee, detained in 2021. It’s believed his detainment was related to his active stance against the county government’s Mandarin-only language policy at his educational institution. Müller emphasized the harrowing reality, stating that abducted Tibetans often face severe torture and ill-treatment, while their loved ones remain unaware of their location or status.
As China’s UPR approaches in January, the International Campaign for Tibet‘s efforts emphasize a global plea to address these pressing human rights violations. With mounting international scrutiny, the council’s next steps regarding Tibet‘s situation could be pivotal.
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