Parliament demands action on human rights in Tibet

Plenary Session Human rights − 14-06-2012 – 12:33
EP Press Service

Parliament criticises human rights abuses in Tibet in a resolution passed on Thursday demanding that China reveal the whereabouts of all the victims of self-immolation and calling for unrestricted access for media and human rights monitors. It asks EU foreign policy chief Ashton to step up efforts to tackle the abuses and appoint a special EU coordinator for Tibet.

Thirty-eight Tibetans, mostly monks and nuns, are reported to have set themselves on fire since 2009 in protest against Chinese policies in Tibet, and their fate and whereabouts are largely unknown, MEPs point out.

Special EU coordinator on Tibet

They ask the EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, to appoint a special coordinator to promote human rights in Tibet, report regularly on the situation there, and provide assistance to Tibetan refugees.
They also urge Ashton to address the issue “at every meeting with the representatives of the People’s Republic of China” and they want the new EU Special Representative for Human Rights to monitor human rights in China, especially with regard to Tibet.

Meaningful autonomy for Tibet

The resolution calls on China to grant “meaningful autonomy to the historical territory of Tibet” and rejects the Chinese government’s argument that the engagement of governments with the Dalai Lama constitutes a breach of the ‘One China Policy’. China should refrain from settlement policies in favour of the Han people and from forcing Tibetan nomads to abandon their traditional lifestyle, the resolution says.

Situation in Tibet

European Parliament resolution of 14 June 2012 on the human rights situation in Tibet (2012/2685(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on China and Tibet, in particular its resolutions of 27 October 2011[1][1] and 25 November 2010[2][2],
– having regard to its previous resolution of 7 April 2011 on the ban on the elections for the Tibetan government in exile in Nepal[3][3],
– having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948,
– having regard to Article 36 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, which guarantees all citizens the right to freedom of religious belief,
– having regard to Rule 110(2) and (4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas respect for human rights, freedom of identity, culture, religion and association are founding principles of the EU and of its foreign policy;

B. whereas the EU raised the question of Tibetan minority rights during the 31st round of the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue held in Brussels on 29 May 2012; whereas the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue has not resulted in any significant improvements in the human rights situation of the Tibetans;

C. whereas the envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama have approached the Government of the People’s Republic of China to find a peaceful and mutually beneficial solution to the issue of Tibet; whereas the talks between the two sides have delivered no concrete results and are currently frozen;

D. whereas the authorities of the People’s Republic of China used disproportionate force while dealing with the protests of 2008 in Tibet and have, ever since, imposed restrictive security measures that curtail freedom of expression, freedom of association and freedom of belief;

E. whereas the number of victims of the 2008 protests may have exceeded 200, the number of those detained varies from 4 434 to more than 6 500, and there were 831 known political prisoners in Tibet at the end of 2010, of whom 360 were judicially convicted and 12 were serving life sentences;

F. whereas torture, including beating, use of electroshock weapons, long-term solitary confinement, starvation and other similar measures are reportedly used to extract confessions in the prisons of Tibet by the authorities of the People’s Republic of China;

G. whereas 38 Tibetans, mostly monks and nuns, have reportedly set themselves on fire since 2009 in protest against restrictive Chinese policies in Tibet and in support of the return of the Dalai Lama and the right to religious freedom in the Aba/Ngaba county prefecture in Sichuan Province and other parts of the Tibetan plateau;

H. whereas the current state of wellbeing and the whereabouts of a number of victims of self‑immolation remain unknown or unclear, namely Chimey Palden, Tenpa Darjey, Jamyang Palden, Lobsang Gyatso, Sona Rabyang, Dawa Tsering, Kelsang Wangchuck, Lobsang Kelsang, Lobsang Kunchok and Tapey;

I. whereas Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama, was detained by the authorities of the People’s Republic of China and has not been seen since 14 May 1995;

J. whereas Tibetan identity, language, culture and religion – the testimony to a historically rich civilisation – are endangered by the resettlement of Han people in the historical territory of Tibet and the extermination of the traditional nomadic lifestyle of the Tibetans;

K. whereas the EU is in the process of appointing and laying down the mandate of the EU Special Representative for Human Rights;

L. whereas the European Parliament’s previous calls on the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the EU to address the situation in Tibet with her Chinese counterparts have not delivered the expected results;

1. Reiterates that the Strategic Partnership between the EU and the People’s Republic of China should be based on shared principles and values;

2. Calls on the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the EU to increase and intensify efforts to address the human rights situation of the Tibetans in the framework of the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue;

3. Regrets, in this respect, the unwillingness of the Chinese authorities to hold the dialogue twice a year and their stance concerning the modalities and frequency of the meetings, with regard in particular to the strengthening of the civil society segment and the involvement of civil society in the dialogue; urges the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union to make every effort to ensure that the human rights dialogue is more effective and result-oriented;

4. Commends the very important and successful democratisation process in the governance of Tibetans in exile by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the recent transfer by him of his political powers and responsibilities to the democratically elected Kalon Tripa of the Central Tibetan Administration, which represents the aspirations of the Tibetan people;

5. Commends the decision of the democratically elected new Tibetan political leadership to continue to abide by the Middle-Way Policy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, which seeks genuine autonomy for Tibetans within the People’s Republic of China and within the framework of the Chinese Constitution;

6. Endorses the principles set out in the Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan people, proposed by the envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to their Chinese counterparts in 2008, which provide the basis for a realistic and sustainable political solution to the issue of Tibet;

7. Rejects the argument made by the Government of the People’s Republic of China that the engagement of governments with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and members of the elected Tibetan leadership and the expression of support by governments for a peaceful resolution of the issue of Tibet through dialogue and negotiations constitute breaches of the ‘One China Policy’;

8. Calls on the authorities of the People’s Republic of China to grant meaningful autonomy to the historical territory of Tibet;

9. Expresses disappointment that the Government of the People’s Republic of China has been unwilling to continue the dialogue with the envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama since January 2010 and encourages the Chinese authorities to engage in a meaningful discussion with the representatives of the Central Tibetan Administration on the future of Tibet;

10. Insists that the authorities of the People’s Republic of China respect the freedom of expression, freedom of association and freedom of belief of the Tibetans;

11. Urges the authorities of the People’s Republic of China to allow an independent international investigation to be conducted into the 2008 protests and their aftermath, and calls for the release of the political prisoners;

12. Condemns any form of torture of persons in custody and invites and asks the authorities of the People’s Republic of China to allow the independent international inspection of the prisons and detention centres in Tibet;

13. Reiterates its condemnation of the Chinese authorities’ continued crackdown on Tibetan monasteries, and calls on the Chinese Government to guarantee freedom of religion both for the people of Tibet and for all of its citizens;

14. Insists that the Chinese authorities reveal the fate and whereabouts of all the victims of self‑immolations in Tibet;

15. Reiterates its call to the Chinese authorities to reveal the fate and whereabouts of Chedun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama;

16. Calls on the Chinese authorities to uphold the linguistic, cultural, religious and other fundamental freedoms of Tibetans and to refrain from settlement policies in favour of the Han people and to the disadvantage of the Tibetans in historical territories of Tibet, as well as from forcing Tibetan nomads to abandon their traditional lifestyle;

17. Calls on the Chinese authorities to lift all restrictions and allow unfettered access and freedom of movement throughout Tibet to independent media, journalists and human rights monitors;

18. Calls on the EU Special Representative for Human Rights, once appointed, to report regularly on the human rights situation in the People’s Republic of China, in particular with regard to Tibet;

19. Urges the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the EU to appoint a special coordinator with a mandate to report regularly on Tibet in order to advance respect for the human rights of the Tibetan people, including their right to preserve and develop their distinctive identity and its religious, cultural and linguistic manifestations, to support constructive dialogue and negotiations between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and to provide assistance to Tibetan refugees, in particular in Nepal and India;

20. Calls on the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the EU to address the human rights situation in Tibet at every meeting with the representatives of the People’s Republic of China;

21. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice‑President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the EU, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Government and Parliament of the People’s Republic of China, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Tibetan Government-in-exile, the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile and His Holiness the Dalai Lama.